envision

The context

The organisation

The Metropole Arts Centre Trust has, for the past forty years, run a changing exhibition pro-gramme and other arts activities from its gallery premises on the ground floor of the former Metropole Hotel on Folkestone’s historic Leas.  
Moving forward in the 21st Century, The Metropole Galleries has developed a dynamic policy of inviting artists and curators to engage directly with the unique space. Outstanding na-tional and international artists have created ambitious, thought-provoking exhibitions and projects. Exhibitions have featured Tacita Dean, Phyllida Barlow, Bob and Roberta Smith, Mark Titchner and Michael Landy.

The gallery encourages wide public involvement in the programme through activities that enable debate and participation.
The Metropole Galleries are supported by The National Lottery, Arts Council England, Esmee Fairbairn, Holiday Extras, Make it Real, Kent County Council and Shepway District Council.
Total Income for the year ending 31st March 2007 was £227,018
Number of employees, 3 - 4

The situation

Folkestone is a town with a population of about 47,000. The town developed as a tourist des-tination at the beginning of the twentieth century but the second half of the 20th century saw serious economic and social decline.  Folkestone, especially East and Central Folkestone, now suffers from multiple social problems, having one of the highest unemployment rates in Kent, seven of the 119 most deprived wards in the South East and high rates of drug abuse and crime.

Folkestone and the surrounding area of East Kent also has a very under-developed arts infrastructure and people in the town and surrounding rural areas have had very few opportunities to engage with art, especially contemporary, nationally acclaimed work.  

Situated in the affluent West end of Folkestone and housed in a grand former hotel, the Metropole has long been viewed as an elitist space intended for the sole use of a very par-ticular segment of the community. The Education Programme, established in 2003, has been slowly but affectively challenging this attitude with a view to encouraging a sense of owner-ship across the community.

To this end the Metropole Galleries has established productive links with local colleges, schools and alternative curriculum providers, encouraging these organisations to view the space as a permanent resource to be utilized independently. We have worked closely with most of the alternative curriculum providers in Folkestone over the last four years, often en-countering the same young people in a number of different situations throughout their education. Living Art provided a further opportunity to develop these relationships with a view to encouraging project participants to feel confident enough to visit the gallery on their own.

For the Metropole to successfully provide a resource and leisure activity for the local community it is vital that it reaches and offers a service to the community as a whole.

The idea

Living Art was conceived as a project that would endeavour to go beyond the conventional remit of a gallery education programme in the sense that its primary concern was to open up experiences outside of the space as opposed to responding to artwork within the gallery. A driving factor was its intention to encourage participants to creatively re-engage with various everyday activities as well as more unusual leisure pursuits that they may not have had the opportunity to access. In this way the project was built around the participants, their previous experience and needs rather than the work of a given artist/s.
Closed to the public for essential works, it was possible to designate a purpose built project space, which helped to counter any initial feelings of intimidation and encourage an immediate sense of ownership. Participants were encouraged to make tea for the group and could wander in and out of the office, further establishing the gallery as a comfortable and friendly environment.
By working both in and beyond the space we were able to make real and conceptual links across the town, knitting together the familiar with the unknown; moving from the Metropole to a local artist run project space or from their base in town to tea at the Grand Hotel.
We attempted to take a quirky approach to the mundane activities that featured throughout the project, regardless of the setting, such as travelling, having tea or stopping for lunch. Introducing playful activities that challenged the group’s expectations of an arts based pro-ject further served to change preconceived attitudes about certain places, people or modes of behaviour.
Using the gallery as a base from which such a variety of activities were initiated helped to establish the space as a dynamic place were everything was possible and valued, from having a chat over tea to making large sculptural objects.

