Media, Memory and Ethnic Minority Communities in Gloucester
The University of Gloucestershire is working in partnership to gather the stories of people living in the Barton and Tredworth areas of Gloucester.
Staff are working in collaboration with the Gloucester Theatre Company and Gloucestershire Archives and the oral history project has been awarded a grant of £48,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Launched on Thursday March 3 at the Picturedrome Theatre, Barton Street, visitors can see demonstrations of digital storytelling and reminiscence gathering as well as find out more about the Hidden Lives project and get involved.
Project co-ordinator Adam Fotheringham, actor and director with the Gloucester Theatre Company, said: “When I first walked down Barton Street, I was struck by the diversity of the local community. I wanted to step beyond my own general impressions and hear individuals’ stories, spoken in their own words.”
Some of the stories will form the material for a piece of Reminiscence Theatre, which will be devised and created by young actors recruited from the local area and toured across the county. Contributors can also be involved in turning their stories into short films, using an approach called Digital Storytelling. All of the contributions will be uploaded to a community website, providing a window onto the diversity of experience within this multicultural area.
Dr Joanne Garde-Hansen, Principal Lecturer in Media at the University of Gloucestershire, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for members of the Research Centre for Media, Memory and Community to work with school children, adults and community members of Barton and Tredworth. Together we can find creative and media literate ways of expressing stories and experiences of settling and living in one of the most multi-cultural residential areas in the South West. With the project there are opportunities for media-based students at the University to engage in community research, filming, interviewing and digital storytelling.”
The project is looking for people who are willing to share their stories, and for volunteers to become involved as actors, oral history interviewers, digital storytelling facilitators and website designers. Training in oral history gathering, community website design, reminiscence theatre and digital storytelling are all being offered free to interested volunteers.
More information for volunteers is available on the GAVCA website (Gloucestershire Association for Voluntary and Community Action) http://www.gavca.org.uk/ or on the Fair Shares website http://www.fairshares.org.uk/
For any further information please contact Adam Fotheringham on adfotheringham@yahoo.co.uk