exploring possibility through creativity and culture
Jan - April 2023
A creative programme that develops our learnings from The Other-Wise Project (2022) and transforms it into creative community action.
Check out the projects using the tabs above.
How can we engage communities in positive cultural interventions that respond meaningfully & effectively to challenges we face in our daily reality?
Other-Wise Engaged will equip young people and local communities to make skilful use of art & creativity as tools not only for learning, but for proactive engagement
in problem solving & care for their communities.
TORNADO!
A drama based project exploring local experiences of the Balsall Heath Tornado of 2005.
We will be working with local young people through Drama to explore local stories, memories and experiences of 28 July 2005, when one of the strongest tornadoes recorded in the UK in nearly 30 years, ripped through Sparkhill, Moseley and Balsall Heath at a speed of 137 mph, carving a 7km-long path of destruction of houses and businesses costing £40m. During the 8 minutes of its duration, the tornado uprooted an estimated 1,100 trees, removed roofs and picked up and deposited cars!
What do you remember?
The first stage of the project is an initial call-out for stories, experiences and memorabilia of those who can remember and experienced the tornado first hand.
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Were you in Balsall Heath, Sparkhill or Moseley that day and remember the tornado?
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Were you injured, or was your home or business damaged or otherwise affected, by the tornado?
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Do you have any photographs, articles or documents relating to the tornado?
If so, we’d love to chat!
Story collection
On Saturday 11 February, we’re hosting a drop-in session in the gallery of our community café The MIX, in the Old Print Works on 498 Moseley Road (opposite Moseley Rd Baths). Please come along, enjoy a warm, friendly welcome from our team and volunteers, grab yourself a free hot drink, and tell us all about your tornado tales and recollections!
Saturday 11 Feb (Balsall Heath Second Saturday) 11am – 5pm FREE refreshments
This is just the initial stage of a longer project, and we will be following up particularly interesting leads with oral history interviews with specially trained interviewers later in the year. So, if you can’t make the 11th Feb – not a problem! Please just get in touch and we can make a different arrangement for capturing your memories at a later date.
Email ceri@thegapartsproject.co.uk
07533 456387
Youth Led Programming
Dates tbc
Led by The Culture Collective this creative programme will explore what activity The GAP can offer for young people in the long term.
Fill out this short form to stay updated about this project!
Civil Courage
Have you ever witnessed an unjust incident between two or more people? You wanted to step in, try to resolve the harm, but didn't know what to do. Then Civil Courage: Bystander Intervention is a practical workshop designed for you.
Led by experienced drama and education practitioners, this practical workshop uses creative strategies to explore and deepen our understanding of incidents of harm and conflict.
We will explore what harassment and harm looks like in public space particularly and provide space for participants to explore this issue and build their skills and confidence to intervene when they witness street harassment amongst members of the community.
Saturday 25th April 11am - 1pm
Saturday 25th April 2pm - 4pm
Clink on the link to book a ticket.
Please book in advance.
Resident Artists
The resident artists are working with Shakespeare Birthplace trust to curate an exhibition that explores why and how objects are used as a means to control belief and faith.
More info soon!
TORNADO!
What's it like to be in the eye of a storm?!
Drama workshops for 9-12 year olds
At The GAP on Moseley Road, we use Drama with young people of all ages as a dynamic, fun and exciting way of exploring and telling stories about local people’s experiences and lasting memories. This half term, we’re going to be focusing on an unlikely event that took place in Balsall Heath nearly twenty years ago: the Balsall Heath Tornado of 2005!
This Feb half term we are looking for young people aged 9-12 yrs old from the area, to join the early stages of an exciting project that will uncover some of the incredible events of that day, events that did enormous damage to local houses, but also brought out the resilience of local people.
We will be collecting stories from residents, neighbours and others working here in Balsall Heath on that day, and then exploring, reimagining and recreating them through drama and other creative means, investigating what it must have been like to be in the eye of a storm! We will be working with a professional playwright, and our project will eventually lead to a youth theatre production about the Balsall Heath Tornado on its 20th anniversary.
There are limited places so please reserve yours by one of the following:
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Emailing ceri@thegapartsproject
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Calling Ceri on 07533 456387
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Dropping into The GAP at 498 Moseley Road (opposite Moseley Rd Baths).
NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED – just enthusiasm, energy and a willingness to explore! 😊
TORNADO! will be led by arts professional Ceri Townsend, former teacher,
educator and theatre director. All GAP staff hold Enhanced DBS certificates.
