Making the Case for the Arts was the first national conference of its kind to explore in depth the links between arts projects and the integration of newly arrived communities on both a practical and theoretical level. It brought together a diverse audience of some 50 people, including local authority officers and workers in the health, education and arts sectors. Participants shared good practice and looked at ways in which the different sectors could utilise arts projects and methodologies to meet their needs. During the day participants shared their experiences of successful outcomes from arts projects. The conference was also able to point to hard evidence of success in areas such as skills acquisition, particularly English; building bridges between communities; improved mental and physical health; and challenging negative stereotypes. Far from being a ‘soft touch' approach, it became apparent that engagement in the arts is a meaningful and sometimes even essential way of attaining the key goals of integration and community cohesion."It was amazing in terms of getting more information about others’ experience and difficulties for refugees."
The conference took place at Leicester Guildhall, on 17 October 2007 and was part of a programme funded by the Baring Foundation.
Summary
Natalie's workshop
Natalie's speech
Sound It Out workshop
Soft Touch was invited to add a local input to a spectacular pyrotechnic procession which was part of Leicester Comedy Festival’s 10-year anniversary celebrations in February 2003. Emergency Exit Arts from London provided the main body of the Runga Rung procession which took place through the streets of Leicester and ended up with a huge firework display on the roof of the Town Hall.
Soft Touch worked with young people from Leicester’s Hathi Productions to come up with the crazy Pukka Tukka restaurant street performance: "The actual performance was amazing: the adrenaline, the ambience and the whole sense of inspirational teamwork. In short WICKED!"
The Why Leicester? exhibition was put together by young people to share their experiences of living in Leicester – it explores the reasons why they call Leicester home, whether they were born here or came from elsewhere. Local landmarks were turned into sculptures and digital imagery was used in video and banners, connecting these landmarks to the young peoples’ own cultural identities and relationship to the city.
The resulting multimedia exhibition focuses around the interaction between young people of Somali, Asian and English origins. Video messages were sent back and forth between groups based at various local schools and colleges - asking questions and receiving answers - and this gave them the information for presenting their ideas.
Why Leicester? was launched on 26 September 2005 at BBC Radio Leicester and has since toured youth projects and colleges in the city.
The project was made possible by a grant from the Commission for Racial Equality’s Getting Results Programme.
