MAGIC ME Annual Report 2012/13 2
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MAGIC ME AnnuAl rEport 2012/13 2 About Magic Me brings the generations together to build a stronger, friendlier community. Our projects often link unlikely partners. Young Magic people aged 8+ and adults aged 60+ team up through shared, creative activity. Intergenerational groups meet on a weekly basis in schools, museums, older people’s clubs, care homes, community and cultural organisations. Projects are led by our team of freelance creative artists: musicians, visual artists, photographers, printmakers, writers and drama specialists. They design activities to stimulate conversation and an ME exchange of ideas. As well as coming from a “You come in as strangers, you leave as friends” wide age gap participants are often diverse in culture and faith. Older Participant Our annual programme combines tried and tested models with trialling new ideas and projects. A lot of our work takes place in Tower Hamlets, East London, but a growing desire for intergenerational work has pushed our boundaries further afield, with national and international consultancy and training work. 3 Chair’s rEport thIs YEAr wE workED wIth Welcome to this year’s annual report. I hope you will enjoy reading about the projects and people who made 2012 another incredible year for Magic Me. 13 With the Olympics on our doorstep, we sChools were proud to create a collaborative artwork, 231 12 depicting High Street 2012, the Mile End Road, olDEr pEoplE carE workErs 65+ which was displayed on the 205 buses running & actIvItIEs from the City towards the Olympic Park. 10 orGAnIsErs MusEuMs/Arts To celebrate the Year of Active Ageing and orGAnIsAtIons Solidarity Between the Generations, Magic Me 13 was invited to exhibit at EU House. A private 6 stuDEnt view brought together funders, participants and carE hoMEs placements supporters. 4 267 pEoplE unIvErsItIEs Cocktails in Care Homes continues to grow in 18-64 popularity and recognition winning an award. 13 5 teachErs I would like to extend special thanks to the CEntrEs for (+ 3 AssIstAnts) volunteers who not only participate in Cocktails, olDEr pEoplE but have also supported other projects, helped 8 out in the office and raised funds. trustEEs Looking ahead to next year, we are grateful to Cllr Lesley Pavitt, Speaker of Tower Hamlets, for 27 194 17 choosing Magic Me as one of her two charities YounG pEoplE funDErs busEs on 5-17 to support for the next year. thE ‘205’ routE 7 CorporAtE Jacqui Christian, Chair of Trustees PartnErs 4 lonDon 2012 2012 was a big year for Magic Me. Mapping the Change With the world’s eyes on East London The Olympic Park construction brought for the Olympic and Paralympic change and upheaval to neighbouring Games, we celebrated the rich cultural communities. Younger people from the heritage of the area and shared our Hackney Empire Youth Theatre joined work with thousands of people. older people to explore the impact of ongoing regeneration to their area. View from the Top Using their own experiences, oral We invited people to come and meet history transcripts and verbatim theatre London’s real East Enders and to get a techniques, the group created and flavour of life on High Street 2012, the presented a public performance at road that leads from the City to the Hackney Museum, the project hosts. Olympic Park. Over 120 Tower Hamlets school children and older people Queen’s Diamond Jubilee made a 10 metre artwork exhibited inside the double decker 205 buses, Clara Grant School pupils and older and a podcast of local stories. The people from Fern Street Settlement artwork was launched at the offices of have been working together with Magic our project partner Allen & Overy in Me every year since 2006. Between June 2012. arts projects, the School and Settlement maintain an ongoing relationship. In Download the podcast and view the summer 2012 participants marked the artwork on our website. Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, creating a series of mosaics. They learned about her life making links with their own lives and community change over 60 years. 5 “Magic Me is a wonderful thing. It touches so many people’s hearts and souls in East London.” Older participant lonDon 2012 View from the Top 6 In 2002 The Women’s Library, Europe’s largest collection of material relating to the lives of women, opened in Aldgate. The exhibition ‘Beauty Queens: Smiles, Swimsuits and Sabotage’ sparked the idea for a creative project led by Magic Me. Women aged 14 to 80+ gathered to explore ideas of women and beauty and created photographs and poetry, presented on the opening night of the exhibition. The project became an annual event, with some older women returning each year. For each project young women from Mulberry School for Girls and local older women met weekly for workshops at the Library. Over 95% of Mulberry students are from Bangladeshi Muslim families and the older women come from a broad range of backgrounds. The groups focused on a different theme