We are developing a rigorous body of research work attached to various projects. We truly believe that to better understand our practice and its implications will have a positive effect on future work and our ability to deliver projects that change people’s lives.
Over the next few weeks and months we will be posting papers from our findings here.
University of Nottingham Partnership
Over the last few years there has been a growing interest in how working in the arts can help bring different members of a community together. Having run many successful projects over a long period of time we are now trying to investigate the very best way of making sure that the work we do is of long term benefit to the communities that we work with.
The University of Nottingham has a shared interest in this question and so a partnership has developed between us. One aspect of this has been a long term residency in Bilborough funded by the University. We are also working on a funding bid for a project on the site of the old Raleigh factory (now part of the University campus). Ultimately we hope that through this partnership Hanby and Barrett can become a working model of good practice that will influence the planning and delivery of future community arts events across the country.
Bilborough
The University of Nottingham is one of the sponsors of the Nottingham University Samworth Academy which opened in 2009 with a new build opening a year later in summer 2010 and which replaced William Sharp School. It is hoped that the new building will be seen as being of real value as a community resource to all who live in Bilborough. Our work in Bilborough is an attempt to help in that process, as well as to help foster a keener sense of identity within this suburb of Nottingham. We have created three community performances and numerous smaller events and films and are currently looking to develop some work that will form a part of NUSA’s literacy programme.
Our aims have been to:
Identify the various communities that make up Bilborough.
Devise and run a series of ambitious projects with these groups that celebrate Bilborough’s history, identity and culture.
Invite members from across the different communities of Bilborough to see the work that is being done.
To create a large scale event that brings together all the various communities to mark the culmination of the three year project.
Research and document all of the work that takes place to ensure that there is a lasting impact on Bilborough after the work has been completed.
