https://mailchi.mp/ageing-better.org.uk/are-you-ready-to-take-action-4847947?e=82b19348f8
https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/health-and-wellbeing/age-without-limits-2024-events
Shared history have received a grant to make a Podcast with members of Brighton and Hove adult social housing and The Somerset Centre. The launch day is Wednesday 20th March 2024 at The Jubilee Library, where many of those interviewed will be available to talk with. The aim of the podcast and the day in general is on the theme “See and be seen” a day of action against ageist stereotyping. The podcast will be challenging such views, by telling the stories that have contributed to the making of our culture and society. Many are still producing art or serving their communities today. Our recorded contributors discuss themes that have perhaps been assigned to the past but in their re-telling have direct relevance to the present; The Dresden Bombings, The sinking of the Titanic, The workhouse and life 99 years ago! – others are in more recent memory and have cultural capital; The bikers and the Mods, the winning of the 1966 World Cup and DJ King Jerry from the Florida rooms.
On Wednesday 20th March from 10.30 until 3.00pm at the Jubilee Library – Jubilee Street BN1 1BG come and meet the voices behind the podcast. Meet some on zoom and others in person. Hear Motown DJ King Jerry playing some tunes in the Dominica Cafe area of the library between 10.30am and 12.30pm. There will be poetry in the afternoon and personal appearances in the morning.
Working with Somerset Community Centre
The theme for these models was activity! The group posed for portraits which showed them bowling, playing golf, dancing and catching a rugby ball. Photographs were sized to look like life like and these fantastic characters are mounted on the walls of the centre.
Large sized cutouts with the Tuesday group.
Forthcoming Shared History Projects
With Age Comes . . .2023
T-shirts, collages, discussions, shared memories and shared experiences are all taking place in Brighton and Hove in With Age Comes . . . With funding from Arts Council England and Brighton and Hove Senior Housing and in collaboration with http://www.circorumbaba.com, we visited 9 housing schemes, collaborating with two senior schools and Sussex University Intergenerational Studies team. On 18th October we began a series of 8 Celebratory circus cabaret shows for each of the participating schemes. Brighton Senior Housing have said of our work so far, ” it was so good to come over to Walter May House and see such a vibrant event – truly wonderful and it was everything that you / we had hoped for“. From our point of view, we are more than privileged to learn from our seniors and younger people and above all delighted to share in all the empathic laughter that arises when communities respect each other. We are clearly working towards building brighter futures.
Feedback from Senior Housing
Our work with Circo Rum Ba Ba on the ‘With Age Comes’ project has been very successful and welcome by both residents and staff. Having attended the workshop and the event, I met with participants and had very positive feedback about the quality and impact of the activities. The activities took place in seniors housing schemes in known areas of social deprivation, and with residents who were unlikely to have experience of in-depth and individual arts related support. The work on using arts to explore personal history and identity had the benefit of residents being able to open up on their life experiences, both happy and sad, enabling them to reflect, celebrate, speak out and better comes to terms with their lives. Again, given the age and background of those attending, being able to express in a welcome, innovative and supportive way had a therapeutic impact that added extra value to this arts based activity. Having a celebratory event involving elements of circus, mine and comedy meant that the end point of the activity had a celebratory and positive impact – at a time when nationally and locally there are so many challenges in life – this brought much needed laughter and social connectivity. The events were well documented and the creativity of high quality.
As a service we learnt so much more about our residents and seeing them in such a different light will enable better interaction and support of them as individuals and as a community of elders. The activity challenged concept of ageing and social discrimination and therefore its value stretches beyond the immediacy of the events.
Shared History and Circo Rumbaba
Members from the Somerset Day Centre have been telling us remarkable stories and allowing memories to come to the front of their minds, whilst being supported by the questions and aligned memories. The T-Shirts have been printed by Poison Clothing in Lancing, Sussex. They too have commented on the incredible images and superb straplines, which accompany them.
Students from Sussex University worked with the Hawks 50+ at Walter May House. Participants selected images from their own photography collection to merge with popular icons and events, which offer a backdrop in large scale collage.
L’Hotel
Circo Rum Ba Ba have brought L’Hotel to a series of venues, where T-Shirt wearers shared their walking histories with friends, family and each other. We have had some great feedback from our audiences, ” . . . .It’s the best laugh I have had in years” and another said, ” . . . .It’s a bloody funny farce!”
Our T-Shirt wearing audiences found opportunities to share their T-shirts and many came back again to see the show and to meet up with new faces.
Intergenerational collages were made during workshops between Varndean Secondary School and Churchill House. Eighty years of combined life experience and history captured in a collage that has been made over six weeks. Contemporary images of intergenerational exchange and life histories have been woven into an art piece that will be displayed both in the housing scheme and the school.
We have enjoyed audiences at lunch clubs, at The Salvation Army and in St Marys Church Hall Kemptown. When Churchill House and Varndean school met again, they were able to find so much to discuss and were equally entertained by the fantastically physical clowning of Circo Rum Ba Ba
Collages
Each scheme made their own collage and the personalities and histories are reflected in the work they made. It is remarkable and humbling to have learned so much about people’s past experience and to see how creatively they have been able to assemble exquisite moments, thoughts and shared lives.
With Age Comes . . . 2003
This took place in Churchill Square Shopping centre after a series of workshops and the sharing of photographs. The original project was funded by The Arts Council South East and Brighton and Hove Council.
Here are some of the images that were made in 2003. We had visitors of all ages and conversations and stories were told. So much history on show in one space and a sense of shared inquisitiveness. We had a jazz dancers giving workshops and at the back hanging up is a painting of the Regent Ballroom that was recreated through memory by http://@robinwhitmorelondon. During the 2023 With Age Comes . . . a lady called Molly pointed out her aunt – you can see her to the left on the front row in a red sweatshirt.
Ruthical 