SEPTEMBER 2020 An Evaluation of VisibleHeritageLeicesterMedievalMaking
24
Making Medieval Leicester Heritage Visible
Overview of Public Events and Participative Programme
18
22
Project Outline
Acknowledgements
4 Methodology 5
Evaluation Report
8
Introduction
2
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Appendix A – Evaluation Matrix
20
6
Findings
Lessons Learned
3
ArtReach created new opportunities for the general public to take part in activity and see the Church, achieving a regular timetable of mostly free events (ticketed and open). Highlights included All Saints’ Church being a centerpiece to present work at local festivals, Journeys International Festival in August 2019 and LIBERTY UK in March 2020
ArtReach has maintained connection to its volunteers who will attend special events as speakers to continue telling the stories with the confidence and knowledge of All Saints’ fascinating history to visitors and event attendees.
At the time the project launched, All Saints’ Church was underutilised, with its doors often closed to the general public. The programme of activity aimed to introduce new and diverse audiences to All Saints’ Church and open its doors for people to see more of the church’s rich heritage and century old stories that featured key moments in Leicester’s medieval history. It also wanted to explore the potential role that the building could play in engaging local audiences at a time of significant regeneration of Leicester’ s ‘A50 Corridor’
The impact of Covid 19 resulted in changes to the final stages of the project, when a series of public presentations and events scheduled to share the materials developed by volunteers had to be cancelled. Instead, dissemination of materials moved online In addition, several partners including local cafes, businesses, schools and other community buildings have expressed interest in hosting the All Saints’ Church travelling exhibition in a tour planned to take place in Summer 2021.
3
Several artists responded to the heritage of the church to create new works (e.g. Sound installations and a community play) and worked closely with a diverse group of volunteers many from sanctuary seeking backgrounds to develop the pieces and the public presentations.
The project was born from a desire to explore the heritage of the building, its contents and the immediate area and interpret this work through creative means such as sound installations that responded to the architecture, as well as working with volunteers, artists and heritage experts to tell a wealth of stories about All Saints’ Church and the surrounding area through community plays and talks, a short booklet, and a brand new exhibition to display in the church, which could be toured to local schools, libraries, churches and community centres.
In 2018, ArtReach launched a new partnership with Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) to deliver a programme of community engagement activity that aimed to make medieval Leicester Heritage visible. The project centred on the Grade I listed, All Saints’ Church on Woodgate (A50) in Leicester City.
Evaluation Report Introduction
To increase awareness of All Saints’ Church and its place in Leicester’s medieval heritage
The activities that were delivered to meet the aims and outcomes of the project included:
The heritage of All Saints is better interpreted and explainedinthecontextofmedievalLeicester
• Refugee Week activities and open days (June 2019)
• Enharmonics (presented as part of Journeys Festival International) (August 2019)
In addition, the following engagement activities took place:
• All Saints Open Days (March 2019)
Contribute to best practice in ways to bring disused churches back into the conscience of the local community.
Diverse communities engage in a varied programme of activity at All Saints in a range of roles, as volunteers, participantandaudiencemember
• Heritage Open Days (September 2019)
• Heritage talk series (November to December 2019)
Contribution to key Project Outcomes
young people develop new skills in heritage
Explore the place and value of All Saints’ Church in thelocalcommunity
The project, which started in October 2018 and completed in September 2020, had five distinct aims in order to achieve the project’s intended outcomes.
Toreachnewanddiverseaudiences
• The story of Margery Kempe a play presented as part of Liberty UK Festival (March 2020)
A team of volunteers develop new skills in heritage Childreninterpretationand
These were:
• Enharmonics workshop with volunteer participants, run by the artist Miriam Bean, (August 2019)
Project Aims
4
To develop skills in heritage interpretation amongst volunteersandparticipants
All Saints is a valued part of the local area and regenerationaspirations
Partnerships between organisations bring new opportunitiestoshareheritagewithcommunities
This evaluation report will look at the extent to which this project fulfilled these aims and assess the project’ssuccessesandareas for improvement. Thisreport willlook at the scope and value of developing future similar projects going forwards.
Project Outline
• Rehearsals and workshops as part of the Community Play (March 2020)
• A programme of ongoing volunteer training events to support them to undertake their roles effectively
• Event/workshops registers
• A collaborative research project, launched in November 2019, led by research professional Frankie Maguire with support from a team of volunteers. This project resulted in the production of a booklet and a mobile exhibition
As part of the summative evaluation, in depth interviews were held with key stakeholders, volunteers and project leaders and contracted staff members. This particular element of data collection sought to explore views on the legacy of this project (focusing on Project Aim 4 and 5).
