Community

Image credit: Olivia Hemingway / Geffrye Museum, London

Throughout Stories of the World: London we have worked with many different audiences, from early years to older people, schools, families, communities and adult learners, on special projects that explore our collections, displays and gardens in greater depth.

To find out more about our community projects relating to Stories of the World: London please contact Rachael: rcrofts@geffrye-museum.org.uk

Supreme Summer – family event

Participants from ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ – part of Supreme Summer (c) Hannah Salisbury / Geffrye Museum

On Sunday 24 July the Geffrye welcomed 770 young people and their families to a fun and action packed event in the glorious summer sunshine. The day was inspired by the summertime, the 1960s and the museum’s gardens.

Supreme Summer was programmed by the museum’s Youth Advisory Panel and the event was the museum’s contribution to the London 2012 Open Weekend 2011, where over a million people attended the 1,200 events which took place across the the country.

There was an array of activities for everyone to get involved in, including listening and dancing along to 1960s music by The Vintage Corporation and The London Swing Dance Society, where you could even enter The Swing Competition! There was some fierce competition for prizes in the egg and spoon, sack and relay races as part of our ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ garden games.

Visitors could also dress up in 1960s costumes and accessorises as part of the ‘I Pretend’ workshop and get their photograph taken in their chosen costume and help create a 1960s montage.

Children heard some classic 1960s children’s stories, made photo frames inspired by our 1960s souvenir from Malta and had their faces painted with 1960s patterns and animals in the museum’s gardens.

Young people took part in a photographic workshop inspired by plants in the museum’s Victorian and Edwardian gardens from around the world.

Having programmed, planned and publicised the event, members of the Youth Advisory Panel were also involved in all of the day’s activities.

For further images of the event please visit – The Geffrye’s Young People’s Pages on Facebook.

I really liked having my face painted and dressing up. I’ve had SO much fun.
Child, aged 3 ½

Had a really brilliant day. It was fun, enjoyable, exciting and great! My kids thought it was the best day ever!!!
Family feedback

A very good event, lots to do, great atmosphere. It was our first time to the museum and we were very impressed. Great day!
Family feedback

Global Homes ESOL and Literacy Stories of the World Projects

Image credit: Em Fitzgerald / Geffrye Museum, London

Many of the objects in our collections come from or have been inspired by other countries around the world. Similarly people’s homes are full of items from all over the globe. These themes were explored in two projects with students from Hackney Community College.

The first project involved fifteen ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students whose home countries included Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Angola and Ecuador. The project began with an exploration of seven museum objects, including a Victorian painting which features a Turkish rug, a cotton sample book and a glass dome full of stuffed birds from South America. The students then brought in items from home which had a special meaning to them.

The group expressed their thoughts and feelings about these items through digital stories and written work. Often the Geffrye’s objects reminded them of an aspect of their home countries and frequently their special possessions had been handed down through the generations. Here are two digital stories for you to enjoy.

The museum also worked with a group of eleven young people aged 16-19 years old from the College’s Literacy course. The students investigated a range of objects from the collection, including a curtain fabric printed with Arabic script from the 1950s and an Edwardian teddy bear. The students chose their favourite museum objects, took photographs of them and then turned them into their own animations. The group brought in special items from home and shared their ideas and opinions about these objects through discussion and written work. They created written captions and digital stories about these possessions and also the museum objects.

The World at Home Family Days

World at Home Family Day at the Geffrye Museum

These two Easter holiday family days were programmed by MA students from the University College London Insititute of Archaeology in collaboration with museum staff. On the first day children of all ages took part in a variety of activities including baking Turkish tea-time treats and telling the story of one of the museum’s objects through a shadow puppet play. The next day activities included making Japanese fans and tea-leaf reading.

Get Animated - a family animation event

Participants from Get Animated - photography Irene Yap

On Saturday 26 February 2011 children and young people came to the Geffrye Museum to take part in animation workshops. Participants used objects from the Geffrye Museum as inspiration, investigated their fascinating stories and brought them to life through the art of animation with the help of Chocolate Films.

Children over the age of 5 used museum objects to create their own flipbook animations, while throughout the day children of all ages were invited to be part of a life-size animation that animated the museum, its period rooms and objects. Meanwhile young people aged 14-24 joined participants from Totally Animated for a free one-day animation course. They learned animation techniques and produced a short film to take home.

The day culminated in a public screening of all the films made on the day.

I felt excited and happy because I got my work filmed on camera. We made a flipbook and I had fun drawing it, it was so fun.
Young participant, Flipbook workshop

I enjoyed making the props for my video animation and filming the video. I had help from another boy on the project. We had fun!!
Young participant, Animate You workshop

To view the films from this project please visit our digital library.

Asian Women’s Project – Documenting the home

Asian Women’s Project ‘Documenting the Home’ Portrait Photographs - (c) Em Fitzgerald / Geffrye Museum

In November 2010 the Geffrye ran two sessions with the Asian Women’s Project and Magic Me to document people’s experience of their homes.

