CASE STUDIES
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Peterloo 2019 : Impact Report
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I have really enjoyed it. I can't believe I was able to write a poem and say in front of all those people. The project is very powerful; my granddad is very proud. Christiana
Manchester Secondary PRU
Artists:
Young Identity
Contact Creative Experts Sally Gilford
Yussuf Mrabty Z-Arts
Hebe Purple
Louise Wallwein Hot Bed Press Spearfish
Thomas Byrne
Imagine Design Main outcomes:
Production of 15 learning resources, inspired by Peterloo and exploring young people’s involvement in protest over the last 200 years
Radical Read raised awareness of the Peterloo Massacre with young people, many of whom had no previous knowledge of the event
The project encouraged young people to read more, by examining historic and current texts, accounts and stories from protests involving young people
Produced a creative celebration event bringing over 100 young people together from across Manchester to explore protest and their role to bring about future change at Manchester City Art Gallery
A creative writing competition in Manchester led to the publication of The Peterloo Anthology. A beautifully illustrated book telling poignant stories of Peterloo from a young person's perspective
Key learning:
Many of the young people had not heard of the Peterloo Massacre or some of the other peaceful protests included in the pack. The project enabled young people to explore new insights into these key historical events.
The event planning, support of young people to take part, and delivery for the celebration event was very time-consuming. It would have benefited from more capacity and time from key staff and partners leading up to the event and on the day. The distribution of the learning resources would have benefited from more capacity and budget to enable them to reach a wider audience after the project came to an end.
Legacy of project:
Radical Read is available free online on the Peterloo website – for schools and others to download and use
Manchester schools have been provided with a box of books to support their learning and development in using Radical Read
Groups working on the project have produced an anthology of short stories about Peterloo, written by young people in Manchester and illustrated by pupils from Loreto High School
The British Council has taken 8 of the 15 themed packs and published them on their own learning portal so they can be shared internationally
