Urban Theatre project in conjunction with Southsea Skate Park, Keli-AnnB, Portsmouth’s Poet Laureate, the Street Dancers, PCC and graphic artist ‘Illya’, celebrating Charles Dickens’ birth year.
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Creative Workshops Hampshire |
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Gail and Dan of 131, have between them lectured and taught photography, graphics, art and design in Further and Higher Education. They were both hugely successful and won two AoC Beacon Awards for developing new courses and innovative teaching and learning strategies for marginalised young people. They combine this knowledge and expertise with their professional application to develop and deliver dynamic, accessible and relevant Creative Workshops to a wide range of community groups. Groups range from older residents, to marginalised young people in informal learning environments, to schools and colleges in outreach projects, or in conjunction with third parties. They work extensively in Portsmouth and Hampshire.
'Mix-Up' photographic workshops.Introducing photography and camera work, with an emphasis on cultural leadership has been the focus of our work with 2 groups of young people from Groundwork Solent’s ‘Mix-Up’ initiative in Rowner and Gosport, and in conjunction with the Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham. The 6-week series of workshops covered cultural visits, photographic skills, design and layout, as well as the opportunity to work as part of a professional team, in large and small groups to develop outcomes that included a series of original photographic images, an exhibition and personalised 2012 calendars. On presenting the final outcomes, all the young people expressed their pleasure in taking part in the project and commented on how much they had achieved. The projects were funded by Hampshire Young Creatives.
Charles Dickens Community Archive ProjectThis Charles Dickens Community Archive project is with two older residents' clubs, in Paulsgrove and Portsea, Portsmouth, and in conjunction with Portsmouth Museum and Records Service's. Inspired by the Museum’s archive collection, the groups have been investigating their own community’s heritage, and recording and sharing their own personal stories and memorabilia in weekly sessions.The Portsea group are working with the theme of pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants, as in their own words, “there used to be a pub on every street corner”, and they have many a tale to tell! After WWII, because of heaving bombing in the city, many families were re-housed in new, modern homes that were built in Paulsgrove, north of the city. Residents of some of those original homes recall their experiences and have been remembering what it was like to live through that time.
Both groups’ work will be developed into magazines and calendars as a legacy of these workshops, and will form part of an exhibition at the City Museum about the Charles Dickens Community Archive project, in 2012. Other Workshop projects include:
‘LIGHTBOX’An innovative exhibition showcasing creative photography by the young people from Hillside and Hilsea Youth Centres in Portsmouth.
A selection of photographs and artwork created in recent workshops
The Young Carers group from Fratton celebrate the exhibition 'Margins' at the Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham, along with other groups of young people from Portsmouth and Hampshire who took part in 131's creative workshops.
A recent development for 131 Design is working with young people across Portsmouth and Hampshire to engage them with their culture and heritage by providing informal learning opportunities. Working with youth services, health and education officers, we devise and deliver workshops, visits and events that include mixed media and art based activities. Each series of workshops is different and developed in response to the young people, their interests and needs. We are currently working with groups from Rowner, Gosport, Hilsea and Portsmouth, in Hampshire, UK.
The project illustrated below was delivered through a series of creative workshops with a group of young people who meet at the community centre in Rowner, Gosport. The group work is organised by Groundwork Solent and the workshops designed and facilitated by Gail Baird and Dan Bernard of 131 Design, Portsmouth. Gail and Dan constructed a framework of activity within the sessions, deliberately keeping the direction and outcomes flexible so they could respond to the interests and input of the young people. This meant the outcomes would be achievable, realistic and appropriate.Initially, the group were let loose with a range of cameras to record and document what interested them from their immediate surroundings. This activity led to them developing a ‘fashion show’ theme for the work. They used their photography to produce a series of mono prints, from which they produced a range of t-shirts that they styled, modelled and photographed as their final outcome.The range of creative work produced was delightful in it’s quality and subtlety. It reflected the group’s engagement, commitment and enthusiasm for the project and was full of energy and imagination. The young people worked intuitively with the cameras and imagery, surpassing and surprising themselves with their outcomes. They also provided no end of support for each other and were an absolute pleasure to work with.
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