The project

Planning

Living Art was developed to meet the needs of young people who attend either Arc 25 or Pathways, both alternative curriculum providers working within Folkestone. These young people have been permanently excluded from mainstream education and face multiple barriers to learning and/or gaining employment.  
We worked closely with Fiona Cabache, Arc 25 Director, to programme the project and recruit the young people. We already have a strong relationship with both of these groups who have stated in the past that their involvement with the gallery has positively contributed to their purpose of enabling young people to re-engage with the community.
The Living Art project worked with 12 young people, aged 14 – 16.
The Metropole Galleries invited artist Natasha Kidd to collaborate with Education Co-ordinator Alice Walton and assistant artist Abi Gilchrist to devise and lead the project.
Natasha was selected on the basis of her considerable prior experience both working within a variety of educational settings as well as specifically working with hard to reach young people.
Abi Gilchrist had been working for a short time within the education department in a voluntary capacity having working at the gallery as casual staff for 6 months. She was invited to join the project to further here CPD by working with a more experienced practitioner.
Arc participants invited us to a lunch on the 20th March, which they made themselves, where we presented the project and completed baseline evaluation. Part of this session was spent compiling a skills audit and establishing the participant’s interests and previous experience. This allowed us to tailor the sessions to meet real need and helped us to identify what activities might be challenging/appealing.

Delivery

Following the Envision Residency on the 12th and 13th February, which Alice Walton, Natasha Kidd and Abi Gilchrist attended, the first point of contact with the group was a lunch arranged by Arc 25 for Pathways and ourselves on 20th March. This provided us with the opportunity to get to know the group (over a sandwich and game of pool) and implement base-line assessments.
The project was planned over two day sessions, a detailed plan was written up and agreed, materials were pre-ordered and trains and visits were pre-booked.
The five Living Art workshops took place on the 29th, 19th, 23rd, 30th April and 3rd May
Total participants: 12 (11 male, 01 Female)






Session 1 (29/03/07)
The Metropole and The Grand for Afternoon Tea
4 x Pathways + 2 staff, 5 x Arc 25 + 3 staff
A new space – Key Rings
The 1st activity aimed to acknowledge how it felt to walk into a new space.  With minimal introduction or chance to relax the participants were asked to write a number of words or phrases on paper that articulated how it felt to be in the gallery space/project space at that very moment. They chose one of these words or phrases to write onto a small piece of acetate.  These acetates were then inserted into blank key fobs for the group to keep.  The key fobs proved to be an exciting “commodity” and many of the group made more than one with thought provoking terms like “nervous” or “intimidated” along with more tongue in cheek words or phrases. In order to activate the space and allow the group to feel ownership over it, the key fobs were placed on an overhead projector, the projected phrases were “made public” by being traced and painted directly onto the walls. The use of the OHP initially posed problems in terms of a shared piece of equipment but the group soon realised that none of them could successfully transfer their image to the wall without the co-operation and pa-tience of the rest of the group.  This activity took longer than anticipated because the group became fully absorbed in the act of tracing and painting.  One of the staff commented: ‘at points in the workshop the group showed a real ability to focus’, and ‘a couple of the boys chose to miss a ‘fag’ break in order to carry on with the activity.
Our space – A Mug of Tea
A tea break, with new white ceramic cups and a kettle installed in the project space, was used as an opportunity for an informal discussion about who we all were and what the over-all aim of the Living Art project was.  After tea the group were asked to wash “their” mug and whilst doing so think once again of another word or phrase that would sum up how they felt in the gallery/project space “now”.  They were asked to consider whether they felt differently to when they had arrived.  This offered an invaluable opportunity to discuss whether they felt more comfortable in the space after the 1st activity. They wrote their new word or phrase and the date using ceramic pens onto their mug.  These mugs were used as evidence of attendance (like a register) at this session and the participants continued to use them throughout the project.   It became a requirement that anyone joining the group “make a mug” for their use.  
The group went out for lunch independently.
The Rules – In Speech Bubbles
As a quirky tool to enable a conversation about “rules” each participant made a life size speech bubble using foam board and sticky back plastic so that it could be wiped clean.
In preparation for the planned visits the group were given a number of photocopied images of spaces – e.g. a church, a gallery, a museum, an artist’s studio, a hotel.  These photocopies were attached to the walls of the space and as a group we discussed the rules/excepted behaviour within these sites.  Using the speech bubbles and a non-permanent pen the par-ticipants wrote one rule on each bubble.  They all took it in turns to hold up their speech bubbles around the images whilst a Polaroid photograph was taken. It was planned that we would take our speech bubbles to the grand so that we could discuss the rules and expectations within the Hotel.  The group preferred to leave them behind and instead installed them within the project space.
The group had afternoon tea at the Grand, they placed their order with the waitress indi-vidually and all commented on the place, the cliental, the “attractive waitress” and how this was the 1st time they had ever stepped foot inside the hotel.  Because of limited time we were unable to return to the gallery for the final discussion about the day so the plans for the next session were discussed in the grand surroundings of the Grand.
Significant Experiences – miniature signs (a pack to take away).
Because of the gap between this session and the next it felt necessary to give the group an activity that they could do before the next workshop.  Each participant was therefore given a pack to take away with them over the Easter break. This kit contained card, a black fine liner pen, white-tack, tape and craft sticks.  Whilst still in the Grand the group were asked to use the kit to make a sign that recorded one significant positive or negative experience from the day.  The signs, which mostly read “went to the Grand for the 1st time” were left white-tacked on the table.  As a way of keeping the project “ongoing” throughout the Easter break the participants were asked to make more ‘significant new experience’ signs before the next meeting on the platform of Folkestone station.
The pace of this workshop and the degree to which all the activities were centred on acknowledging a new space and a new set of experience helped the group settle and feel comfortable.  One of the staff commented that they were pleasantly surprised at how the group  had worked together.
 

