The Leighton Project Young People’s Group will be part of a one-year partnership project with the English Folk Dance and Song Society at Cecil Sharp House, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Leighton Stories is a one-year cultural history project aiming to help the young people gain a greater understanding of society through studying the themes and messages in traditional English folk songs and dances.

The young people will consider:

• How folk songs and dances inform us about our shared heritage and culture;
• The key themes that recur in traditional folk songs and dances;
• What today’s popular songs and dances will tell people in the future about our society today.

The young people will create a digital storybook, re-interpreting a selection of traditional folk songs and dances in order to make them more meaningful for other people with learning disabilities. The storybook will be comprised of a wide range of artwork, including drawings, paintings, photographs, films and animation, sound pieces, etc. There will be two mid-project exhibitions, where the group will share their learning with their local community. The storybook will be launched online at an end-of-project reception at Cecil Sharp House in North London.

Whilst working on the project, the young people will be working towards achieving the national Bronze/Silver Arts Award qualification.

This is a partnership project between ActionSpace, the Leighton Project (Elfrida Rathbone Camden) and the English Folk Dance and Song Society.

Image above: Work by Guillaume Sudre. Image courtesy of the Artist and ActionSpace.