Four groups of young people - four artforms - four artists - one story.
We wanted to experiment with a new way of working. Can you set up an artistic dialogue before people even meet each other? Throughout January 2018 the four groups involved (YorkMIND, Mill Lodge, Door 84 youth club and a group of YSJU third year Drama students) worked through lantern-making, storytelling, songwriting and spoken word respectively, to explore the strange landscape of a Siberian folktale. The story, about an isolated young girl in challenging circumstances, seemed to resonate with young people's experiences today, but threw up a lot of perplexing questions.
Then on 1st Feb, we gathered at York St John to share what we had found in the story.
We wanted to experiment with a new way of working. Can you set up an artistic dialogue before people even meet each other? Throughout January 2018 the four groups involved (YorkMIND, Mill Lodge, Door 84 youth club and a group of YSJU third year Drama students) worked through lantern-making, storytelling, songwriting and spoken word respectively, to explore the strange landscape of a Siberian folktale. The story, about an isolated young girl in challenging circumstances, seemed to resonate with young people's experiences today, but threw up a lot of perplexing questions.
Then on 1st Feb, we gathered at York St John to share what we had found in the story.
You can read the original story here:
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The York St John Student Group...
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Callum and Charlotte created a dialogue between the main character Belye, and the wedding dress she had been hopefully embroidering:
Meanwhile at Mill Lodge CAMHS UnitBack at York St John...In the second session our group of students took the Mill Lodge drawings and created individual spoken word pieces in response to each. Charlotte was struck by a drawing of Belye calling out to the waves.
Callum was interested in a drawing of Naundyaka, the young boy Belye rescues and cares for. He followed his thread to explore where this led him.
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Chris and Chloe transferred the battle of wills between Belye and the seven brothers (her tormentors at times) to a game of chess. Chloe's part is read by Cath in the video below:
Chloe's piece also focused on a drawing of the ocean around Belye, cutting her off from others but also giving her strength.
Chris wrote two poems, responding to drawings of the landscape of the story.
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Just down the road at York Mind...
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The YorkMIND group showed lanterns they had made, drawing out moments they felt defined the whole story.
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And Across the City at Door 84 Youth ClubThe Girls' Group from Door 84 had written a song about Belye's 'girl power', and the way she takes responsibility for another person.
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Over to Henry Raby...
It was time to draw in all the threads of the story (a good metaphor in more ways than one - given the theme of dressmaking in it). So it was over to our poet-in-residence Henry Raby to create a poem which held everything we had found in this story.
Meanwhile all the groups collaborated on a new suit of clothes for Belye. In the story, she has to choose between her female clothes (when she cares for Naundyaka, or wishes to be beautiful), and male ones (for hunting and fending for herself). Why should she have to make such a choice? We created for her a suit of clothes that celebrated everything that she is and has achieved:
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Below is the full film of the exchange event, made (as are all the other videos on this page) by the wonderful Paul Gowland.
Things As They Are would like to thank Lou Carter, Mim Robson, Henry Raby, Imogen Godwin, Rab Ferguson, Paul Gowland, and Ashley Jones for this support with this project.
We would also like to thank Converge York and York St John University for financial and in-kind support.
We would also like to thank Converge York and York St John University for financial and in-kind support.