Session 2 (19/03/07)
London (The Tate Modern and Borough Market for Oysters)
3 x Pathways + 2 staff, 6 x Arc 25 + 2 staff
The group met at Folkestone station and bought a cup of tea for the journey.  Like in session one, once the tea had been finished the polystyrene cup were used to write a word or phrase that summed up how the group felt at the beginning of the journey.  The rest of the journey was used to look at and talk about the signs that had been made during the Easter break.  Some of the group had forgotten or lost the packs, others had the pack but had not made any signs, one of the group had made a sign, amongst others, that read “had sex with a condom for the 1st time”.    Those participants in the group without signs made signs with “excuses” for why they hadn’t completed their homework. The participants found the journey “tricky” and we had one reasonably serious incident between two of the young people.   
Both Alice Walton and Abi Gil Gilchrist travelled with the staff and students to London.  Play-fully imitating the signs used at airports/stations and as a device to record attendance that day, Natasha Kidd was waiting at Waterloo station with a large sign that read, “Who am I meeting?”  With some persuasion, after leaving the train the group signed their names on the sign to record their presence.  They were amused by Natasha’s presence at the station, which allowed for a lighthearted start to the day.
A walk to the Tate – blind folded
We were keen to make all aspects of the day relevant.  So as we walked to the Tate along the river Thames, the group were introduced to an activity.  The participants being easily distracted and embarrassed by being in public made giving them instructions difficult.     Working in pairs the group were asked to take it in turns to be blindfolded whilst the other person described what they were seeing in as much detail as possible as they walked along.  Most of the group found being blindfolded problematic and much preferred leading.  Abi, Al-ice and Natasha were all led by the group putting their up-most trust in them as they were steered around obstacles and oncoming pedestrians.  
The Tate
The group found the Tate gallery difficult, the other school groups easily distracting them. The disruptive behaviour of two of the young people had a detrimental affect on the group as a whole and as a consequence the time in the Tate was cut short and the planned activities aborted.  What made this part of the day more problematic was that one of the more inter-active works we had planned to see was not open to the public.  The group did, however, explore some parts of the gallery and bought a postcard of their choice in the shop.  Many of the group found it confusing that some of the work could be touched or even walked over while other works remained off-limits.   We ate lunch outside the Tate and this offered a chance to reflect on behaviour and discuss the plans for the rest of the day. Although we found the behaviour at the Tate challenging and considered the trip to have been unsuccess-ful, all of the participants commented positively on the day at a later date, many stating that it had been a highlight.
Borough Market
This was one of the most successful aspects of the Living Art project and was reflected upon in most of the feedback.  With a set budget of £3, each participant was asked to buy a food or drink from the market that they have never tried before, every body was encouraged to taste as many new things as possible.  What was most significant was the dialogue that the group had with the traders on the market.  Each of the group had their own agenda with the money and therefore their own set of experiences.  3 of the group tried oysters, 1 of the group bought flowers for his mum (something he had never done before), all the group tried olives and talked with the trader about the different types of olives and the various tastes.  The live lobster on the fish stall and the unbelievable variety of fruit and vegetables available especially intrigued the group.  It was felt unnecessary to involve the group in the activity planned for the market because they were so enthralled with just being there.  The group travelled home from London Bridge. On the journey the participants wrote about their day on their Tate postcards, which were then posted back to the gallery to serve as a reference point upon our return to the space.
Session 3 (23/03/07)    
Metropole and B&B Artist Studio Complex
5 x Arc 25 + 2 staff (Pathways unable to attend)
Upon arrival in the project space the participants made tea. The tea order was used as the informal “register” for that day’s session.  After tea the group were asked to describe how they felt coming back to the space after the trip.  They were encouraged to consider how “a pose” or “expression” might visualise this feeling.  Using a digital camera each person’s pose was photographed and the image printed on the computer in the gallery. Once the digital images were printed, participants trace their posed images onto acetate.   Each image on acetate was then projected using an OHP onto the reverse of mirrored card taped onto the wall.   The scale of the figures was increased to almost life size.  By cutting out the shape of the figure carefully and reinforcing the back of the mirrored card the participants made life-sized mirror images of themselves.  They used corrugated card to make supports that al-lowed the figures to stand.  These mirrored figures were visually dynamic within the space and the group were impressed by their ability to make a work that had such a presence.  One comment from the staff read ‘They really enjoyed the new materials, it was difficult to stop them for lunch but then they failed to return on time.’
 As this comment suggests lunch for this session proved problematic and most of the group disappeared for well over the stated 40 minute allocated time.  We all talked openly about our disappointment and how their behaviour had reflected badly on the project as a whole because during their absence the gallery had had some influential visitors keen to see the group at work.  One of the group stayed through lunch and worked independently unaffected by the rest of the groups absence.  
A visit to a studio
After the extended lunch, the group walked into town, on the walk we tried to discuss our expectations of an artist’s studio. The group were once again distracted and most of the journey was spent attempting to keep the group together (the allure of fresh doughnuts certainly proved an incentive).  After buying the doughnuts we met one of the resident artists at B&B project space on Tontine Street, a street most of the group knew well. While we ate doughnuts and tea sitting on the floor, Mat talked briefly about this artist run space and showed us the work in the small gallery. The group listened attentively, seemingly intrigued by the work and this new perspective on the lifestyle of artists.  Each participant was asked to make a comment about the experience of being at B&B on a photocopied speech bubble.  The staff commented: ‘Good, short time at Matt’s B&B Project Space, they all sat long enough to have tea and make a comment bubble’.
Session 4 (30/03/07)
Margate (Turner Contemporary and the beach)
6 x Arc 25 + 2 staff, 2 x Pathways + 2 staff
The group travelled by train from Folkestone to Margate. In an attempt to place an emphasis on observation and question preconceived ideas of drawing, the group were asked to make drawings using carbon paper of what they could see out of the train window during their journey.  The participants were encouraged to draw without removing the pencil from the paper - emphasising the movement of the train and recording the changing landscape between Folkestone and Margate.  Most of the participants struggled and became overly self-conscious about making the drawing “look like something”.  
When they arrived on the platform at Margate the group dispersed immediately, a few of them jumping onto some derelict track.  This was noticed by the public and staff at the station and caused the staff with the group to deliver an ultimatum with regards to behaviour and aborting the visit.   The group made an informed decision that they were over excited about the day and were keen to continue.  
On our journey to Droite House, the gallery in Margate, we bought rock and postcards.  At the gallery the group were introduced to the current student exhibition. A member of staff from the gallery introduced the participants to the plans for Turner Contemporary, the pro-posed new gallery in Margate, to the exhibition in the space and to the installation on the pier. The young people spoke with real clarity about the different galleries and artist spaces that they had visited.  The group listened attentively and were especially drawn to the design based and photographic work displayed in the space.
A bar of Rock
After the gallery visit, the group walked down the pier to take a closer look at the installa-tion, a series of colourfully painted, boarded up windows and doors.  Mimicking the imagery found on Rock labels the group made small drawings of the views from the pier.  These drawings with text about “how they felt about Margate” were inserted into the wrappers on the sticks of rock bought earlier.  Some of the group spent a sustained period of time making these observational drawings; the image of them sat in the sun making tiny, intricate draw-ings of Margate beach is a poignant one.
We ordered fish and chips and ate them on the beach.  The fish and chip order became the informal “register” for that day.  
After lunch each participant was given 2 paper sand castle flags.  Using a knife and a cutting mat they cut out a section of the flag leaving behind only a border and flagpole.  Once again placing an emphasis on observational drawing, the group made small drawings of the views, this time from the beach.  These drawings were inserted into the cut out sections on the flags and the “new”, site specific flags were left behind in the sand.  The group found the sand an easy distraction but all managed to make some images and were fascinated by the prospect of leaving them behind to be washed away by the sea.  The group returned to Folkestone by train and wrote their Margate postcard to the staff at Droite house thanking them for their time.


