Why vote for Matt? Norfolk Arts Awards, EDP people’s choice.

Hello!

If you are reading this, chances are you have turned up at my website wondering who on earth I am and what it is that I do, and more to the point, why do I deserve your vote in the Norfolk Arts Award nominations? I am most humbled to have been nominated in this years people’s choice category, presently I am one of ten nominees to be voted by the public in order to reach the final at the awards ceremony in September.

Why vote for Matt?

This year has been a non stop roller-coaster of arts projects, I have been working my size 12 socks off now that I am a daddy of two, and the recognition that comes with an award like this would hopefully help to raise my profile further and really give my career a boost as someone who is wholly self employed.

What do you do?

There is no easy answer to this, I am a jack of all trades and my projects range from performance to visual arts, animation to sculpture, illustration to puppetry, workshops and creative activities for children and public and community arts. Let me summarise:

This year I have…

• …performed Destination Democracy, my children’s horrible histories style show to 95 primary schools all over East Anglia. I have been hung drawn and quartered and have dramatically died of dysentery in front of  8297 school children, much to their delight, all whilst educating them on the history of parliament, equality and democracy. (http://www.springboardeast.co.uk)
• …designed and painted 3 GoGoDragons, Patch, VroomVroom and Aurelia for the Break charity event. In 2013 my GoGoGorilla raised £17,000 at auction, so who knows how much good the money from my 3 dragons will make for disadvantaged children? (http://www.gogodragons.co.uk)
• …set up a publishing company and illustrated and co-authored my first ever children’s book ‘Norwich: City of Dragons’. This has sold well over 500 copies in less than 4 months, not bad for a first time author! (http://www.bookwyrmbooks.co.uk)
• …exhibited my dragon sculptures and fossils in the Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell, which is proving to be a popular attraction with families on the city’s dragon trail. (http://www.museumsnorfolk.org.uk/the-bridewell)
• …created a puppet dragon called Penny, (the spawn of Tuppence) that is delighting children and families in the visitor exhibition in The Forum. (https://twitter.com/theforumnorwich/status/624859143162208256)
• …delivered workshops and inspired creativity in many hundreds of children in projects using animation, sculpture and drama. I run fossil making workshops (http://www.fossilmaker.com) have helped create schools GoGoDragons, performed readings of my children’s book, changed nappies and sat through far too many episodes of Pingu than I care to mention, but that is another matter entirely!
• If that isn’t enough, I also have a top-secret commission in the pipeline creating a cast of certain vertically challenged puppet characters for a very well known pantomime, for a certain well known theatre, (but more of that at a later date!)

Please take the time to vote for me, I would be incredibly grateful, and it will help me continue to inspire young and old with my creations and projects for years to come.

Many thanks,

Matt.

Vote Here: http://www.norfolkartsawards.com/edp-peoples-choice-awards-2015.html