Overview of the Public Events and Participative programme
All projects had an element of an ‘open door’ to encourage people in particular, local residents to discover the interior of the church and speak with dedicated project staff about interesting aspects of
Methodology
• Audience, volunteer and participant surveys capturing demographic and perceptions data
A breakdown of the data consulted linked to the project outcomes can be found in Appendix A.
This evaluation is a summative report of all the data captured throughout the project. The methodology followed comprised desk top review and assessment of data collected through:
• Transcribed audience, volunteer and participant quotes gathered at events
Heritage Open Days (March 2019 and September 2019)
5
6
Refugee Week activities and open days (June 2019)
Enharmonics presented as part of Journeys Festival International (August 2019)
Enharmonic was a sound installation that aimed to respond to the themes of seeking sanctuary (aligned to ArtReach’s annual arts festival, Journeys Festival International) and the heritage and architecture of All Saints’ Church During the research stage of Enharmonic, the process of making and recording sounds for the installation took place within All Saints’ Church exploring its acoustic potential as well as utilising historic features and medieval documents within it. Throughout the research process, lead artist, Miriam Bean worked with local refugee and asylum seeker volunteers to help them translate their own stories into music in a series of closed workshops that started in June. The project also held two family workshop for local residents in July and further workshops and opportunities for volunteers from the Roots Group in August. The work was presented in a public performance and sound installation between 21 and 25 August.
The first public exhibition took place during Refugee Week 2019 17 23 June. The main exhibit was ‘Sanctuaries’ a project supported by Y Heritage (Leicester YMCA). This project provided ArtReach with an opportunity to introduce the venue to members of its Roots Group and their families. The Roots Group is an ArtReach led community group comprising members/volunteers with sanctuary seeking backgrounds. Members volunteer to support ArtReach events and projects. This event marked the first formal volunteering opportunity for members of the Roots Group to support activity at the Church and learn more about its Heritage.
the church’s heritage. Dedicated Open Days aimed to focus solely on sharing All Saints’ Church’s heritage, disseminating existing materials about the church and other heritage projects (e.g. War Memorials project) to audiences and sharing the stories of All Saints’ Church’s linked to important moments in Leicester’s medieval history. The story of Marjory Kempe is an example of a story that sparked interest from members of the public in particular, and thus became one of the focus areas for the booklet and community play. Hosting these open days also enabled ArtReach to make connections to potential volunteers interested in supporting aspects of the project, such as the production of the booklet and interpretation materials.
Heritage Talk series (November to December 2019)
A series of heritage talks, hosted by ArtReach, featuring local heritage academics and experts, focussed on All Saints’ Church and its surrounding area during medieval times. These talks featured topics such as a step by step guide and practical demonstration to what a 15th century knight would wear to battle. Heritage experts included academic and 15th century re enactor, Andrew Hyam, who specialises in Leicester’s history during the era of Richard III to tell the exciting story of the king's final moments in battle; and Matthew Morris, author of Leicester's Lost Medieval Churches. The talks explored the surrounding area around All Saints’ Church, including where three other medieval churches once stood.
• Lollardy in Leicester by Christopher Sim
• The Fascinating Life of Margery Kemp by Emma Williams
• An overview of the history and architecture of All Saints by Angela Collins
A collaborative research project Making Medieval Leicester’s Heritage Visible ArtReachrecruiteda small teamof volunteerstocreate materialstoshare more about AllSaints’ heritage with the community. The research project resulted in the production of a booklet and a mobile exhibition. Volunteers were able to work with local heritage experts, visit heritage sites and consult with historical archives to explore the heritage of All Saints’ Church. A series of online workshops with volunteers and community groups established the stories to share in these materials. The stories shared were:
Owing to restrictions on public events in Leicester, the booklet and mobile exhibition have been shared online. A schedule of events with key stakeholders is planned for when restrictions on live events and venues are lifted.
Volunteers received training to carry out their roles. ArtReach offered a programme of volunteer training that consisted of Event briefings scheduled prior to events and in Roots Group regular meetings.
