Transformations first blog entry
10 July
Shed-loads@Keynsham...
Last weekend, 8th July, around 20,000 visitors to Keynsham Music Festival had the opportunity to see an art installation with a difference - in a small garden shed.
Not all of them had that good a look! - but around 200 stopped to see a short DVD by 4 Reel Films and photographs by Jill Carter and Caernarvon Road residents. The shed itself was moved from the garden of one of the disused properties awaiting demolition, and we are pleased to report the spider life within survived the journey.
The shed is now in storage prior to installation in Somer Community Housing Trust HQ in Bath.
The past few months have been characterised by a period of waiting for the remaining residents. This is about to draw to a close in a sudden change of pace - they will all move out in the next two weeks before demolition begins. Garden sheds have featured in several people’s stories as a site of retreat and creativity, or storage for the things they couldn’t quite bring themselves to throw away. This particular one had served several tenants and will probably outlive the house it stood next to.
We hope it will travel to more events in the autumn - further news will follow.
Gary Smith's photo diary instalment 1
My name is Gary. My wife & i are moving to a new home home so i decided to keep a photo journal of our new home from footings to finished article.
After a few weeks Somer Housing got in touch & asked if we would be interested in getting involved with NESA. So i mentioned that i was keeping a photo journal. It has been interesting being involved with NESA, as we have been filmed plus i have been filming my neighbours for NESA as well. I await nervously to see the finished article!
Please judge my photographic efforts with compassion please. Again thanks to KAREN & the GUYS at NESA for this gig.
10 May
The Transformations project is coming on apace. There are plans for an event to tie in with Keynsham Music Festival in July, and we hope to involve Avon Fire and Rescue team (who will be using empty flats for rescue practice) in some filming shortly.
Look out soon for resident Gary's photographs documenting the construction of his new home. In the meantime here are a few photographs of activities in progress and sites being used. Photographs copyright Jill Carter
Meeting outside flats
Residents in empty flat
Photographing an assemblage of found pieces
Shed
29 March
Well, this is my first foray into blog-land! I'm Karen and am working on nesa Neighbourhood Arts projects including the subject of this blog, Transformations.
Hopefully this space will provide a forum for discussion, wider issues of arts in regeneration and a noticeboard tracking the project's progress.
Transformations is a partnership between Somer Community Housing Trust, nesa and most importantly the current and recent residents of a section of Caernarvon Road, Keynsham. Like many estates built in the post-war years of pre-cast concrete, these flats no longer meet housing standards, and Somer Community Housing Trust are beginning a programme of redevelopment to replace them with something more modern and durable.
Naturally this is a period of change, upheaval, hopes and anxieties for the people whose homes are affected, and the Trust and nesa are employing artist Jill Carter and 4 Reel Films to help residents explore the issues and document the changes.
The 'end product' of Transformations is expected to be a book and accompanying DVD including art work, creative writing, memories, thoughts, feelings, documentation of events and discussions produced by residents and artists during the course of the project. We aim to present some of the results during Keynsham Festival in July 07. Of course we hope that there will be many less tangible legacies too... Watch this space for news and images from the artists and participants involved.
We also welcome input from other people who would like to comment. Been involved with or know of another arts in regeneration project? Live in Keynsham and want to share your thoughts, memories or knowledge about the area's past, present or future? Or are you just interested and want to be kept informed? We'd like to hear from you. E-mail your entries to me at karen.macdonald@nesa.uk.com
Thanks for reading
Karen MacDonald
Development worker, Neighbourhood Arts
nesa
Images by Jill Carter
Image by 4 Reel Films
