Blind Ditch

Happening Here!

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A neighbourhood-led social art project for people in Buckland & Broadlands housing estates in Newton Abbot, Devon

A Social practice project.

Location
Newton Abbot
Documents
Find more videos, sounds and writing from Happening Here!
A group of adults and children wearing jackets saying 'artist at work' walking across a playing field
Beginning work on Happening Here! with residents in Buckland, Newton Abbot. Photography by Jennie Hayes.

Happening Here! got people together in Buckland and Broadlands estates in Newton Abbot to explore ideas of neighbourhood. To map what was happening in their streets and public places… to talk about what they enjoyed about and wanted for their neighbourhood without the pressure of ‘consultation’… and to make something new happen together.

Buckland


I done that one!...the next one I done with the cat...That's my film... !

Buckland workshop participant

Between February and May 2015 we ran free activities for young people aged 9-16 involving the wider community. On-street drop-ins and explorations, animation and audio workshops, community interview sessions, map making and planning events, screenings, drawing and crafting sessions. The end result was an interactive, rich media map that shares the stories of everyone involved.

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Broadlands


They were putting the roof on yesterday because only the sides were built. So I came back this morning and the whole thing was built and the fire was burning…

Broadlands resident

In Broadlands we built a pizza oven on Bushell Rd together. We built it on Friday, fired it up and cooked more than 100 pizzas with residents on Saturday, then we removed it on Sunday. Result? Making your own pizzas tastes better than buying them… and building the oven to bake them in gives you an appetite… whilst meeting neighbours you’ve never spoken to before.


We’ve seen each other in the street before but never knew each other’s name!

Broadlands resident

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A partnership project instigated by DAISI (Devon’s arts education organisation) and Teign Housing, supported through the South West Bridge Challenge Fund.

Blind Ditch were commissioned by the project partners to develop an artist-led project that focuses on values and perceptions of neighbourhood and social life, in order to promote positive relationships between people and the places they live in.

Conceived and produced by Paula Crutchlow & Volkhardt Müller. Project facilitated by Volkhardt Müller & Lizzy Humber. Evaluation by Jenny Hayes. DAISI project manager Rae Hoole. Design by Lee Hodges.

Many thanks to the staff of Teign Housing for their support.