• A summary of All Saints’ Church in Medieval Leicester by Carol Brown
Volunteers were able to take part in training sessions around script writing and copy writing and participate in talks with local heritage experts. Training was led by ArtReach who commissioned external speakers to deliver sessions and offered dedicated project staffing to support volunteers in delivering their roles throughout the project.
Supporting volunteers
7
The story of Margery Kempe a play presented as part of Liberty UK Festival (March 2020) This play aimed to provide a multi disciplinary arts response to share the heritage of All Saints’ Church and one of its most noted literary connections Margery Kempe to new audiences. The Community Plays featured local volunteers and culturally diverse young artists together to produce the culminating cultural event of the heritage project. The project was led by director, Kishan Anand.
• 14% were aged 55 and 64
The breakdown of attendees by event/project were:
• 25% were aged between 45 and 54
Findings
• 7% were aged between 15 and 24
Programme
ArtReach’s programme of events that took place at All Saints’ Church attracted 882 people to the venue
• 14% were aged between 25 and 34.
35 volunteers were supported to deliver the programme of work. ArtReach involved 15 members from its Roots Group, who acted as volunteers to support the activities and participate in the research stages of the creative projects and of the heritage materials. Seven volunteers were recruited to take the lead on the heritage research to produce the booklet and interpretation panels for the mobile exhibition Four volunteers went on to write extended articles for the booklet. ArtReach also provided opportunities to 13 regular volunteers with the programme of activity delivered at All Saints.
HeritageTalks(NovembertoDecember2019) 67
• 3% preferred not to say and 1% did not provide information
RefugeeWeekactivitiesandopendays(June2019) 173
AllSaintsOpenDays(March2019andSeptember2019) 174
8
• 7% were aged 65 and 74.
Levels of participation
The project was profiled as part of ArtReach’s wider creative programme, which reached over 350,000 ArtReachaudiences.was successful in gathering some demographic data on 201 audience/participant members. The anonymous data showed that:
• 22% were aged between 35 and 44
Below outlines how respondents self defined their ethnicity. Note that the table does not include ethnicities where the response was zero.
numbersAudience
ThestoryofMargeryKempe aplaypresentedaspartofLibertyUKFestival(March2020) 240
• 7% were children below the age of 15
EnharmonicspresentedaspartofJourneysFestivalInternational(August2019) 228
This could be attributed to the programme’s family focus and ‘open door’ approach to certain aspects of its programme and also the range of creative formats that were shared as part of the project.
Findings suggest that ArtReach had success in attracting a younger and more diverse audience to All Saints’ Church. Many respondents would not have accessed this venue before this project.
Ethnicity % Responsesof
ArtReach Heritage Project Manager
Arab 2% Asian or Asian British: Chinese 2% Asian or Asian British: Indian 8% Asian or Asian British: Pakistani 3% Asian or Asian British: Other 4% Black or Black British: African 4% Mixed: White and Black Caribbean 2% Mixed: White and Asian 2% Mixed: Other/ Multiple ethnic background 2% White: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British 59% White: Other 8% Prefer not to say 2% Did not say 2%
9
The programme appealed to a broad audience those that were active in seeking out heritage experiences and those that wouldn’t normally access sites like All Saints’ Church ”
“
“A lot of people were saying that they walk past the church all the time but had never been in it…. Older people, younger people, diverse people Even the play about Margery Kempe brought people who initially came for the arts element, but then became involved in the fabric of the building and wanted to know more.”
The project worked with local heritage specialists, who were experts in medieval Leicester history, but also unaware of the role that All Saints’ Church played in some the era ’s most compelling historical
82% Strongly Agreed or Agreed that as a result of taking part in these events they were ‘more likely to visit other heritage venues after this event’ evidencing that the approach to share the heritage story of All Saints’ Church was successful in raising interest in local heritage and that the outputs of the project that can shared (e.g. the booklet and mobile exhibition) can play a role in raising awareness of the Church’s heritage after completion of the project.
with the lead researcher, who worked closely with the volunteer researchers, she explained that she had not known much about the church herself, even though she lives in Leicester and has a background in the heritage sector
“I learnt a lot from the ‘All Saints’ Project. The chance to research this fascinating church with a group of volunteers, and support them in professional research and interpretation, has resulted in a well researched
10
Inmomentsaninterview
Volunteer
Delivering against the project outcomes.
