travelling museum of communities - open call

High View School, supported by Take A Part, are collaborating with two other primary schools in Plymouth to offer the opportunity for an artist/maker or collective of artist/makers to design and build a small scale structure as a part of the ‘Travelling Museum of Communities’

Background to the project High View School, with support from Take A Part, were successful in applying to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, securing funds to create the Travelling Museum of Communities project. Working with lead heritage engagement facilitator artist Tom Goddard, students and families from Efford, Whitleigh and St Judes are exploring aspects of local social and contemporary heritage undertaking research question “What is your favourite community story?” This question is underpinned by the themes of memory, story, tradition, family and place. The project sees the participating communities, families and children;

*Working with local historians *Exploring the built environment of their community *Discovering stories from residents and local groups *Interviewing older residents *Creatively interpreting community stories *Making objects connected to the stories *co-creating how the stories and objects are represented in the museum *Sharing the museum with their community, partner communities and the city more widely

The project is taking place between May 2022 and May 2023 and will culminate with a ‘roadshow’ of the museum as it visits each community and also the town centre (outside of The Box) 

The Commission This is a new and exciting commission for an artist/maker to work with all project partners and participants to co-design and then build a small scale object that is an integral part of the Travelling Museum and can house a set of up to 40 small objects that represent the stories from the communities taking part in the project. Think along the lines of a wunderkammer cabinet/cabinet of curiosities/dolls house and you would be in the right territory.

The project team are open to hearing a variety of thoughts/ideas and approaches; the exact content and direction of the project will be co-created by the participants, project team and the artist. The budget is inclusive of materials and artists are expected to source materials in collaboration with the school and project producer. Throughout the process you will be supported by the project producer and assistant producer.