What's Black History got to do with us?

I've been supporting workshops in a primary school in Birmingham in a community labelled, 'majority white, working class'.  It's a great school I've worked in for a couple of years now, and I was really pleased, following a staff training inset in which the entire teaching staff of the school visited Birmingham Archives, the school set up hour long black history workshops with every class from Nursery to Year 6.

'Black history remains one of those subject areas parents, children and staff can feel uncomfortable with.  We wanted to make sure the workshops were relevant to everyone in the school, and something which addressed the question, 'What's Black History got to do with us?'

So what did we do?  First of all we asked everyone to bring in a family photo beforehand.  Then at workshop we started looking at where everyone came from - walk to other side of room if you don't come from Birmingham, if your parents don't, if your grandparents don't - eventually you start with all on one side, end with most on the other.  Then map pin where your family come from - end up with map covered in pins.  This activity was a favourite with a few children (judging from feedback).  We had three maps - for Birmingham, UK and the world - It may be that some of the pins didn't match exactly where their families came from (there was an interesting one in middle of the Atlantic) but was great to start discusssion.

Then onto Vanley Burke, photographer.  Yes, he's black, and yes he's famous, but unlike Mary Seacole, he's alive, and he's from Birmingham, so a little easier to relate to.  Also much of his (prolific) photography is about documenting the community he lived in (which happened to be Handsworth).  He recorded the black community he was a part of through his photographs, and he has also donated large chunks of his photographic collection to Birmingham Archives & Heritage.


So having looked at the photos, next step, re-enactment of the photos to really start to empathise and get some understanding of the photos - as one yr2  put it - 'you feel like your in the photo'.  Great way to start discussion.


It was pretty hectic, and couldn't cover in too much depth in one hour with 30 children, but from comments looked like we engaged everyone, and made it mean something to them.  All children feedback was positive:


'We could learn about what are the same or similar to Birmingham [to other places]'


'We could do some more what we did today.'


'[We could] lurn about Weoly Casle'


'[We could] visit the libraries in other areas.'

And from the teacher comments:

'Some children commented, 'Why are all the faces black?'  The question was handled very well.'

'We would like to push it more - we need to make sure there is good follow up work.'

We had interesting break time conversations with children about where our families came from, and what questions we wanted to ask them.  All very positive, and from Izzy, workshop leader:

Related articles

• Doing Diversity Wrong [Black History Month] (gawker.com)

When is spam spam?

Not ham, or spam

Just come back from inspiring switchboard event at Mac - a new currency - multiplatform storytelling & social capital.

As I am one of millions of amateurs in the field of digital technology, I feel in a position to express an opinion just about as good as anybody else, and post it our to anyone I know, and some others.  Is it spam?  It could be.

For me, Chris Unitt made interesting comment on networking - Natalie Carlish might be able to tweet and get £3,500 of lighting for a day for free: Chris's Gran could probably use her network to find a nice piece of antique bric-a-brac.  The quality (all our networks have qualities) of our networks determine a lot about what we can do.

Could this be beginning to sound like Helga Henry's 'dark side'? - just another old boys network?

Is this where technology, in the hands of individuals and organisations like Switchboard, Nick Booth from Podnosh, Dave Hart, Nikki Getgood, all present and presenting at this event, can make a difference?

Getting back to spam, no one likes it  - I don't think anyone intentionally sends it.  I want people to read something I send and find it interesting, fun, supportive, and most important, useful.  If you are trying to reach out to new people, recognising when you are sending spam is hard.

Send spam, expect spammy digital network.  The question worded differently by various people, how do you turn your network into gold (money, power, influence, social change, whatever you're looking for)?  Seems the answer today was hard work, effective collaboration and a lot of luck - anyone know any short cuts?

The Big Lebowski and the Big Society

Sometimes everything you see seems connected.  Anyway, we watched the fantastic 'The Big Lebowski'  on LOVEfilm this weekend.

Jeff Lebowski, The Dude, the main man, is a 'bum', a slacker, living on Venice Beach, LA.  Vain, lazy and poor, yet somehow manages to be morally superior to the range of stinking rich characters who attempt to use him for their own ends.  Strangely enough, despite their less than wonderful character traits, the Dude and his bowling friends (the undeserving poor?) end up helping out all the others (the undeserving rich?), except the nihilists.  Film ends where it began, with friends still poor, still bowling.

Great film.

Bright Space beyond creative partnerships

My workshed is coming on a pace now.  I've already spent a fair bit of time on it, and temptation is, in present economic climate, to spend a lot more time in there, head down and get on with work, while all the cuts hit.  Bright Space, the organisation I've worked with a fair bit, which 'promotes brighter futures for young people through arts and culture' is one of countless organisations in Birmingham under threat at the moment.

More than a decade ago, I started an organisation with a few friends, 'Birmingham Lives' - celebrating the lives of older people in Birmingham. At it's zenith, in 2003, I think we had a dozen members, including our cat, Poppy. I can't remember how many meetings we had - it wasn't many. Me and Poppy were the most regular attendees, but the existence of an 'organisation' opened up opportunities for funding, and, for a time, we did quite well.