Awareness: As a result of the project, the heritage of All Saints’ Church is better interpreted and explained in its context of medieval Leicester. There is also substantial scope to increase awareness of the heritage of the church following completion of the project.
All aspects of the project’s activity from the creative programme to the research projects introduced new and existing audiences to aspects of All Saints’ Church’s history not often shared in public events or through creative methods (e.g. sound installations, plays and productions). Survey data highlighted that the majority of people that took part in the events were new audiences to the church. Audience surveys highlighted that over 60% of survey respondents (121 out of 201 respondents) had not been to All Saints’ Church before.
11 booklet that communicates some of the most captivating aspects of this building’s heritage. ”
Audiences included young people and those who had never visited the church before. It drew audiences from across the city as part of the Liberty UK Festival. For the heritage talks, one of the speakers commented that there were people in the audience who were nearby residents in the new flats around the corner to the Church.
As stated in the previous section, 39% of respondents to the audience survey self identified as having a UK ethnic minority background. This includes 8% identifying as ‘white other’, which suggests that aspects of this project could have had success in engaging the local Eastern European communities in the Woodgate area of Leicester city (although this needs further investigation) The success in engaging audiences with UK ethnic minority backgrounds can be attributed to the City’s diversity, but also the the
The range of activity recognised the importance of delivering a programme that attracted both new and existing audiences with building. Some audience feedback suggests that there were audience members who ‘could not relate to some of the exhibition items’ , but other comments suggested that those who had attended All Saints’ Church could see ‘the value’ in delivering new types of programmes to attract a different demographic to understand and hear about the heritage of the church.
Frances Maguire, Lead Heritage Researcher
The diverse range of activities and events at the Church included contemporary arts and sounds installations, a young people’s exhibition, a new presentation of a multi artform play responding to the story of Margery Kempe, as well as heritage talks, and a research project. The range in the offer drew different audiences to each activity.
Denis Kenyon of the War Memorials Trust, who works with volunteers to display the War Memorial at the back of All Saints’ Church, said that the profile of the volunteers that he engaged with activity at the church were mostly older people. He shared that he was impressed that the activities brought in a much younger age group. He commented that on one occasion, ‘I was the only person over the age of 30!’
Diversity of audiences: Diverse communities engaged with a varied programme of activity at All Saints’ Church. The events programme brought in young audiences to the church, and audiences whose interests were sparked enough to attend more than one event. Its links to city wide festivals and events such as Journeys Festival International, Liberty UK and Refugee Week extended the reach of the programme, and attracted diverse audiences to All Saints’ Church – audiences who might have initially been interested to experience a creative activity at the Church, but were then compelled to engage with the heritage aspects of the project as a consequence.
Leicester Heritage Worker
“All Saints’ Church can attract people who wouldn’t relate to other heritage spaces [in Leicester], in particular, those who might be put off visiting a large building like a museum or gallery. All Saints’ Church feels more community friendly.”
Between February 2019 and September 2020, 35 volunteers accessed 10 briefing and training events delivered in person, with subsequent weekly sessions delivered online between March and April 2020, when the UK entered the first lockdown in response to Covid 19. The ArtReach Project Manager and the Heritage specialists also supported volunteers in between sessions to complete given tasks or activities in between projects.
Roots Group Volunteer
Brad Cooke, Heritage Specialist
“Everybody who came was engaged people returning week by week. We got new people coming really diverse audiences. And people just nosed about the building and asked lots of questions. There were always questions from the audiences.”
“It gave us an opportunity to come together all people and share happiness.”
12
links to city wide festivals, which enabled a spotlight on All Saints’ Church A regular All Saints’ Church volunteer commented, ‘linking the exhibition to Refugee Week brought in a more multi cultural audience’ . These links to festivals and programmes also encouraged volunteers to be part of the project that were fromsanctuary seeking backgrounds. Comments shared by Volunteers(whoare also members of the ArtReach led Roots Group) highlighted many benefits to taking part in this project.
Skills Development: A team of volunteers developed new skills in heritage interpretation. The programme also achieved social outcomes for participants, such as increased confidence and more social connections. Elements of the programme aimed to engage children and young people and develop new skills in heritage too.
Roots Group Volunteer
Visits and talks were organised with the Leicestershire and Rutland Records Office and a professional copywriter to help volunteers write their essays for publication.
Different elements of the programme needed to engage volunteers with a variety of experience and levels of interest in heritage in order that people would benefit from the skills development opportunities on offer.
