Re-Visioning The Social, Natural & Built Environment ART GENE TRACKS OF THE IRON MASTERS Art Gene Report for Sustrans Oct 2015 Residency on the tracks at Yeathouse. 1 1. Executive summary I use it most days for dog walking and keeping t. I feel very safe. It was a railway once but I don’t know anything else and I would like to nd out more about it. It is a great asset. It’s safe, quiet, there are birds, and red squirrels by the station... It’s very peaceful... (Christine, Moor Row Community Station) As part of the development stage of the HLF bid, Sustrans engaged Art Gene in February 2015 to deliver a community consultation project that would inform future funding bids focused on the interpretation of the two walking and cycling paths on the West Cumbrian Coast: from Whitehaven to Rowrah and from Lowca to Uplands. The project has been an exhilarating process for us and we have learnt a great deal from the coastal communities of West Cumbria. The industrial heritage of the region and its ecological wonders have been inspirational and we are delighted to have been asked to contribute to the future of how the tracks might be enjoyed and valued by both local people and those who have travelled from afar. Throughout the process we met many people who have found themselves in the region for the rst time and were amazed, surprised and delighted about the wonders they have encountered. My favourite place is the area by the rock crusher also known as Scotty Phillips scrapyard… it’s a place where I can sit and think and watch the world go by…. (Ron, Phoenix Bridge Community Station) Whilst this report cannot comment on every moment we lived and worked on the tracks, we hope that the comments by those travellers which are scattered through the report bear testimony to the wonderment felt by everyone who uses the tracks of the old ironmasters to enhance their cultural, social and economic lives. This is the rst time on the routes… It is fantastic. The views are amazing and it is well main- tained. There is a nice gentle gradient. It is ideal. We didn’t know there were tracks here or that there were stations. (Gemma from Adelaide, Australia, Moor Row Community Station) 1. Australian walkers at Moor Row community station 2 The key headlines, outputs and outcomes of the project are as follows. 1.1 Our approach to the project was guided by ve aims: i) To mediate and act as catalysts in forging meaningful opportunities for a sustainable approach to community engagement. ii) To consolidate dierent uses and users. iii) To identify new possibilities for sustainable enjoyment. iv) To work with people as the material of substantive change and shared custodianship. 1.2. To achieve these aims, we identied four objectives: i) to map the hidden assets along the routes; ii) to identify signicant sites for ‘Community Stations’; iii) to provide training for ‘Station Volunteers’ and iv) to broadcast the project to as diverse an audience as possible. 1.3. The project was delivered through the following four phases: • Phase One The Big Call Out: in-depth community consultation; • Phase Two Mining for Gold: sourcing local knowledge through 2 launches, guided walks, training days and an Eight Day residency; • Phase Three Pre-concept design work • Phase Four Project Dissemination, review and evaluation. 1.4. During Phase One of the project, 707 people and organisations were contacted. 75 groups and individuals responded to this out call out and this led to 32 groups and individuals being met in person. 1.5. During Phase Two, 39 people were engaged through community centre meetings; 50 people attended the two launches in Workington and Whitehaven; 9 people guided us along two walks along two stretches between Siddick and Seaton (on the Workington Track and Moor Row and Cleator Moor (on the Whitehaven track); 5 people benetted from the Community Station training days; 220 people contribut- ed to the Eight Day Residency; 19 people are expected to attend the Community Feedback events; and there are currently 108 social media users and followers of the FaceBook Group and Twitter feed. In total, 450 people engaged with the project. 1.6. Through collecting photographs, anecdotes and personal memories through Phases One and Two, we were able to gather, collect and share local heritage to a wider range of users and audiences in a manner which was powerful, resonant and authentic. 1.7. During Phase Three, we designed and created a comprehensive and innovative range of 12 inter- pretation concepts and ideas which could be implemented over a three year programme of Interpretation and Signage infrastructure. This infrastructure aims to celebrate the unique heritage that is woven into the length and breadth of the Tracks of the Ironmasters. 1.8. The project reached a wide and diverse range of community groups and the engagement with social media (Facebook in particular) has meant that these processes of collection, discussion, debate and dialogue are continuing long after the face to face work on the ground has been completed. In future, the full range of social media options (e.g. Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr etc.) should be utilised to take into account dierent demographics’ preferences. 1.9. This report describes our approach to the project, the consultation process and concludes with a series of recommendations and design ideas on how future interpretation programmes might be imple- mented by Sustrans. 3 The Report is structured as follows: 2. The Art Gene Approach Page 4 3. The Consultation Process Page 9 4. Consultation Findings and initial preconcept designs Page 19 5. Recommendations and final design ideas Page 22 6. Appendices - 1. The Big Call Out Contact List - 2. The Big Call Out Meeting Schedule - 3. Launch Leaflets - 4. Research questionnaire - 5. Volunteer Training Leaflets - 6. Residency Leaflets - 7. Workington and Whitehaven Word Clouds - 8. Composite Word Clouds for both tracks 2. Dion and his mates on the bikes. ‘First time ever that Dion has been on the tracks with his bike. He loved it - saw lots of new trees’ 4 2. The Art Gene Approach 2.1. Background to Art Gene The Art Gene Team led by Maddi Nicholson and Stuart Bastik, co-founders of the company, have over many years developed a unique and challenging approach of engaging with communities of interest and then co-creating artworks which build pride, reveal local heritage and focus on future opportunities. This entails combining the interpretive and design skills necessary to realise the creative vision of the project, with the project management skills of the company’s project manager, Nick Owen, who has a wealth of community engagement and commu- nity based arts expertise. Between 2013 and 2015, we have been working with Morecambe Bay Partnership in researching and engaging communities of the Morecambe Bay area, building up an extensive resource of photographs, interviews, and data and developing a deep understanding of the social, cultural and economic influences on the communities of the Bay. This recent work itself stems from many years of community engagement: meaning that the company has built up a rich stock of cultural, creative and intellectual capital which has informed our approach to the Ironmasters project. Whilst this capital does not readily lend itself to being described and prescribed, there are various aspects of the company’s working processes which are apparent to our participants which means we can be condent that the work we undertake will reflect the voices and experiences of the people we engage with. These include: • Starting with where people are, rather than where we think they should be. This means being on site with people, actively listening to their concerns and interests rather than meeting them with a predetermined agenda; • Starting from the understanding that people have strengths, assets, experiences and opinions worth actively listening to, rather than seeing them as having deciencies which need repairing or healing; • Being prepared to inhabit and respond to the moment rather than hold onto a predetermined fixed plan of action. This means being prepared to engage in activities that people want us to engage in when it suits them, rather than when it suits us; • Being prepared to step into new worlds, learn new languages and develop new skills as the demand arises; • Being prepared to build local capacity and knowledge in people, in order to ensure that the work can be continued by the people who are best placed to continue it: local people who are at the heart of those communi- ties. • Understanding where we are in the creative process. This means recognising that projects like this go through a process of scoping, generating, editing, producing and publishing: and that it’s important to recog- nise which phase of the project is happening at any given time. • Understanding that what we do is an exchange or a transaction between equals: not a sales transaction or a didactic teaching experience. Having said that, a lot of learning does take place within our project, albeit by everyone learning from everyone else: everyone has something of value to share, whether they are 5, 15, 25, 55 or 95 years old; • Feeding people: this is perhaps the most fundamental part of the transaction we offer our participants in return for their engagement with us. Food and drink connect people on emotional, subtle, deep and in long lasting ways and this is particularly critical to the success of our work. 5 2.1. Art Gene’s approach to the Tracks of the Ironmasters project Given the aspects of our approach described above which have led us to establish successful community engage- ment programmes and processes, we decided to approach this project by establishing the following aims: i) To mediate and act as catalysts in forging meaningful opportunities for sustainable community engage- ment.