Stare Juchy, 14th Oct. 2009Project presentation.

ASSOCIATION FOR AN ACTIVE CULTURE SO:ON STOWARZYSZENIE NA RZECZ KULTURY AKTYWNEJ SO:ON

is a group of filmmakers, art curators, architects, social activists and other young professionalsAs a collective we practice our métiers in a socially responsive ways.

Our common field is CULTURAL ANIMATION

We work with local communities and groups of interest towards:

• COLLABORATIVE WORK• PARTICIPATION• CULTURAL DEMOCRACY

To explain what we mean by this principles let us tell you about the project we have realized in a small village Rogalik in Stare Juchy commune.

FILMWORKS FARM GOSPODARSTWO FILMOWE

It started in April 2009. Before, we were in touch with community of Rogalik and local

authorities in Stare Juchy for more than a year.

We were familiar with the difficulties the village suffers from:- Among 70 inhabitants there are only 4 people officially employed

- Nobody is a farmer too- Economic decline and low income problem - Dependency on benefits

What does a seclusion mean in this setting:

examples•No public facilities: proper community centre, shop, a church even. It is too difficult to get here and work on site with programs realized on a commune level•Youth is spread among 5 schools in different villages•No public transport on a level that would enable people to seek for job, activities and inclusion

Filmwork Farm, as a community arts project, was funded by:Ministry of Culture and National HeritageEłk District Local GovernmentPost-Accesion Rural Support ProjectStare Juchy Commune

Literary, the project was about:

MAKING FILMS TOGETHER

How does it work towards the aims described above?

collaborative work

Young people participated in script writing, photography and other media workshops.

This gave them basic means to devise a film on their own under our tutorial.

“A Blindfold Game” / “Gra w ciemno”

collaborative work

• We needed help: of adults, of institutions in Stare Juchy.

collaborative work

• Helping each other: sometimes working on film meant cooking together for the team and seasonal works.

collaborative work

• They needed help: to take care of their brothers and sisters mainly.

• So elder kids directed younger kids: a film tells a story about yellow monsters who get scared by a human kids living nearby.

Collaborative work is a practice of self organization and communicating with others.

A crucial step toward social integration.

participation

• Not everybody needs to be a film director.

BUT

• Everybody could participate to contribute to the final presentation and have a satisfaction from its effects.

participation

Examples of other skills needed:

• technical: building props, taking care of equipement, preparing the village space for the grand finale

• organizational: inventing activities for guests of grand finale, catering, roles sharing

• artistic: photography, stage design (hair dressing, costumes, film set), singing, fire show

Participation as a method of working with local communities means changing the inbalance of their / individuals presence in public space.

The effects of our workshops took different forms and gave voice to different skills.

THREE FILMS the third one, “It comes”, is a documentary where the participants assisted in filming the interviews with older inhabitants of the village

PHOTOGRAPHIC SELF-PORTRAITS

PHOTOGRAPHIC SELF-PORTRAITS

NEWSPAPERS

CAMERA OBSCURA

PICTURES MADE FROM A CAN

CULTURAL EVENT WITH MORE THAN 200 GUESTSWe invited other institutions: schools, associations, informal groups to show the effects of their work during the grand finale

Cultural democracy means for us an access to the means of representing and communicating the voice of different communities. To realize it first steps are:•A place to meet•Access to the media•Creating self-representation instead of only being talked about•Confidence that others will hear

The links created between Rogalik and other places / institutions could be a crucial step towards more systematic programs of social inclusion.

We (community of Rogalik and animators from our association) search for the means to revitalize the old building in the middle of the village into a proper community centre.

We need a heating, running water, some equipment. We have: many ideas for activities that could happen there and a group of young people who can and are able to organize it locally.

Association SO:ON is preparing now for implementing a project directed to teachers and local cultural workers: BACKYARD DESIGN

This project is devoted to creating tools (lessons’ scenarios, website activities, digital photography) for work in contiguity of youth where they live: secluded villages, occupied by everyday exercise of rural life.

Thank you for your attention.

We will be happy to share the experience and hear about yours.

Contact:Anna Ptakanka.ptak@gmail.comhttp://gospodarstwofilmowe.blogspot.com/