Dance and Animation Film Update
November 27, 2024
Peter Lemer
January 6, 2025ARCHIVE: Perform Transform
(October 2022 to November 2024)
Image credit: Flicker Mill
OVERVIEW
Perform Transform was a project delivered by BEEE Creative that aimed to focus on the rapid changes in towns in the Hertfordshire towns of Hitchin (North Hertfordshire), Letchworth, Royston, Stevenage, and Watford. It hoped to question the relevance of the collections in the museums of those towns by giving space to gather stories of local intergenerational participants. Perform Transform used dance, arts, storytelling and technology to encourage engagement and exploration of heritage.
AIMS
Perform Transform wanted to challenge inequality to cultural access by addressing barriers to engagement. The project aimed to support historically underserved members of the local communities to provide tangible skills development through exploration and interpretation of heritage that improved a sense of belonging and wellbeing. Perform Transform aligned with BEEE Creative’s strategic ambition to create an equitable creative sector with greater representation of social, cultural and embodied identities.
HEADLINE FINDINGS
- The project achieved both breadth in terms of the numbers of engagements it achieved, and depth of experience for those who took part in the taster sessions and the residencies.
- Heritage was central to the project, which enabled participants to connect to their local museum. They were able to connect in new ways to the places they lived, their environment, with their own personal heritage, and to each other across the generations.
- Participants, regardless of age, gained new skills in the art forms they worked with and transferable social and emotional skills.
- Participants felt valued and heard throughout the project. BEEE Creative’s participant-led approach supported participants to take part and contribute on their own terms.
- BEEE Creative’s process and ways of working create particular conditions that support participation and engagement, including those who do not have a history of engaging in heritage and arts projects.
EVALUATION
A full evaluation report is available for this project >>
A behind the scenes project scrapbook is available for this project >>
PROJECT CREDITS
Project Partners:
- Museum at One Garden City (Letchworth Heritage Foundation)
- North Hertfordshire Museum, Hitchin
- Royston Museum
- Stevenage Museum
- Watford Museum
- Cheslyn House and Gardens
- Controlled Frenzy – specialists in creative technology
- Miranda Quinney – storytelling artist
- University of Hertfordshire – Oral History Team
- North Herts College
- Mind in Mid Herts
- Blackett-Ord Court Housing
- Wilbury Community Cafe
- Macfadyen Webb House (First Garden Cities Homes)
- Supported Activities
- Barnwell School
- Mind in Mid Herts
- Junction 7 Creatives
- West Herts College
- Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care
- Archers Court
Artist Teams:
- Watford Museum - Laura Horn (dance) and Anji Archer (visual arts)
- Stevenage Museum - Maga Judd (dance) and Anji Archer (visual arts)
- North Herts Museum - Elaine Thomas (dance) and Alison Gibb (poet/artist)
- Museum at One Garden City (Letchworth Heritage Foundation) - Kasia Truefitt (dance) and Sam Ivin (photography)
- Royston Museum - Jane Turner (dance) and Rob Finlay (film)
Funder:
ADDITIONAL CONTENT
Mix One - Personal Histories: An assortment of vivid personal stories of the project towns stretching back across the decades.
Mix Two – Housing Developments: What are the challenges of expanded housing in the five towns?
Mix Three – Pandemic: Coping with Covid in the five towns.
Mix Four – Community Identity: Multiple views from the five towns on the preservation of community identity into the present-day.
