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Placemaking distraction 1

By David Boultbee - 7th January, 2011

(David was one of the artists that carried out an Action Research bursary in 2010/2011)

I was invited to take part in a Creative Partnerships project in January and February.  It wasn’t something I’d done before and I was really excited to be involved.The project ran in two Cheshire schools looking at the enquiry questions:

  • How, and in what ways can a creative exploration of the local natural environment support a yr1 class to develop an understanding of diversity?
  • How, and in what ways can music and dance develop a yr1 class’ understanding of diversity?

Year 1s are about aged 5.  What, I wondered, would diversity mean to a 5 year old?  Working with the lead artist, we decided to tackle the project by exploring similarities and differences.  Baselining activities in both the schools indicated that the childrens’ sense of their own culture was limited and heavily focussed on TV shows.  For the project to be successful we needed to start by reinforcing cultural references and a sense of identity.  Only then, we felt, would the children be able to understand, appreciate and value a culture other than their own.


And how succinctly sum this approach up.  Elaine Speight already had the word.  Placemaking!

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