each year, always drawing inspiration from the Library’s rich collection and from their own experiences and stories. “The Magic Me project always tEn YEArs At has an enormous impact on the young people who take part.” thE woMEn’s lIbrArY Head Teacher, Mulberry School for Girls 7 Sue Mayo, Magic Me Associate Artist, Wild Wild Women worked with diverse Magic Me artists Our chosen theme captured the each year, enabling groups to create energy, creativity and unique photographs, a soundtrack, sculpture story of the thousands of women and performances. whose stories fill the Library; those who broke rules and conventions, Where the Heart Is pursuing justice and equality. In 2012 the women shared stories of love: the love of place, of family and The Wild Wild Women group friends, of ideas. Where the Heart launched a twitter campaign, Is featured in LIFT 2012 (London collecting a flock of tweets about International Festival of Theatre) women from around the world. They and on Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4. created a performance featuring Download the podcast of stories at these women, their own stories, and www.magicme.co.uk. those of family and friends, presented at a sold out show on 1st May at the The Women’s Library@LSE Kobi Nazrul Centre. Throughout 2012 we joined Wild Wild Women Research Report campaigns to keep The Women’s Library collection in its Aldgate As part of our two year research home, when London Metropolitan programme, New Perspectives, Dr University no longer wished to Caoimhe McAvinchey (Queen Mary, manage it. Fired up by women’s University of London) has captured struggles, the group became activists, the learning and discoveries made featured in the The Sunday Times and over the ten years of projects, with Guardian letters page. However, in a focus on working with women- January 2013, the collection passed only intergenerational groups and to LSE, in Holborn. We knew our intergenerational arts practice in a 10th project would be the last in this heritage venue. Her research report amazing series. will be launched in November 2013. 8 Tower Hamlets is a culturally diverse “ If we can get this right in Tower International Reach area where the traditional East End Hamlets we will be on the way Lessons learned in Tower Hamlets meets the City of London and the to community cohesiveness.” inform the way that we work with our Canary Wharf business districts. Half Cllr Lesley Pavitt, partners across London and beyond. the population in the borough live Speaker of LB Tower Hamlets Through publications, training and below the poverty line. collaborative projects, Magic Me’s experience benefits communities Soaring property prices and not nationwide. As populations age enough public housing mean around the world, the desire for younger generations move away intergenerational activity is growing to find affordable homes, which and our expertise is in demand. often means family and community networks suffer. 47% of older people Requests for training, most recently live alone; the national average is from Germany, South Korea and 33%. The borough is one of the most Brazil, enable us to share our expertise deprived in England. High levels of and learn from other communities and unemployment, poverty, long term cultures. ill-health and disability mean life is a daily struggle for many people. Our Approach Magic Me provides opportunities and places for strangers to meet and become good neighbours and friends. Working together in creative ways, participants learn from one another, making connections which strengthen their community, building resilience to cope with tough times. Projects are developed with participants, so we address real needs and aspirations. 9 “Thish projectow is an wE work opportunity for us older participants to see the future grow in front of our eyes.” Older Participant 10 work wIth sChools 11 Weekend at Wilton’s They reimagined the East End using Magic Me and Duckie took over Wilton’s song, film, music, photography and Music Hall in May 2012 for a spectacular storytelling. In June they performed cabaret extravaganza for adults of all in Hoxton Hall as part of the Summer ages! Three intergenerational Magic Me Spitalfields Music Festival, 2013. groups, 60 young and older people, took View our Songlines documentary on to the stage and performed alongside our website. professional Duckie artists to three full houses followed by an all decades disco, Holler hosted by star DJ Amy Lamé. A mixed choir for adults of all ages, The project deliberately used different Holler, met weekly for two years. They artforms - photography, singing, dancing performed at the Capital Age Festival, and puppetry - to build relationships Winter Spitalfields Music Festival and between participants. Magic Me worked with the Royal Opera House Associate Artist Sue Mayo tracked this to perform The Owl and the Pussycat project for her research into relationship on the Regent’s Canal as part of the building through the arts Detail and Cultural Olympiad in Summer 2012.