Workshops At The Thorpes By Rich Mills

During the Easter break we are running workshops for the young people in the area. From break dancing, DJ skills, film-making, music production, and many other arts and crafts activities. One aspect of the activities was to produce a digital record of Easter at the Thorpes community resource centre.

Another was to record the changing face of Orchard Park, through the images and words of the young people who live on the estate.

As many people in Hull will be aware there has been a recent incident involving young people going into the derelict flats known as Vernon House, in the Thorpes area of the estate. In fact the block of flats loom over the resource centre, which stands only a few yards away from the demolition site.

During the Easter break workmen have come onto the site, in order to erect stronger fencing than was previously in place. The old fencing, despite being sufficient to stand strong in war-zones all over the world, was no match for those who wished to make the dangerously derelict flats into a vertical adventure playground.

The new fencing, is being sunk into the ground, and stands a good 8 to 10 feet high. This will hopefully keep inquisitive young people out, until the flats are finally demolished in the next couple of months.

As part of the workshops we have been doing, young people took digital photographs of the workmen putting the fence up. They were more than happy to pose for pictures, and chatted with the young people about what they were doing and why they were there. The flats have become a community focal point, for many reasons, not all of them bad.

Once the flats have been demolished, it is hoped by some that the land can be landscaped and used as a recreational zone which the young people of the area can use. In the 3 days so far we have produced hundreds of digital images, hours of digital film and written articles like this one, and we are not even half-way through the workshops sessions.

We hope that during the rest of the sessions many more young people will have an opportunity to add to this record of their lives. Whether it be by taking dozens of photos of the backs of peoples heads (and there are a lot of them), or filming each other, filming each other, taking photos of each other..! It's all a bit confusing, but a whirl-wind of digital creation. But all good stuff, and lots for me to trawl through.

Anyway, I must close this article now as I've got a film to finish editing, and another session to attend at The Thorpes in just over an hour. Such is the busy life of a Youth Inclusion Worker! Links: thisisull.com Kids Webworkshops from The Thorpes project. A week of filming on Orchard Park by Kayleigh Gouldson and Kimberley Smith

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