Fiona Whelan_Amsterdam's profile
My Posts
Dream Depot - what worked and what didn`t | Guest Editorship - Fiona Whelan Amsterdam
2010-10-14
Dream Depot - what worked and what didn`t
In short:
WHAT WENT WELL
The group dynamic and the work atmosphere was good. The young people were interested in looking at examples of existing hangouts. It was easy to motivate them to create ideas and research suitable materials within the restrictions of the budget.
When they were building the hangout they worked fast and continuously, all afternoon until it became too dark to go on working.
The collaboration with the Noorderparkkamer was great (with us and with the young people).
The collaboration with the carpenter (with us and with the young people) was great as well.
The young people seemed satisfied with their work on the hangout. They liked working with Frank, the carpenter. Frank was really great with the young people and in many ways became a substitute for the youth worker during the second half of the project.
As the young people got more involved in the project they realised that we did not have the money or the resources to fulfill all their wishes for a hangout. They also realised that they themselves could tap in local resources, funding, and organise themselves to fulfill something close to their dream of a hangout. Even if they were not motivated enough to do this they comprehended what it meant to do such a project.
The young people are also willing to do a follow-up project with us.
WHAT DID`NT GO WELL
The collaboration with the youth worker.
Using the youth centre as a base for working with the young people was not ideal. It was a bit dark and dingy and not an inspiring space.
Being so dependent on the participants turning up for every workshop effected the planning, progress and artistic potential of the project, leaving us, as artists not fully satisfied.
In the methods that we used, we did not fully challenge the communication between the youth and ourselves artistically enough. It took, of course time to get to know them and the objective of the project for the young people, was clear and practical.
One of the young people tried to steel a cordless drill from the carpenter :-( Luckily it was found back.
No comments added