by Tracy Shaw, Loca Creatives Director
Behind this collage of colourful images lies a simple but powerful tale. It's a tale so often repeated from community arts projects over the decades that it hardly bears recounting. And yet it deserves to be, for in its own context, for the people involved, it is unique and very significant.
The tale starts with a school (could be any school, or any community centre or Children's Centre for that matter) that wants to strengthen its relationships with parents and encourage them to feel more involved - because if they feel involved and more confident about coming through the door, their children will benefit. This school is big on creative learning, has corridors adorned with children's artwork and feels vibrant and welcoming, with the exception of the Early Years Unit whose exterior - drab, tired, uninviting - belies the colour and warmth within. Maybe parents could help to transform it? Cue creative engagement project.
For us and the school those were the starting points for a very nice project. A successful funding bid and the appointment of two artists with long-standing backgrounds in public art design/production, community arts and adult education gave us the substance.
Enter the parents - all quite young, "nervous", "worried", "scared", not used to joining in with group activities, not regular participants in school, not really acquainted with each other, definitely not seeing themselves as 'arty'.
Skip forward to session 10 (after which the project will pause for the summer). By now, the parents have worked with natural materials collected on a woodland walk, 3D modelling, rubbings, paper cuts, fabric transfer, printing, drawing, collage, papier-mâché, stitch, laminating, clay, and watercolour. They have made small-scale 3D and textile pieces to take home; looked at examples of public art and discussed pros and cons in the context of the Early Years Unit; produced large-scale, temporary pieces and tried placing them on fencing, walls and windows to see what will work; jointly made decisions about the style, colour and location of the permanent pieces that are to be produced and installed in the autumn; and collectively designed a large textile artwork for the entrance lobby. In session 10 they stand up in assembly before the whole school to talk about and show what they have been doing - not hesitantly or nervously, but eager to the point of galloping down the corridor to get there, proudly clutching their display boards. There's a shiver down their spines then a warm glow as the hall lets out a collective 'Ahhh' when the boards are revealed, and a tear or two is shed when (surprise!) their own children walk in wearing T-shirts each decorated with a piece of mum's artwork. Priceless.
Priceless, yet not exceptional nor even unusual - certainly not if you're used to seeing projects delivered by artists who are skilled in facilitating group processes, taking people on a learning journey, enabling individual creativity and getting stunning results. Such projects are as old as the hills, and the stories of what they mean to the people involved are maybe so familiar that there seems almost no point re-telling them. But step back from the familiar, look with fresh eyes at what's happened here in this room week by week, experience the project as if you were one of those parents - one who started out anxious and ended up galloping. Imagine that this particular story is yours and that what you have just achieved on ten Tuesday afternoons is immense for you - life-changing even. Then there is a point.
When you've never done 'this kind of thing' at school or as an adult, and if you think of yourself as not having an artistic bone in your body (or as someone who can't use a pair of scissors, or sew), the chance to 'play' with creative materials and processes can give you a thrill that you maybe never associated with learning - and suddenly, learning becomes fun. When you realise that you've moved from 'I don't know how' to making your own design choices and producing really beautiful work, the thrill is even bigger - and perhaps you have a sense of some new possibilities, or begin to see yourself differently. When your child excitedly calls their classmates over to see your artwork, then you know s/he is proud of you and is seeing you through new eyes too. When you're so chuffed with what you've made that you want to photograph it on your phone to take home, put it on Facebook and show it off in assembly, and when your friends and family compliment your amazing work, that's a sense of achievement that you may not have felt in a long time. When you're full of new ideas for creative things to do with the kids at home, that's a new dimension in your relationship with them, and in theirs with you. When other parents tell you you're sad for 'going in there' and you can respond with 'You're the sad one, sitting on your bum at home all day', that's you being strong and giving them something to think about. When you have new friendships, supportive conversations, laughter and a weekly highlight to look forward to, it gives you a bit of bounce. And when, over the next few years as your child moves up through the school, you see your artwork making the Early Years entrance look much, much nicer and being appreciated by other parents and little ones - well, just imagine how good it will feel to know that you did something you never thought you could do and contributed something lasting and really worthwhile.
When you're used to having those kinds of positives in your life and take them as read, ten sessions on an arts project maybe don't add up to much. When you aren't, ten sessions can be a game-changer - and if that's your story, it's definitely one worth telling.
