Ignite! Projects:
Report of the FriendShip Project
Conclusions
Feedback
1 Outputs
Responses from people attending the installations in Greenwich ranged from the interested to the very excited. The work on display was praised for its variety and detail. The multi-media presentations were regarded as highly original and thought provoking.
2 Process
The feedback from the young people indicated that they were excited by the concept of the project and could relate to the theme of friendship with an immediate recognition and affinity. The high point for many was the receiving and opening of the box on Thursday morning, and the challenges of interpretation that were posed by its contents. This excitement was reinforced by the speculation of how ‘their’ box was being received in another centre.
The workshop leaders responded that they appreciated the structure and organisation of the project and its aims and objectives. There were pros and cons to the timescale; some expressed a wish for more time to work with the group, whilst acknowledging that a tight deadline created focus and motivation.
I actually really enjoy working towards a tight deadline and I think it keeps people focused and really helps to build a good team spirit.
The 5 from Bristol were so focused and ready to take on any challenge that was set; they overtook our estimations in terms of what we thought they could achieve.
Further conclusions and recommendations
The basic model of considering an issue, problem or challenge in three different locations and transferring the initial analysis of the problem overnight was innovative and generated engagement and excitement among the participants. Their focus on the ‘problem’ was enhanced by having to interpret the analysis presented by another group.
The issue of the barriers to friendship could have been quite general and unfocussed, a kind of ‘soft’ analysis and soft conclusion that could have led to outputs of ‘we just have to be nicer to each other’. Instead, the groups focussed on quite specific issues grounded in their particular locations; the Bristol group explored attitudes to the local accent for example.
The project was quite resource intensive. Each group was facilitated by a dedicated workshop leader and a member of the Ignite! team. On the Thursday and Friday, specialist workshop tutors were engaged to guide the young people in their outputs and the creation of the installations. On the Saturday, the Ignite! team and technical staff from the theatre company supplying the exhibition truck were fully engaged in the staging of the installations and then stewarding the visitors.
The concept was simple but logistically, the project was complex. The planning of transporting boxes and completed work, resources and the travel and accommodation of teams of workshop and other staff to three centres, liaising with London 2012 and the arrangements for the location of the exhibition truck by the Cutty Sark, required a dedicated project co-ordinator.
Our original plan included provision for the young people from Bristol and Plymouth to come up to London for the celebration of the project on Saturday. We intended that they be accommodated overnight on Friday. However, this component of the project could only be achieved with additional funding support which unfortunately London 2012 could not find.
The project was an opportunity for input and work across the disciplines and from across NESTA’s ‘fields of operation’. In the event we lacked input from the creative science arena which would have been interesting. We were delighted that a recent awardee from the Creative Pioneers programme was involved.