Session 5 (03/05/07)
Metropole Gallery
2 x Pathways + 1 staff, 6 x Arc 25 + 2 staff
The final session was used for evaluation and a skills audit.  Upon arrival back to the space each participant was photographed using a Polaroid camera.  In a rather tongue in cheek manner we discussed what facial expression each of the participants pulled the most, many of the group had one particular defining expression that all the others could quickly identify; for the Polaroid they pulled this face.   The group loved the immediacy of the Polaroid and traced these images carefully onto tracing paper. Using Letraset they added their name and date onto the bottom edge of their image.  Each image was photocopied to be used in the next activity and to act as an informal register for that session.
Our confidence Graph
This activity was used to record whether the group recognised a shift in confidence as a re-sult of the project.  A blank graph was made on the wall using black tape, the vertical axis was labelled ‘Confidence’ (from 0-10) and the horizontal axis was labelled ‘beginning’ and ‘end’ of the project.   Working individually participants were asked to answer two questions:
How confident do you feel about expressing ideas? And How confident do you feel about go-ing into galleries?  
Using the photocopied images of themselves they indicated their position on the graph at the beginning of the project and at the end.  They joined up the two markers with coloured tape to form a visual record of the changes. Individually each participant considered the questions and marked their positions with certainty and pride.  Like many of the other activities throughout the sessions the group struggled to be patient whilst the other members took their turn.
Although the group struggled to maintain concentration they were excited by the possibility of asking their own questions about the changes that had taken place.  One of the staff commented, “On the graph, individuals were coming up with there own questions and want-ing to answer”.
A Tool Wall
As a visual skills audit the group drew around tools that could be found in the gallery, store or technicians cupboard onto mirrored card.  They carefully cut out the mirrored tools and punched a hole in the top.  Through one-to-one discussion they identified any new ‘tools’ or ‘skills’ they had developed as a result of the project, from practical skills like using new ma-terials to social skills such as being more patient.  Participants then used Letraset to write a newfound ability onto each of their mirrored tools before hanging them on a nail on the wall to mimic a tool wall found in a joinery workshop.  The group responded well to this activity and each completed more than one tool.  They also enjoyed working with the gallery technician to hang the their work.
A final word – how might we have done things different?
Each participant iced a doughnut with text that let us know one or more negative things about the project.
A final word – what did we get right?
On paper plates the group wrote (in a spiral) all the positive things about the project.  In a celebration of the end of the workshops we ate the doughnuts and talked about the work and the places we had visited together.  At the end of the session the group were keen to take away their work.  Many of them carried, as well as the other smaller work, their life size mirrored figures home.

