Our summer intern, Mimi, reflects on her month at Helix Arts
Mimi spent the month of July doing an internship at Helix Arts. She found out about what we do and how you sometimes need to adapt to ever-changing plans when working in arts charities.
We asked Mimi to reflect on her experiences.
This is what she wrote…
Now my incredible month’s placement at Helix Arts has ended, I am writing to share some of my experiences from this time as well as the amazing projects that I have come across. From watching the Falling On Your Feet dancers perform a sea-themed show, to attending beginning-stage workshops for a young people’s podcast project, as well as having the opportunity to curate a window display for the project #NEVER, it has been an amazing and jam-packed month.
I helped out at a range of workshops as part of the Better Connect Summer Workshops and Falling On Your Feet. The first Falling On Your Feet workshop I took part in was at Segedunum, which is one of Helix Arts’ dance and health programmes for people over the age of 55. The programme offers participants the chance to work with professional artists to create dance together, expressing stories through movement while developing strength and flexibility, and making friends.
I was amazed to see the participants dance so beautifully and confidently and seeing them so happy whilst doing so made it so special. After the session I enjoyed being able to chat to the participants about their experience of the workshops and how much they value them, hearing about how taking part in the programme has not only boosted their confidence and mobility, but that it has also given them the opportunity to develop strong friendships within the group and develop a high level of trust which enables them to perform together as one.
During the first workshop, the participants were rehearsing a dance for a performance they were doing the following week in the Helix Arts space in North Shields. The theme for the piece was the sea, and they had a series of different sequences exploring the use of props, dancing with partners, in a group and individually. Family and friends were invited to come and watch, making the event so joyful to experience and document through photography.
One thing in particular that I have noticed from all of the workshops I have been to during my time at Helix is that when I speak to the participants about their experience, they do not hesitate in telling me just how much they value being able to take part in the free programmes which give access to a whole range of creative opportunities. It is a real reminder of just how important it is to ensure access to art for everyone, particularly those who may not otherwise be able to. I have really learnt about the importance of supporting the local community and maintaining its legacy.
Another feature during my placement was being able explore Helix Arts’ extensive archive catalogue, spanning more than 40 years’ worth of work since the organisation was set up (originally as Artists’ Agency) in 1983. I have really enjoyed reading about such a wide range of projects which took place all across the North East, and the different approaches that were undertaken by the artists. Amongst these was an environmental sculpture project in Hylton Dene by Abigail Downer, photography by Keith Pattinson at Easington Colliery during the mining strikes, and a geocaching trail in Northumberland by Sheryl Jenkins.
However, one project that particularly stood out to me was a project by Sue Woolhouse from 1993-1996 as part of the Sunderland City Challenge, which was a national investment project. For this residency, the artist worked with communities to create glass panels which were displayed in shared spaces within the community. This piece of work really caught my eye after reading about the current situation of the National Glass Centre in Sunderland and its potential closure, which would be an immense loss to the area’s local heritage and legacy.
Sunderland has possibly the most extensive history of glassmaking in Britain, however this history remains relatively unknown to many people. The first stained glass ever made in Britain was made in AD 64 by French craftsmen in Sunderland to create the windows for St. Peter’s Church which still stands today, just a short walk away from where the National Glass Centre is located- which itself is built on the site of the former J.L. Thompson + Sons shipyard. Since that first piece of glass was made, Sunderland was at the forefront of the glassmaking industry, reaching its height in the mid-19th century, helped by the fact that this industry went hand in hand with Wearside’s other major industries of coal and shipbuilding. The site of the James A. Jobling and Co. Ltd. factory is where Pyrex glass was produced in the UK from 1922 until the closure and demolition of the factory in 2007, marking the end of the commercial glassmaking industry in Sunderland.
According to the Chronicle, at one point in time the glass industry employed the largest workforce in the Tyne and Wear Area after the shipyards.
It is times like these when the work of organisations such as Helix Arts is as important as ever, in engaging and advocating for community, as well as highlighting the need for resources and access to art for everyone. I think that it is crucial to maintain the cultural heritage and legacy of a place, and not allow it to disappear by the removal of vital centres of creativity.