“I feel more self confidence, and I am boosting myself being a part of this group. I learned how to interact with people and share my feelings with others.
“I have met new people which has helped with English and learned some new activities.”
15 members of the ArtReach led Roots Group became active volunteers to support and help curate the events programme delivered between March and September 2019. The Roots Group were also consulted to develop and test the stories that would be shared in the booklet and mobile exhibition in online sessions delivered in March and April 2020.
”
Frances Maguire commented that there was a diversity of volunteers in the project. Some were members of heritage societies and were already involved in heritage activity, but others had never done anything like this before.
Roots Group Volunteer
13
A team of seven volunteers worked with heritage professional Frances Maguire. Frances worked with the volunteers on developing skills for local history, how to identify sources, how to interpret them, where they would find that information, and then how to work those up into research questions to help write a booklet.
Frances Maguire
• Family workshops working with artists to create sounds that worked with architectural elements of All Saints’ Church.
• Young people’s workshops to explore the concept of Sanctuary and relating this to heritage venues in Leicester, including All Saints’ Church
Local stakeholders recognised commercial advantage in local heritage assets. There is precedent in celebrating and incorporating the heritage of the old buildings in local regeneration plans and future community plans.
ArtReach ensured that all the volunteers could undertake a relevant role in the project linked to their own individual interests and experience, to ensure that everybody could contribute.
14
• A series of talks with DMU students to explore audience development plans that would aim to increase engagement with All Saints’ Church and its Heritage. These talks were delivered at All Saints’ Church and at De Montfort University to students on the Arts and Festival Management course. Students submitted Audience Development plans, and members of the ArtReach team provided feedback to contribute to their course learning.
New residential buildings have attracted new residents, and the project was able to benefit from new residents eager to discover the local cultural offer.
Her observations of sessions noted that volunteers, in particular those with little experience in heritage, became more confident in the group and that the group bonded well.
Through this project, young people developed new skills and knowledge as a result of participating in the Examplesproject.of
Benefitting local community: All Saints’ Church is a valued part of the local area. Key stakeholders felt the achievements of the project can contribute to the development and regeneration of the local area and creating a sense of community. All Saints’ Church is part of providing a feeling like it is a better place to live, work and visit.
“They were really confident in talking to the artist about what they knew of the heritage and this surprised some of them.”
activities and workshops included:
When volunteers took part in creative workshops to support artists to present work at the Church, one artist commented that ‘it was clear that the volunteers had skills and knowledge in talking about the heritage of the Church’ for them to apply
Joseph Murphy of Charles Street Buildings
In interviews with stakeholders, the position of All Saints’ Church within the regeneration of Woodgate and the ‘A50 Corridor’ was felt as significant, and presents a great opportunity for the Church to continue to engage local residents. In particular, all those interviewed were positive about the role of heritage activity in supporting regeneration in the area, and were keen that more should be done to promote the flexibility of All Saints’ Church to deliver a varied programme of activity and share its heritage story
Joseph Murphy of Charles Street Buildings
The Churches Conservation Trust equally recognised the impact of creative activity on opening up church spaces, in particular to a much broader audience demographic:
15
“Heritage is very important but often overlooked in regeneration. [As developers, we have] restored [a local building] based on its heritage, and found a use to suit the building, rather than the design of the building… Using heritage draws people to an area. It can be a nice marriage between the old and new… creating a modern [amenity], influenced by the heritage of the site.”
Joseph Murphy of Charles Street Buildings (a property developer involved in local regeneration projects) stated that All Saints’ Church was an important part of the ‘local mix’ that new communities need.
“As more residential buildings are developed, people need interesting things to get involved in and to see, and there needs to be a diversity of activity, and interesting mix to make it a vibrant place. This all contributes towards regeneration ”
Footfall in the area (pre covid) was described as increasing with new cafes and night time economy establishments contributing to a greater vibrancy in the area. All Saints’ Church is an important asset in the local community, and Murphy stated that they would be keen to see it utilised more, with the heritage of All Saints’ Church ‘treated sensitively’ as part of regeneration plans.
“In terms of ‘placemaking’, All Saints’ Church is crucial [to local regeneration] because it sets that Waterside area a new area of the city in a context. The mixed use development will draw in a new community, so somewhere such as All Saints’ Church is a great place to be the catalyst for local interest in the area, and should be a key part of the regeneration process.”