The end of the Millennium was a good time for oral history based intergenerational projects. Carl Chinn opened our first exhibition, and shortly after began his own, much bigger, Birmingham Lives Archives. Chris Upton, academic, local historian and writer for Birmingham Post was fantastic in supporting our modest contribution to local history, and the more important work of valuing the lives of young and old in Birmingham, but as time went on, funding became harder to come by and people started to move on.

My first experience of Creative Partnerships in Birmingham, to become Bright Space in 2008, was an invite to Marie's house, the then creative director, for xmas meal 2004 with Nikki.  I remember having a long chat with Katy Aquaye-Tonge, and it was then I decided I'd start looking out for opportunities to work with CP.  In 2005 I worked with the Quinzone 'Associate CP' Cluster (Qunizone Action Zone is another org likely to disappear soon) and Birmingham archives on two projects - the Ballad of Baskerville with John H-D and 'Playground games' with Worlds End Infants, Graham Langley and John H-D.

Since then I had the best training experience ever with Vivien Hampson to become a creative agent, working under a number of talented creative directors - Rob Elkington, Lesley Green and now Deborah Kermode.  Being part of the 'family', supporting each other, we deliver some really exciting work with young people, sharing our experiences to make for a better future.  Working for Bright Space has been a life changing experience, for me personally, developing my practice and influencing the lives of other creative practitioners, teachers, and of course, young people.  We have, right now, one of the most extensive networks of teachers, creative practitioners, and others interested in working creatively with young people in the West Midlands.   We are highly experienced in delivery of a range of diverse creative activities.  We are best positioned to champion creativity in our region.

It would be easy to go our own ways, keep our heads down, get on with things - afterall, we all need to earn a living.  But if we don't get out there, promote the work we (Bright Space and all the other endangered creatives) are doing, stick together, share experiences, develop our community, what are we saying about the future for young people?

Don't let the bankers get you down

I've just received a letter from Birmingham City Council announcing a doubling of allotment costs to £40 a year.  We will carry on, and in the grand scheme of cuts and so on, will largely go unnoticed.  Costs haven't doubled in the year since the last rise.  I guess, if anyone was bothered, the right wing press would have broke news days before like, 'Winging middle-class allotment holders don't dig over plots', or 'Lousy layabouts need to pay more'.  But what about encouraging healthy living? People on low incomes encouraged to feed themselves cheaply?

A little earlier I had a chat with a Tory relative about pensions, public sector cuts, so on, and got the 'Well you've got to realise there's a pot of only so much money, and we can't keep paying out more than there is' argument.  Thing is, if there's only a small pot, why is it the bankers always seem to get first dibs?  If you think it's complicated and hard to understand, it really isn't - try here.

It's a recession - recession hits everyone?  So how come sales in luxury goods are up? (try googling luxury goods boom)  Why is there a worldwide boom in yacht sales and luxury cars?  It's pretty clear those with bags of money are picking up the bargains, and those with a little less money are squeezing those with less, and so on (the trickle down effect), so those who are poorest, with least are paying the most.  And what is the government doing?  Protecting the most vulnerable?  Nope.  Cutting services and raising taxes for the poorest, while at the same time cutting taxes for the richest.

If it make's you mad too, try Tony Benn's Coalition of Restistance, try listening to Divine Comedy 'Complete Banker'.  It's not going to end allotment cost hikes, but maybe we should try to protect those who most need it.

Legacies of British Slave-ownership

Website for project is here

Pompidou's lady in a black dress

Only one day in Paris - Arthur wants to go up the Eiffel Tower, Jago wants to go on a boat, Freya wants to do steps, Nikki wants to go to an art gallery. I'm not sure, but Pompidou Centre seems like a good place to start.

Starting from the top. working way down, we spend the next three hours there.  Escalators popular, films great, giant moving beanbag is it art?  Too much for any 18 month old, and have to admit I wanted to jump on it too.  The thing that most entertains children was a series of silent movie type films where lady in burqa does unlikely things, like water skiing, ice skating, sunbathing.  Reminds me of Heard and not Seen.

I ask Arthur what it is and why it's funny.  'It's a woman in a black dress being funny'.  It's not like he hasn't see a burqa before and, thanks to his primary, his knowledge of religion is better than mine including why muslim women wear burqas.  Jago adds, 'She's so funny when she picks up the fruit' [one of which is a phone]  Why it is a little uncomfortable for me and Nikki to watch?  They just sit there and watch the three screens looping the ludicrous lady in a black dress.

On the first floor there is the children's area.  Kawamata has been making a cardboard city with children.  Actually the cities made for 'Faces and Places' project with Taryn Coxall run by Birmingham Archives and Heritage were superior in both quality and apparently depth of experience.  Sadly, as no Kawamata, children can't add their own building.  So lots of scissors and carboard, can't make anything.   Shame adults can't have a go too.

For families Pompidou was definitely an improvement on Eugene Boudin in Honfleur.  We were being followed there by security to ensure no loudness or other distractions for art experience of all.  Even in the enlightened Pompidou, you've got to ask why do art galleries find families so hard?