Outcomes

Impact on participants

Most of the evaluation carried out was qualitative, based on observations, daily registers and participant’s comments. It has proved incredibly difficult to obtain and corroborate concrete evidence of our success. However, we have extremely good anecdotal evidence compiled from interviews with staff, artists and participants.
Despite carrying out our own baseline and post project evaluation as well as completing En-vision questionnaires it has been difficult to analyse the results with confidence. This is due, in part, to the difficulties of relying on the participant’s responses to question-naires/interviews. Their answers, dependant on how they were feeling at a given point, often demonstrated how the individual wanted to be perceived over how they actually felt.
This being the case we endeavoured to come at the issue of evaluation from a number of tangential directions.
We attempted to build an evaluative element into every practical activity, placing an empha-sis on the young people’s views and ideas both in terms of making work and expressing their opinions. For example, one activity took the form of a giant graph, which mapped the responses to the questions, ‘How confident do you feel about expressing ideas?’ And ‘How confident do you feel about going into galleries?’
Each participant created a line on the graph by answering the questions for both the start and finish of the project. As well as resulting in a visually strong artwork this activity demon-strated the young people’s feelings toward the project, all bar one line showing increased confidence.
One of the young people commenting on the graph exercise said:
It was good that we put our progress since we have been here on the wall to show everyone how we felt.
Another activity prompted a skills audit at the end of the project. Participants created a lit-eral and conceptual ‘tool wall’ by drawing around a variety of tools used in the gallery, add-ing a skill learnt as a result of the project onto each. Some of these included:
Listening, Looking, Self expression, Patience, Value of art pieces, Anger Management, Tolerance, Observation, Kindness, Communication, Using different materials, Expression
Some of the participant’s comments in response to the trip to London were:
It was amazing because I’ve never been there before. I enjoyed walking around in London.