Anne Provan, a representative from Leicester City Council, also saw All Saints’ Church as an important aspect within future regeneration plans With all new buildings being developed in the areas, All Saints’ Church is one of the oldest buildings in the city, which enhances its importance:
Feedback from artists remarked it as an ‘accessible’ and ‘democratic’ space, as well as ‘inspiring’
All Saints was described as a venue that could bring together the ‘community, leisure and cultural agenda’ , but that issues with listed buildings, such as All Saints’ Church, can present difficulties for being fully utilised and accessible to all audiences. Regardless, many volunteers remarked that All Saints’ Church had something unique to offer the local area.
Volunteer
Anne Provan, Leicester City Council
“There is a tremendous value in using heritage spaces for creativity, because historically they always were a creative space. Breaking down barriers has been one of the benefits of working with ArtReach the diversity of audience reached is much wider than you would think of traditionally for a Christian building.”
“It’s a little oasis in the middle of a vibrant city area. It offers a peaceful area with a green space ”
16
Judith Patrick, Churches Conservation Trust
17
Brad Cooke, Heritage Expert
• The building is tactile. The flexibility of All Saints’ Church has been a huge factor in the success of the creative programme that was delivered. In 2020, The Van Gogh Immersive Experience was installed in All Saints, attracting thousands of audience members to the building and installing a complex range of interpretation materials into the building, being sensitive to the building’s fabric
• Delivering the All Saints’ Church mobile exhibition in local businesses in the immediate surrounding areas to engage new residents and share the heritage of their local area
To ensure the legacy of the project, and enable All Saints’ Church to have an impact on the local area, recommendations included:
“There’s something brilliant about going into a fantastic space and seeing your own work displayed or performing in it. I’d be keen to see these types of spaces open up more to create opportunities for local creatives.”
• Maintaining engagement with developers and City Council representatives to discuss support to bring local cultural programmes to present work at All Saints’ Church in future. The current Van Gogh exhibition is viewed as a huge success in engaging local residents and tourists to the local area.
Artist
“The church is an artwork of itself. It is a place of education and community, and a place of sanctuary ”
The project team and stakeholders attributed a range of reasons for why the partnership was successful in engaging audiences. These included:
Best practice: The project contributes to best practice in approaches to ‘open the doors’ on underused churches Partnerships between heritage spaces and cultural organisations can bring new opportunities.
• Positioning the outputs of the project within a wider city drive to promote Leicester’s heritage sites, such as a heritage trail .incorporating All Saints’ Church, Leicester Cathedral, the Clock Tower, The Richard III Centre and other heritage sites around the city centre.
Many of the people interviewed, including stakeholders who work in history or archaeology in Leicester, had never been inside All Saints’ Church or had not been for a long time (one person said they had not been in since the 1970’s before it closed as a church). Many of the interviewees commented on how the Church is hidden away, in an area of little footfall, which makes the Church ‘out of sight and out of mind’ (although there was acknowledgement that this was changing given recent regeneration). It was beneficial to have exciting activities that would provide a substantial draw for people to attend the events at the Church and visit the area.
The need to deliver a varied creative programme was seen as integral to the project’s success in engaging diverse audiences. However, these elements required much more robust project planning and briefing of workstream leads. A greater investment in bringing all the workstream leads together to share progress of the overall project plan was seen as something that might have benefited those involved in delivering elements of the project so it was clearer about the part they played in delivering the achievements.
18
• A varied creative programme, which attracts existing a new audiences, should explore and make direct links between creative approaches and the building’s heritage to successfully engage audiences in a way that traditional community heritage gatherings might not.
Project Plan what went well? What could have improved?
Lessons learned
Audience engagement what went well? What could have improved?
The range of activities from contemporary arts presentation to perhaps more traditional heritage events attracted diverse audiences. In particular, it was encouraging to observe engagement of local residents, who were interested in finding out more about what was on their doorstep, many of whom were from the Eastern European community. It engaged young families from the local area too. For this project, limited post code data was gathered, and so more robust approaches to establish the reach into the local community could have provided a much more robust analysis and assessment on the potential role the church could play in the community in future.
The project successfully engaged a range of different heritage experts, creative practitioners and activity managers to deliver the programme of activity. Even though this project was able to support this level of involvement, there were some issues around continuity, which the project team felt could mitigated by establishing more through role profiles for people working on the project and opportunities to network across the full project team.
