Projection SEAS - a contemporary response to a historic archive

Students look at historic photographs
Students sort through historic photographs from the SEAS archive.

Young Roots

Date awarded
Location
Eastcliff
Local Authority
Thanet
Applicant
Project Motorhouse
Award Given
£49600
Young students excluded from school produced multimedia artwork inspired by a historic archive which earned praise and boosted their self-esteem.

Project Motorhouse is working to transform a derelict seafront site at Ramsgate into a community arts venue. With a National Lottery-funded Young Roots grant, it worked with students from the Royal Harbour Academy exposing them to old photographs from the South East Archive of Seaside Photography (SEAS) as a stimulus for their creativity.

Professional artists, sound engineers, a music producer, photographer and DJ mentored the students who produced a photographic exhibition and accompanying video with soundtrack. It was displayed at a local gallery and at a pop-up exhibition at the Turner Contemporary in Margate.

The results for individual participants, most excluded from school, have been described as a "life-changing event".

A project report noted: “As a direct result of the project, most (of the participants) are now going to take photography as a GCSE because they have found they enjoy it so much. Participants have told teachers that they have really enjoyed being treated as serious people by the professional mentors working on the project."

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