I liked being on the train and walking around London. I got to see things that I don’t see in Folkestone.

The worst thing was when we had to leave the Tate and the train ride home.

I was really embarrassed because of kids with a mental age of 4 came on the trip and acted like idiots.

A final evaluation activity took the form of good buy ‘cup of tea and cake’. Participants were asked to write all the positive feelings they had about the project onto a paper plate, working around the edge and spiralling into the middle. The negative points were then iced into doughnuts before being documented and consumed.

They positive comments from the young people speak for themselves:

It was really good and I liked going to London for the day and creating loads of things I had never done before and making our own cups was really cool and I really liked going to Mar-gate but it is so crap because it has to end! It was great!

I liked going to London on a train and going to the Tate to see the fit girls there, I wanted to chase them round the Tate but I did not. The bit I liked was Margate because we had chips and sausage there, it was so fun, thanks.

It was very nice. I would definitely do it again. My favourite bit of the project was going to London and eating oysters at Borough market and drawing around ourselves and cutting with mirrored paper and my worst bit was being cold at Margate.

Impact on others involved

Living Art has had a significant impact on assistant artist Abi Gilchrist who has gained considerable confidence in planning and delivering workshops through her involvement in the project. Living Art confirmed her interest in education and in working with hard to help young people and being mentored by a more experienced artist afforded her substantial practical support. Since the projects completion she has agreed to facilitate a related work-shop with the same group. This will be her first experience of leading on a project.
Alice Walton and Natasha Kidd, both very experienced in designing and co-ordinating pro-jects, have benefited from the knowledge and practical advice gained from the Envision Residency. Both feel that they have put these enhanced skills into practice in other situations since the project. Alice is currently working on an evaluation programme for Creative Partnerships.
Fiona (Arc 25) and Sandra (Pathways) were already advocates of the gallery’s education programme. Fiona was keen to sign up to the workshop mentioned above and both organisations have asked to work with the gallery again. Sandra has stated that she has since used and adapted some of the activities for her purposes.
Sandra was exceptional positive about the impact Living Art had had on one participant in particular, commenting that the project had complimented the Every Child Matters criteria:
‘This particular student’s attendance level was very poor, attending only when there was a threat of a visit from the Educational Welfare Officer.  His self-confidence was very low finding it very difficult to join the main group. When he did communicate he was barely audible and mumbled making understanding him very difficult.  I recognised that this student had an interest in the art sessions (attending on those days) this was an ideal opportunity to do some effective youth work. Since taking part in the project the change in this student has been remarkable!  His self-confidence has grown; he is able to join the main group around the table happy to contribute to discussions and is able to initiate conversations. He regularly has lunch and offers to make hot drinks for others.  His attendance is 100%. The Art Project has been a vehicle in which positive relationships with staff and peers were established and reinforced, promoting his self-esteem and self-confidence’.  

