ELEVATE was an artist residency and community engagement project (April – July 2021) that aimed to elevate and celebrate the creative voices, ideas and talents of under-represented people in our community. ELEVATE worked in partnership with Voice of BME Trafford and was funded by Arts Council England.
Venessa Scott was our artist in residence; a local and prolific artist who makes public art works that are inspired by people and their stories. Venessa was based in our artist studios at Stretford Public Hall and made new artistic commissions and delivered creative workshops with people from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds.
ELEVATE was a direct response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Following the BLM protests in 2019, Friends of Stretford Public Hall recognised that we must do more to embed diversity in our creative activity. We aimed to do this in an authentic and responsive way by supporting people from diverse backgrounds to influence artistic decision-making and use creativity as a platform for change.
Download the final project report here
Photo credit: Vanice Victoria, instagram @vanicevictoriauk