Part and parcel of engagemen in Pendle – 15 years of collaboration with In-Situ and Building Bridges
“Talkaoke is part and parcel of engagement in Pendle”
– Paul Hartley, In-Situ
The People Speak have been collaborating with In-Situ and Building Bridges for 15 years, helping the residents and stakeholders of Pendle Borough envisage a better and more connected borough of the future. As part of this ongoing project we have done a number of residencies, trained new Talkaoke hosts and produced events in the areas overlooked by the famous Pendle Hill: from Walkaoke – Talkaoke on the move, to Pendle Under The Hammer – a series of creative consultations with the residents of Colne, Nelson, Barnoldswick and Brierfield to inform the borough council’s corporate plan. Talkaoke is a regular feature of the annual Pendle Festival of Culture.
“Talkaoke helps us create the space to have challenging, difficult, fun and creative conversations with residents in Pendle. We’ve done hundreds of them in a variety of places – its mobile and flexible to fit into many scenarios. We’ve used Talkaoke in town centres, Council venues, shops, pubs, schools and colleges, outside McDonald’s and online. It’s a really effective tool for exploring all kinds of themes in our embedded work in Pendle; youth voice, climate engagement and psychology, racism, cohesion, creative careers and future of work, Covid and grief, health and wellbeing, mental health. Our ambition is to continue to train up local people who can host it within the community. It enables us to make sure our programme is relevant; we develop the ideas that come up around the table and these continually inform our practice in Pendle”
– Anna Taylor, Critical Engagement, In-Situ
Read about The People Speak blog on climate change, inequality and climate emotions as part of Climate Lab Pendle
Visualisation by Christopher Gerhardt
“The impact that Talkaoke has had on our practice overtime is immeasurable but we can see indications of it through the depth of long-term engagement overtime in place, the trust people have in the process and familiarity with this as a trusted tool by school students and Council leaders alike. It enables us to build trust and engagement when people feel heard, and enables us to explore difficult subjects like racism, misinformation and climate crisis in a democratic way that enables each person around the table to go on their own journey with that subject”
– Paul Hartley, Organisation and Development, In-Situ
In-Situ are embedding art into everyday life. Based in Pendle, they work in relationship with people and place through art and creativity. Together they are thinking about alternative futures, connectedness and greater equality.
Building Bridges a charity that aims to improve community relations and community cohesion by raising awareness and understanding amongst people about different cultures; promoting common values; and helping people to develop friendships that cross cultural and community boundaries.
Watch Pendle Under The Hammer here.
Visualisations from Digital Talking Sciety part 1 and part 2, which we hosted through the pandemic.
Watch Walkaoke, as part of Talking Society here.
Visualisations of Pendle by Rick
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