Institutional change

This is almost impossible to ascertain at this point. Due to essential works, the gallery has been shut from the end of February 2007, a situation that, although allowing us to allocate the entire space to the young people, meant that the building wasn’t really operational. It is hoped that it will reopen to the public in September 2007.
Another factor that has to be taken into account is the fact that the staff are currently spread over two buildings, most working from offices in town rather than at the Metropole.  This makes it more difficult to actively involve staff from across the organisation in educational activities and policy. However, this situation is due to change later this month with all Creative Foundation employees being housed in one building.
In order to ensure that the staff, as a whole, were aware of the project, its intentions and outcomes, we set up an email diary, sending all staff from receptionist to Director, a Living Art visual bulletin. To mirror the philosophy of the project these reminders took a visual form, capturing quirky objects or poignant phrases from the project rather than bombarding staff with information.
The Director, Head of Arts and assistant curators all visited the project.
Despite considerable interest and enthusiastic responses there is no concrete evidence of institutional change. However, the organisation is at an exciting and transitional point in its development and it is hoped that the lessons learnt on this project will inform the ongoing educational policy.

Lessons learned

What worked and what didn’t

1) Created an exciting programme of practical events.
The Living Art activities, numerous and varied, provided ‘something for everyone’. The quick pace of the project succeeded in maintaining the participant’s attention and the fact that staff and artists were actively involved contributed to the sense that the project was a collaborative effort.
2) The participants worked well collaboratively, especially considering that they were from two separate groups, many not having met before.
A tutor from Arc wrote; ‘Every task set has challenged each student to bring out their own creative expressions. There have been lots of individual tasks set in a teamwork atmosphere, with each student getting an equal share of attention, a real sense of inclusion’. This was backed up by a further comment made by one of the artists; ‘It was great to see the group getting on so well and not leaving anyone out’.
Several of the young people also commented positively about the fact that they had met and worked with new people. One participant’s comments plate said:
Painting, making my mug, London market, Margate, Cream tea, going out, meeting mates at Route 25
3) Helped to raise the young peoples self-esteem and confidence
The approach taken by the artists to leading the project was very much to establish a feeling of cohesiveness within the group, creating a team of people, included staff and artists, working to the same end. Participants were treated as adults who were expected to take responsibility for their actions. We respected the young people and expected this to be reciprocated. This, and the fact that we valued their opinions and ideas helped to foster a sense of pride and contributed to the young peoples increased confidence.
4) Actively involved staff with a view to contributing to every persons continued professional development.
By working as a team and valuing everyone’s contribution we hoped to positively affect the attitudes of staff, several of who had little experience of using contemporary art as a vehicle for creative learning and/or social inclusion.
From the 2 post project staff questionnaires that we received back one person stated that the project had made her feel differently and that she had learnt a considerable amount as a direct result of her involvement. Another tutor from the same organisation felt that the project hadn’t taught her anything.
Practical Ideas
An activity, serving as a daily register, was devised for the beginning of each session. In workshop 1, participants used ceramic pens to customise cups, creating designs that incorporated their name and the date. One participant then made a tea/coffee list and with the help of another made each member of the group, a drink in their own cup. This was then carried on independently by the group at the beginning of each workshop, throughout the rest of project.   
This is just one of many activities which took a creative approach to an everyday situation whilst also placing an emphasis on social inclusion and the development of core skills. These exercises were not only enjoyable but also helped to create a framework, the familiarity of which the participants responded well to.
Many of the creative, practical activities proved to be successful, especially when the group was introduced to unfamiliar or exciting materials. The participants responded well when given responsibility or trusted with tools such as knives or cameras. The group seemed to particularly enjoy making the life sized, mirrored images of themselves in session 3. Part of the success of this activity was due to the way in which the work impacted on the space, re-sulting in an evident sense of pride in the participants.

Failings
The trip to the Tate was perhaps the most problematic aspect of the project and conversely one which the young people enjoyed. In retrospect it is easy to see that the staff, familiar with the gallery and its content, were too acutely aware of the potential dangers of such a visit and as a result found it hard to be relaxed. The participants responded as much to the physical space as to the art works. However, although they appeared to rush through the galleries oblivious to the work, they did in fact take in the objects around them. A fact proved the following week when they asked questions and relayed their thoughts about the visit.
Although I wouldn’t avoid gallery visits in the future purely because of the practical difficulties, another kind of space may have afforded the young people a similarly exciting experience without the necessary constraints that were imposed upon them.
The train journey to London proved very difficult. We decided to sit together, monopolising the end of a carriage thinking that it would be better to contain the group. In retrospect it may have been better and perhaps more in keeping with the nature of the project, to trust individuals to sit wherever they chose; integrated with the other passengers.

