On Friday evening I went to Stoops and Hargher Clough Community Centre to meet with local councillor Paul Reynolds and community worker Chris Keane. Paul had asked me to go and talk to him about the 'South West Streets Museum' project, to find out our plans and to help us to identify relevant people to talk to. It was a useful meeting and it was good to spend time with Paul who was born in the area, lives there now and represents his community on the local council. He asked me some tough questions about our plans and our intentions and I hope that I was able to respond in a way which reflected the project positively. We both left the conversation smiling, which I reckon is generally a good sign.
I waited for Paul in the community centre while the after school club was on and met several children and parents from Cherry Fold Primary School where I am currently working on a project for Burnley Youth Theatre. It was lovely to see the pupils and I began to feel more at home bumping into people I know in different places.
I have been looking for ways to meet with and work with local people and an opportunity has come up at the community centre. They are going through challenging times at the moment and dealing with the practical effects of cuts in funding and support. The uncertain future has been a catalyst for conversations about the role the centre plays in the community and some of the younger people have made connections (some for the first time) between decisions that are made in national government and what happens in the local community.
These young volunteers are going to London on the 20th October to join the march for 'a future that works'. They want to represent their neighbourhood and their centre and they have asked me to work with them to create a painted fabric banner which they can take to London and which can hang in the centre afterwards as a celebration of community identity. The banner pictured above hangs in the community centre at the moment and was created after the death of Adam Rickwood, a young man from the estate who became the youngest person to die in custody. The making and displaying of the banner has been an important part of the community's solidarity, grief and fight for justice and will hang in the centre until justice is achieved, at which time it will be presented to Adam's family.
Adam's banner has inspired the idea of having a banner for and about the centre and its people. Working with the young volunteers to explore the role of the community centre and to find ways of communicating that visually will be an opportunity for me to bring my skills and experience into the community, get to know people better and to identify further opportunities for the three of us to work with the people of South West Burnley.
I am going to spend several sessions with the group next week and will post photos and feedback as the banner progresses.
Cath
