Creative Pathways get planning for a block party, Barrhead-style!
Fri 28th July 2017
What’s an exciting, original and effective way of gathering the views of community members about how to transform public space? Throwing a block party of course!
Our Creative Pathways team in Barrhead need to gauge the views of the wider community before getting to work on an ambitious conversion project at the Robertson Street development.
The team of young people want the new space to be for the community, and informed by the needs and wants of the community. The block party will give all those whose input is important the chance to offer their ideas.
To prepare, the team have been making a small scale model of the space for community members to interact with on the day. Visitors will be able to easily rearrange the space and test out different ideas. The team replicated the space as accurately as possible, paying attention to every detail – down to the washing line hanging out.
The team knew how important it was for the event to be eyecatching, in order to attract a good turnout. They have been making decorations, colourful bunting and flower crowns to create a festival atmosphere.
The team also planned workshops to keep the fun going. Participant Kenedi designed a dream catcher workshop for visitors, in which they will forage for natural materials in the surrounding area to familiarise themselves with the space in a new way. They will then receive a masterclass from the Creative Pathways team in creating beautiful, intricate dream-catchers to take home as souvenirs.
As well as pushing environmental change in communities, Creative Pathways is about giving the young people practical experience of creative techniques that may be new to them. This was a fantastic opportunity for the team to get hands-on with Rhino, a 3D rendering software used by environmental designers and product designers. Beginning by rendering a flower pot, the group will work up to rendering the entire space they are transforming, as well as their final design plans.
In marketing the block party, the group scanned leaves and flowers and, using graphic design software, created a stunning invitation and poster for distributing around Barrhead. They also created vibrant tie-dyed Impact Arts-branded t-shirts to make themselves stand out at the event.
Creative Pathways: Environmental Design in Barrhead is a 15-week programme for young unemployed people from the local area. It is funded by Barrhead Housing Association, Inspiring Scotland’s 14:19 fund, and the Big Lottery’s Our Bright Future initiative, which supports young people to lead progressive change in their communities.
For more about Impact Arts’ work with young people, please visit this section of our website.
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