Next steps

Since the completion of Living Art we have asked Arc 25 to be involved in a short project which will result in their ideas and opinions being painted in bold text on hoardings around the new performing arts centre currently being erected in Folkestone. Abi Gilchrist will lead on this project, which sees young people given a strong and visual voice around a major re-generation site of huge community interest.
Both organisations have expressed an interest in being involved in the forthcoming Folkestone Triennale 2008, Tales of Time and Space, a major new project involved 23 commissions by national and international artists of repute. Along with other groups from across the community the young people will work with practicing artists to explore the site specific pieces, consider the surrounding issues and make their own work in response.
Despite the project having been incredibly successful, both in terms of building relationships with partner organisations and positively affected young people, much needs to be accomplished in order to ensure that we, as an organisation, are able to benefit from lessons learnt. One factor which needs consideration is the fact that the Education Programme has, up until now, been individual led. With the recent appointment of a new Arts Manager this situation is set to change.
The Creative Foundation and Metropole Arts Centre Trust are currently undergoing the Arts Councils Thrive! process. This, the imminent office move and significant restructuring sees the organisation entering an exciting transitional stage that lends itself to an active reappraisal of the education programme.

Appendix

a    Your activity happened in a specific place (or places)
If your activity happened in a particular place, please give us the address and postcode of
where most of your activity took place.  
Full address
The Metropole Galleries,
Folkestone,
Kent.

Full postcode    C    T    2    0        2     
L   
S

If the place where your activity happened does not have an address (for example, it was in a park), please tell us where it took place and give us the name of the lo-cal authority area instead.
      

Other places where your activity happened
If your activity happened in other places, please give us the postcodes of each place.  If any of the places do not have a postcode, please give us the name of the local authority area instead. We have made space for you to give details of up to five other places.  Please use a separate sheet if you need more and write ‘See attachment’ on the first line below.

Full postcode or local authority area:      CT20  2XL  (The Grand, Folkestone)
Full postcode or local authority area:      CT9 1EY (Droit House, Margate)
Full postcode or local authority area:      SE1 9TG (Tate Modern, London)
Full postcode or local authority area:      SE1 1TJ (Borough Market, London)
Full postcode or local authority area:      CT20 1JU (Route 25, Folkestone)

If you have filled in part a, go to question 3. If part a is not relevant to your activity, please fill in part b.

    b    Your activity was not specific to a place
If your activity was not specific to a place, please give details. (For example, ‘This activity happened across a wide area or across a region’, ‘This activity took place on the internet’ or ‘We produced a publication’.)

     

1.2        How many people do you estimate benefited from the activity?

‘Taking part’ means doing the activity. ‘Audience’ includes people going to an exhibition or performance, and people getting access to work that is printed, recorded, broadcast or on the internet.

This activity    Number
    
Artists                  3                            
    
Others taking part      16                     
    
Audience    N/A

1.3        What are the age ranges of the people who benefited from your activity? Mark all relevant boxes.
    
     
 All age ranges
    
 
 Children under five
    
 
 Children (five to 11)
    
/     Young people (12 to 15)
    
/     Young people (16 to 19)
    
     
 Young people (20 to 24)
    
     
 Adults (25 to 64)
    
     
 Adults (65 and over)

1.4    Was your activity directed at, or particularly relevant to, any of the following groups of people? Please mark any relevant boxes.
    
     
 Disabled people
    
/     People at risk of ‘social exclusion’ (not being able to take part fully in society because of, for example, poverty, prejudice or isolation)
    
    
     
 Asian or Asian British (includes Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani
 or any other Asian background)
    
    
     
 Black or Black British (includes African, Caribbean)
    
     
 Chinese
    
     
 Any other ethnic group
 (Please describe below in no more than 10 words.)
    
      









1.5    Please give details of the results of your activity.

This activity    Number
    
Number of performance or exhibition days    N/A
    
Number of new products or commissions*

    N/A
    
Period of employment for artists (in days)    25 (3 artists)                         
    
Number of sessions for education, training or taking part. ‘Taking part’ means doing the activity (Divide the day into three sessions - morning, afternoon and evening. A ‘session’ is any one of, or part of one of, these. For ex-ample, a half-day education workshop would be one ses-sion.)    
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