ArtReach contracted a range of heritage experts and activity leaders to inspire and coordinate the volunteers. In addition to Artreach staff, these heritage experts and activity leaders were a point of contact for volunteers.
Judith Patrick from the Churches Conservation Trust explained in some detail the situation with partnership working between them and ArtReach, and how this could change over time.
Stakeholder engagement what went well? What could have improved?
Volunteers were able to participate in activities and topics that they were interested in, which made it more interesting for them. There was a really good response to the opportunities that this project offered, and in general, there is an enthusiastic heritage audience in Leicester who are very dedicated and committed to learning about and understanding the history of Leicester.
Andrew Hyam, Heritage Expert
19
People are used to churches being closed, but when there is a reason to open it people often come just to see inside.
Volunteer engagement – what went well? What could have improved?
Several sessions involved volunteers as ‘experts’ on All Saints’ Church. Session were organised between artists and volunteers so that artists could learn about the heritage of All Saints’ Church These collaborative sessions, with all of the participants, was a unique opportunity for them all. Artists described the consultation sessions as inspiring their work that was presented in the Church.
ArtReach found it challenging to manage the volunteers remotely in the aftermath of COVID 19 and to keep them on board to complete the project. Regular sessions were organised in March and April, but participation was sporadic. To produce the heritage materials, ArtReach had to take a more individual approach to supporting volunteers to develop their articles and finalise them ready for publication.
ArtReach described the need to produce public materials that were professional looking, and that would be accessible to audiences new to All Saints’ Church. The volunteer research team featured people that wanted to learn about research, how to compile research and be supported to create a booklet, hence the involvement of a range of professionals in the training programme, such as a copywriter to support volunteers to edit stories for the booklet. This support allowed for greater consistency in the articles and interpretation, and gave the materials a stronger voice.
As a result of the project, the heritage of All Saints’ Church and its links to medieval Leicester have been better interpreted and explained. There is also substantial scope to increase awareness of the heritage of the church following completion of the project, owing to the levels of sustained interest in the heritage building, in particular, by local residents (many new to the area)
As a result, the events programme connected to younger audiences, and audiences whose interests were sparked enough to attend more than one event. Links to city wide festivals and events such as Journeys Festival International, Liberty UK and Refugee Week extended the reach of the programme further, in particular, engaging individuals with sanctuary seeking backgrounds as volunteers and Aparticipants.teamofvolunteers
Diverse communities engaged well owing to delivery of a varied programme of creative activity that made direct connection between artistic approachs and the heritage of All Saints and aspects of the building’ s architecture
20
At the present time there is little chance of refurbishing the Church in any way that might make it more suitable for more ambitious projects, however it was felt that in the meantime it presented a good opportunity for smaller, mutual local partnerships to use the space, such as the project that ArtReach had run. She noted the difference between rural churches, which tend to have greater community cohesion and thus draw dedicated communities to it, and urban churches, such as All Saints’ Church, which need a different approach.
Conclusion
Over time, as the residential area in the immediate vicinity grows, this could change and a community could be established that connects well with the Church. It is felt that urban churches always need more partnership working and need to be used in many ways by different organisations to keep vibrancy and relevance within their location. There is more potential for the Church to be used by a variety of creative organisations and for smaller projects that need a big space for a short time.
developed new skills in heritage interpretation. The programme also achieved social outcomes such as increased confidence and more social connections. Elements of the programme aimed to engage children and young people, who also developed new skills in heritage too. Students delivered projects that related to arts and heritage management studies at University.
Key stakeholders felt the achievements of the project can contribute to the local area and a growing sense of community. With a more vibrant building and diverse programme of events, All Saints’ Church can contribute to the local area and make it feel like it is a better place to live, work and visit
To ensure the legacy of the project, and enable All Saints’ Church to have an impact on the local area, recommendations included:
• Further exploring the potential of local cultural partnerships with CCT, to help it meet its priorities for the building, and to encourage more visitors to appreciate the heritage story of the building.
• Maintaining engagement with developers and City Council representatives to discuss support to bring local cultural programmes to present work at All Saints’ Church in future. The current Van Gogh exhibition is viewed as a success in engaging local residents and tourists to the local area.
4. Creative programmes, delivered in disused churches, can engage diverse volunteers and local people to support spaces to open and be accessed by local residents.
