The day's activities included face painting, a bouncy castle, and Free Form Arts Trust also lead activities such as t-shirt printing, henna tattoo design and creative workshops including music production. The event aimed to engage young people on the estate in creative activities, and getting them involved in a summer arts course to produce designs for improvements on Winsor Park.
The event is part of East Thames group's Better Neighbourhoods programme, which aims to promote community spirit and empower residents to improve their neighbourhoods. The programme involves surveying residents on improvements they would like to see locally and then asking them to vote on priorities. Residents' steering groups are then set up to oversee improvements with support from East Thames and in partnership with local agencies. Winsor Park was one of six estates where the programme was piloted. This year it is being rolled out across 15 more estates.
Free Form Arts Trust provides arts and creative services across London, placing art at the heart of urban regeneration. Free Form has been working with young Winsor Park residents to use art and design to investigate how parts of the estate could be improved.
During Free Form's summer arts course, professional artists will work with young people on the estate to create designs for a physical improvement to Winsor Park. A winning design will be selected and then installed.
Simon Turner, Sustainable Neighbourhoods Project Manager, East Thames Group, said: "Our Better Neighbourhoods programme is proving to be a great way of engaging residents and empowering them to improve their local area. Winsor Park was one of the estates where we piloted the programme and the residents showed that they're really keen to make a difference. The launch of the summer arts course will be important in bringing young residents together and getting them involved."
Joel Parkes, Shadow Artistic Director at Free Form, said: "We are encouraged by our work so far at Winsor Park estate. We have found out so much about the issues which affect the young people who live there, by giving them the tools and the time to conduct their own investigation of their environment. This approach will form the back bone of the summer youth arts course which will see local young people take their findings and, through different design techniques, come up with a physical improvement for the estate for the benefit of all residents."
