NATIONAL LOTTERY HERITAGE FUND
Building on the privilege of making a digital installation of film and photography for the A Portrait of Swindon: The Queen’s Jubilee in 2012, the team at Create had built a rich network of contributors and interviewees who were featured in a touring exhibition reaching over 30,000 people, many moved to tears by the poetic weaving of images, film and interviews about the town they called home.
The creative production team wanted to explore the stories that had built the strength of the town through more in-depth personal stories, and in 2015, The Digital Journeys project commissioned by Arts Council England explored themes of journey and home in candid film and photographic portraits and an interactive app that allowed visitors to explore the global journeys that had led to their current home. From school children to staff in blue chip companies and the town’s Chief Executive, everyone contributed their memories and hopes for the future in the film.
Based on these 2 projects that had touched a broad range of communities and audiences, Heritage Lottery Fund SW approached Create Studios to scope a major project which would uncover hidden stories of diverse communities and explore the theme of migration which Digital Journeys had begun to explore.
The film production team were hungry to explore positive themes of migration – a word that had developed negative connotations in mainstream media nationally – whilst having brought positive experience and prosperity to the development of a successful 21st-century town, building Swindon’s identity towards city status.
Building relationships and trust over time, contributors created a new archive of oral histories which will rest in perpetuity in Wiltshire & Swindon Heritage Centre – 43 in total – which shared personal stories of hope, challenge, contribution and home. All were woven together into a 20 minute feature that formed the cornerstone of the touring See Me Too exhibition.
Three shorter films were created, featuring an exemplar character story, embodying the deeper experience of whole communities. Stories from Fred, Manju and Adeola can all be seen on the See Me Too website which we co-created with Bath Spa University.
You can explore the whole See Me Too project at createstudios.org.uk/see-me-too
