Arts projects can help engage young people in the regeneration process, writes Harvey McGavin. Creative Partnerships Manchester Salford is part of a national initiative to establish programmes aiming to give school children the opportunity to develop their creativity and imagination through sustainable partnerships. ?Under Our Street? is one such programme involving over 100 young people from three schools, working with the Royal Exchange Theatre and individual artists to explore their identity in relation to their environment through creative expression.
At one of the schools, Buile Hill High, local history was unfolding before the eyes of the pupils well before their ?Under Our Street? project began. Between Buile Hill and the docks lies a tightly packed network of flat-fronted, terraced houses ? the Langworthy Estate. Anyone who has seen the film ?East is East? will recognise it. But the bustling community that the film depicted has largely gone. When the shipping trade disappeared, most of the subsequent redevelopment money went on quayside flats and offices. Today it?s in the middle of a massive programme of urban regeneration, which will see thousands of houses refurbished, thousands more demolished and a few hundred transformed into trendy open-plan, mews-style dwellings.
When a year 8 class was asked to list the things they like about the area and those they would like to change, bricks and mortar was a recurrent theme. Houses are ?old and nasty? or ?too small?, but nearly everyone likes ?my house? and ?my neighbours?. Pupils took photographs to try to piece together fragments of a neighbourhood in flux. Art teacher Dan Glenister believes that projects like this can help pupils look afresh at their area: ?I want them to see art in context and not just see art as about getting an A, B or C. They might not realise how much they got out of it until much later, maybe not until they leave school ? things like this you remember.?
Nancy Barrett, Creative Director for Creative Partnerships Manchester Salford adds, ?The project has made the regeneration process ?real? for the young people ? the creative research emphasises that regeneration is about something more than roads, bricks and mortar: at its best, successful regeneration is about people, heritage and communities. The young people are learning about the rich history and diversity of the area they live in ? and hopefully carrying this understanding through into other areas of their lives and learning. Developing that understanding is vital to ensuring that young people have an informed voice when they are engaged in decision making about the physical regeneration process.?
Harvey McGavin was commissioned by Creative Partnerships Manchester Salford to explore the impact of the ?Under Our Street? project on participants. w: http://www.creative-partnerships.com
A legacy of ?Under Our Street? exists on CD-ROM and can be used as a learning resource. A copy can be ordered from manchestersalford@creative-partnerships.com