We’ve been working with The Turnpike in Leigh over the past year to evaluate their 2020 Vision programme. This programme supports local children and young people aged 6-18 years to become commissioners and collaborators with professional artists, developing new artwork which explores the three themes ‘Identity’, ‘Place’ and ‘The Future’. The artists have been working with young people both in schools and in the gallery space. Naturally, the project was paused at the start of lockdown as schools and galleries closed, but this week we took part in interesting conversations with artists and the project co-ordinator to explore the future of the project in the very different circumstances we are now living in.
The themes of the project: young people’s identities, sense of place and feelings about the future are likely to have been affected during the last few months in ways that we’re not fully aware of yet. There are also many practical implications of course, including plans to move some of the community-based sessions online whilst the gallery remains closed. Instead of a gallery-based exhibition to display the artworks created, there are plans to display them in public locations around the town, creating a micro-festival entitled ‘US HERE NOW’ across Leigh during Autumn 2020 and Spring 2021.
These changes present us with challenges as evaluators, but also some exciting opportunities, through discussing with artists and project staff, to think about how we collect data in these circumstances – we need to provide evidence in relation to the original project aims of course, but we’re also keen to ensure The Turnpike has useful information to support further programmes with digital activities and/or exhibitions in the public realm.