The first family day invited people to come along and work with a professional photographer to take their own Eid Family Portraits in a studio setting. Participants brought along objects from their own home to photograph, and share their stories with us.

The following week the Geffrye screened It’s a Wonderful Afterlife directed by Gurinder Chadha. Participants then discussed the film, their homes and home life through a drama workshop.

I felt very happy and enjoyed the class very much because it was creative and socialising with everyone was fun.
Participant

Stories of the World Writers Group

Since 2007 the museum has been running term-long writers courses with local people aged 55 and over. The themes that have inspired the participants have included the Geffrye’s tranquil gardens, our sophisticated 1930s room and our atmospheric Almshouse.

This project, which ran in September - November 2010, started with an exploration of nine museum objects, which were either imported from a different country or made in Britain but inspired by another culture. This project was part of the Geffrye’s Stories of the World Cultural Olympiad programme. The objects included a 16^th century Belgium stoneware beer jug and a 19th century Japanese folded mirror.

During each project up to fifteen participants worked with local writer Donna Daily-Clarke to write their own short stories. The participants’ imagination takes objects out of the museum context into new worlds and sometimes they even have a life of their own. Click here to read this anthology of the final pieces or click below to hear extracts from some of the work read by the participants.

Writer Leslie Rowe at the Geffrye Museum

Feast Fit for a King by Leslie Rowe, who was inspired by the 16^th century Belgium stoneware beer jug.

(c) Leslie Rowe / Geffrye Museum

Miss Fortune by Michael Weston, who was inspired by the 19th century Japanese folded mirror.

(c) Michael Weston / Geffrye Museum

Stories of the World: London - Swing into Summer

Swing into Summer at the Geffrye Museum, 25 July 2010. Photo: Irene Yap/Geffrye Museum

On Sunday 25 July 2010 the Geffrye welcomed young people and their families to an action packed event, inspired by the museum’s gardens and our 1950s period room.

Swing into Summer was programmed by our V50 young volunteers and Youth Advisory Panel as part of our Stories of the World: London Youth Programme. Swing into Summer was the Geffrye Museum’s contribution to the London 2012 Open Weekend 2010, when over 975 events around the country celebrated the start of the two year count down to the Games.

The activities included our own octathlon games challenge, inspired by games from the 1950s and present day. We also enjoyed some 1950s music with Ronnie Scott Rejects and danced along with the London Swing Dance Society.

Table tennis was played on our food-inspired Ping Pong table as part of Ping London. In a calmer corner of the Museum, particpants learned the intricate art of origami, making flowers from around the world while others contributed to a Wild Willow sculpture in the gardens.

Members of the Youth Panel helped young people create work about themselves, their lives and homes for a time capsule to be buried in the museum’s garden and the performance poet Joseph Coelho encouraged participants to find their voice in a spoken word event.

Having helped programme, plan and publicise the event, the V50 volunteers and Youth Panel were also involved in the delivery of Swing into Summer, assisting with and participating in many of the activities on the day itself.

It’s nice to be part of something that will go on for 100 years!
Young participant, Bury it! workshop

It was fun. I had no idea I could write a poem.
Young participant, Speak Up! Workshop

March Madness Family Event

Young participant in the March Madness Family Event, March 2010 - (c) Olivia Hemingway/Geffrye Museum

Programmed by our Youth Advisory Panel and V50 volunteers, this day had something for all ages - music, dance, craft workshops, stories, an animation workshop and a fashion show... inspired by cultures from across the world.

On the day the Youth Advisory Panel and volunteers helped Front of House and Education Staff inform and direct visitors about all the activities, assisted staff in the activities themselves and encouraged other young people to get involved with the Youth Advisory Panel and other youth activities offered by the Museum.

Asian Women's Project

Image credit: Olivia Hemingway / Geffrye Museum, London

During the 2010 Easter Holidays, the Geffrye Museum’s Asian Women’s Project ran a two week creative intergenerational workshop for local families to become inspired by objects from the museum collection.

The first day began with stories that focused on four objects in the museum's collection. The families then took part in a handling session led by a curator, during which they could learn about the objects and have the opportunity to hold them.

On the second and third days there were artist-led workshops, inspired by the stories and objects. The families then decorated plates and placemats with their own designs.

In week two, the families were introduced to a further four objects and stories which provided inspiration for music and song workshops on the final two days.

Please find a selection of the music and stories below.

Listen to one of the stories here.....

Fireflies

(c) Rezual Kabir / Geffrye Museum

Listen to the music here…..

I Chele ra I Meyra

(c) Yousuf Ali Khan / Geffrye Museum

Further Information on all projects

These projects are part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme Stories of the World which is led by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) in partnership with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). You can read more about the Geffrye's involvement with Stories of the World: London here.

For further information about the Cultural Olympiad

For further information about London 2012

For further information about Chocolate Films

For further information about Stories of the World