We've had two groups in Urquhart Castle and Fort George - two historic sites here in the
highlands. They've been working with some some artists from a couple of
different art forms, trying to come up with a response to their local site. The
whole idea was just to give the young people a really broad scope of
the different art forms, and also to give them a lot of options for what
their response to the site was going to be. So they could really take it in
any direction and I think that's really helped them as well.
We did a performance where we did punishments, so, basically
a poem about punishment and what the effects of lashings are.
We made a kind of drama piece about a story that takes place in the castle but we
changed it so it's not a castle anymore - we made it into a concert venue.
Projects like this are really important because it gives young people a sense of
ownership of the project. The project hasn't come from us - it's more of a sit
down with them, saying "Well, what do you guys want? How do you want to develop
this?" - and it's all been led from them.
Most of the time you have to do what everyone else says,
but this time you could do what you wanted
and have an input in it.
I feel like it can give people our age a
say - so that they know that they can come up with creative ideas.
I think they're probably a demographic that is not traditionally associated with coming
to a site like this. Part of what we've been trying to do is just get them to go
"look, you're in here - you can experience this place as you want to now
and then show us what you make of it".
I think they themselves have learned
more about the site - just through being here and experiencing it in a different
way and because they start getting curious about things and looking
at things differently, which is always fantastic.
I definitely enjoyed the "missing" posters because it was just interesting putting them
together with the pictures and the details about them and where they went missing.
It was a bit strange at first because we don't really work
with professionals every day, but it was much more exciting and they were all
really nice to us.
We did still have the presence of a tour guide on day one, so
they were able to collate the information that they needed - but then
they were able to express it in different ways and it just opens more
avenues. We all learn and we all express ourselves differently, so having the arts
really allows us to channel that.
If we didn't do projects like these then we
don't really realise how special the history is.
They're also connected to a lot of the young people involved in the
group we were in because they have
military backgrounds, they have family, they have relatives who've served in the
military. One of the girls had a beautiful story about how her parents
were married in the chapel here. So, it was quite relevant to them as well
and I think for them isn't a piece of history - it's current.
I think the project has perhaps made them visualise the history of this place.
I mean, one of the young people that I was particularly working with - her
father was in the forces and I think a lot of what he's told her had been
made more visual and had come alive a bit more for her
Well, I've only been here a
couple of times and both times it has been with my family. I find Fort George
and history really interesting because my granddad and his dad used to
fight in the army.
The young people have grown massively throughout the week - from when they
first arrived - from not knowing each other, from different villages, to mixing
with each other. They've just really grown as an individual and become more confident
as the week has gone on.
It was nice to work with other people and to know each
other better and to work as a group.
So, this is a really new project and my hope
is to do a lot more of this kind of work - working with local partner
organisations, local artists, the sites, local young people - so we're really
hoping to kind of do more of that, and again, continuing doing sort of
open-ended projects where there's no specific outcome so the young people can
really drive their ideas throughout the whole project.
In about two or three months' time
I'd love to ask them how they feel about the castle now.
Is it somewhere you've got a special place for in your heart
because you created your own story about it, and would you want to take other
people there because of that, and show them your special place within it?