Improvising Generations
June 10, 2021
New Year, New Look for BEEE Creative
June 15, 2021ARCHIVE: Museums in Motion
(May 2016 to October 2016)
OVERVIEW
Museums in Motion was a series of community dance and technology participation projects that were devised and managed by Carrie Washington (BEEE Creative) with artistic direction by make:AMPLIFY. Taking place at Royston, Stevenage and Watford Museums, the project worked with three groups of young people aged 4–18 years old and their families. Each museum had a three-day creative process resulting in an audio-visual installation. The project arose from the belief in the positive impact arts engagement can have on participants.
“It is one of the nicest projects that we’ve done. I can’t think of a project in 5 years, we’ve participated in together as equals. All the other projects have been supporting him to participate in the workshop."
AIMS
It was anticipated that participants would:
- Engage with creative activity that they may not have had access to before
- Be inspired and motivated to express creative responses to heritage
- Develop confidence to collaborate in the creative process
- Learn new skills using dance and technology, in both dance and social outcomes
- Be more likely to engage with heritage/creative spaces
- Have increased feelings of well-being
HEADLINE FINDINGS
- The feedback and responses from all participants was extremely positive.
- Participants self-reported increases in confidence, in a range of areas and circumstances.
- Participants were able to identify and demonstrate new skills they had learned.
- Participants indicated they would be more likely to engage with museums/cultural venues again.
- Museum staff re-engaged with their collections in new and different ways.
- The project model is adaptable and worked with three very different participant groups.
EVALUATION
A full evaluation report is available for this project
FURTHER LINKS
- https://vimeo.com/174021973 (Watford Museum)
- https://vimeo.com/181306253 (Royston Museum)
PROJECT CREDITS
Artists
Jennifer Irons –Co-Artistic Director of MakeAmplify
Zach Walker –Co-Artistic Director of MakeAmplify
Stewart Baxter –Composer, MakeAmplify
Partners
Royston Museum, Stevenage Museum, Watford Museum, Carers in Herts (Young Carers)
Funders
Arts Council England, Hertfordshire Music Service, Watford Borough Council and Public Health Hertfordshire
