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Liverpool Dreamtime event generates a festival of creativity

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Liverpool Dreamtime event generates a festival of creativity

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 13:35

Tags: events | North West | young people involvement

dreamtime On a gorgeous sunny day in Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral a hand-picked squad from the myplace support team drilled holes in a piece of wood and exploded cans of fizzy drinks over each other.

This wasn't due to a severe case of sun-stroke, but a deliberate attempt to act like eight year olds. According to Malcolm McClean, the event organiser, it is only by setting aside the rules and thinking like an eight year old that we can come up with new and exciting ideas.

The group was meeting to develop some ideas for the myplace annual event - which was to follow the theme of a festival. Our co-host (and resident Scouser) Tommy Calderbank gave us an amusing presentation on various festivals around the world using the Pecha-Kucha technique. This involved using 20 images and speaking for only 20 seconds on each one. We gained intriguing festival insights into the annual wife-carrying festival and the Mexican radish-carving festival among others. But the main message he gave us was that festivals should be fun, inclusive and a way of sharing, giving and learning.

The young people in the team immediately identified an opportunity for the myplace festival to contribute to less fortunate people around the world. This could be done by both raising money for charity but, perhaps more concretely, also through making direct links between myplace projects and youth projects in developing countries, conflict zones and areas affected by natural disasters. This could involve donating tents from the festival to areas of need and young people from myplace projects exchanging stories, recipes and experiences as part of the festival. Everyone agreed that this would be an excellent way of promoting positive images about what young people can achieve through myplace centres.

The festival should provide something completely different from typical conferences, offering a diverse and exciting array of exhibitions, activities and experiences. The group thought it would be good if every myplace project could contribute something to the festival and also leave with something too.

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A visit to the Black-E project

During the lunch break we had the privilege of getting a hosted walking tour of Liverpool from Tommy and visiting the Black-E Community Arts project. This project, which began in 1968, was the first community arts project in the UK. It is based in the former Congregational Church in Great George Street (known locally as the Blackie) and has recently undergone a major refurbishment and upgrade.

The facilities it now offers include a gallery, cafeteria, chamber theatre, workshop area, break-out rooms, dressing rooms, meeting rooms, and the unique multi-purpose Main Space (an in-the-round auditorium with two overlooking balconies). We were impressed by the imaginative arts projects being developed, the creative use of difficult spaces within this listed building, and most of all by the dedication of the staff and volunteers. Despite making frantic last minute preparations for a disco in the Main Auditorium they still took the time to show us round, tell us about the history of the centre and explain how the project was developed and managed.

Find out more about this inspiring project here: http://www.theblack-e.co.uk/

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