Stanley Mills
Education, site specific and an incredibly atmospheric space…
This project covered three of the most important elements to me as an artist therefore it was an easy job for me to say yes to. I started work on this project in November 2008 and spent nine months in collaboration with Illuminate UK and Historic Scotland. It was an exciting commission to assist specifically with developing an educational script for early years working on site at the stunning Stanley Mills in rural Perthshire.
We worked on creating a script that would take the form of a workshop and that linked in with the Scottish Governments Curriculum for Excellence. The workshop content was structured around the important role children played in the workforce in the Mills during the Victorian period, the jobs they did, the factory act of 1833 and what Stanley was like as a village during those times. The work was then character led by myself as a one woman interactive show/workshop and piloted in 2009 with the view to it being available to any interested schools throughout the academic year.
During my time working on this project I was also invited by Historic Scotland to perform a series of one-woman shows in character as local Stanley lass Janet Scott for ‘the Festival of the River’ – the Festival was held in May 2009 on site at Stanley Mills and was enjoyed by families and all ages.
Working with children and young people is one of the most inspiring and rewarding things that I do and is a vital part of my work.