5. There is now appetite for a continued and regular creative programme at All Saints’ Church Future partnerships between a cultural organisation and All Saints’ Church will achieve audiences and participation.
21
All Saints’ Church is a valued part of the local area, and has huge potential to play a role in regeneration aspirations. Local stakeholders recognised the commercial advantages in celebrating and incorporating the heritage of old buildings in local regeneration plans and future community plans.
Next Steps
Five key takeaways
1. A diverse creative programme, delivered in partnership between an urban church and a cultural organisation helped to engage diverse audiences with the church’s heritage;
3. Urban regeneration plans benefit from the role that heritage can play in attracting new residents and businesses to the area.
2. The flexibility of a space, such as All Saints’ Church, provides an inspiring and innovative setting to bring together creative projects and heritage.
• Delivering All Saints’ Church mobile exhibition in local businesses, schools and community spaces in the immediate surrounding areas to engage new residents when restrictions are lifted
• Positioning the outputs of the project with a wider city drive to promote Leicester’s heritage sites. Ideas include a heritage trail incorporating All Saints’ Church, Leicester Cathedral, the Clock Tower, The Richard III Centre and other heritage sites around the city centre.
• Continued support to develop a pool of dedicated volunteers for All Saints’ Church to help open its doors as part of ‘open days’, which can share the outputs of this project in future.
Feedback from Students/lecturer from FeedbacktheDMU from open accessworkshops
Participant feedback from DMUworkshopsfeedback
The local area/communitywillbe a better place to live, work andvisit(Legacy)
SkillsDevelopment A team of volunteers developed new skills in heritageinterpretation researcherFeedbackprojectNumberaudiencesprocesssomethingVolunteerreportlearningnewabouttheofengagingwithheritageofhoursonthefromleadFrankie
Stakeholders report inclusion of All Saints in regeneration objectives, plans,visitorplans.
Volunteer feedback survey andinterviews
Feedback on materials from Volunteers and Heritagestakeholders
Interviews/Feedback from artistsinvolved
Artist Interpretation of heritage and the impact ontheirprojects
Awareness The heritage of All Saints is better interpreted and explained in the context ofmedievalLeicester
Stakeholderinterviews
22 Appendix A Evaluation Approach Matrix
Diversityofaudiences
Indicators / What we should analyse Tool
All Saints is a valued part of the local area and regenerationaspirations
Diverse communities engaged in a varied programme of activity at AllSaints
Numbers and types of peopleFeedbackinGroupFeedbackeventNumberactivitiesorganisedofaudiencesperfromRootsaboutinvolvementtheprojectfromyoung FeedbackregistersParticipant/Audiencecalls
Children and young people developed new skillsinheritage
Qualitative feedback via Volunteeremailsorcallssurvey Feedback from audience arts/heritageFeedbackmembersfromeventsfromprofessional Survey feedback Audience SocialStaffPeerAgencyReviewreflectionmedia(pictures)
Aim HeadersOutcomes/Report
Interviews
Stakeholders’ perceptions of the building e.g., role, Perceptionsheritage,valueof the area Bookimproveings
Indicators / What we should analyse Tool
Aim
The All Saints project contributes to best practice to managing disusedchurches
Partnerships with organisationscommunity/artsbring new opportunities performingArtistEventStakeholderfeedbacktypesandsuccessfeedbackoninspaces
for display of All Saints materials and dissemination
HeadersOutcomes/Report
23
• Angela Collins
24
• Denis Kenyon Leicester City, County & Rutland At Risk War Memorials Project
ArtReach is incredibly grateful to the local volunteers, cultural partner and heritage experts who contributed towards the success of this project
• Emma Williams
• Frances Maguire
• Joseph Murphy Charles Street Buildings
• Matthew Morris
• Judith Patrick Churches Conservation Trust
• Anne Provan Leicester City Council
• Carol Brown
• Christopher Sim
• Brad Cooke
Thank you to funders and supporters:
• Members of the Roots Group based in Leicester
• Andrew Hyam
Thank you to the following contributors to this evaluation:
Acknowledgements
Registered
25
LCB Depot 31 Rutland Street +44Artreach.bizLE1Leicester1RE(0)116261 6882 admin@artreach.biz
Charity No. 1180816 and Company limited by guarantee, registration number 6669673 England and Wales ArtReach is registered as a trademark registration no. 2552883 VAT Registration Number 272 6887 59
ArtReach (Trust) Ltd
