A Level Playing Field - A talk by Jayne Murray

Our last meeting before the summer break was a fascinating talk by Jayne Murray. Jayne talked about the project she has been leading for the last 8 years in Druids Heath. I live about a mile from Druids Heath and I was very surprised to hear all about this brilliant project as I had never heard about it before!

What is it?
Jayne has obtained funding from many places to work with the community in Druids Heath. The aim was to improve the status of the area and record its history by working with the residents. She says
'We arrived in 2017 with an idea for a project called 'A Level Playing Field' offering access to the arts to people in Druids Heath. We started small and over time we have grown, learning more about the community and introducing different art projects in response to what is wanted in the area'

Funding
Funding has come from many places including
National Lottery Heritage Fund
Birmingham City Council
Arts Council England
Maypole Community Fund
The Active Well Being Society
Selly Oak Neighbourhood Network Service
Commonwealth Games Creative City Fund

What have they done?
Its hard to know where to begin as they have worked on so many projects and groups over the years. A book has been made about Druids Heath because there were no books about the area at all. Residents were asked to come forward and talk about the history of the area and to bring pictures, photos etc. The material was used to make the book and also an exhibition that toured the estate. Some oral stories were recorded too. As well as recording the heritage, flags were made by clubs and groups in the area to give them a better identity. They were able to hire a container to use which was called Basecamp and it was used for meetings and workshops. Later they were able to take over a shop in Pound Road.
A youth club was started on Saturdays and a nurture group for young children. They realised that Druids Heath's high position and open aspect meant that they saw wonderful sunsets in the west and a sunset club was started with lots of artwork involved. A mural was designed and made with ideas from the community. Its a very striking painting with linked hands as the artist said that the people were always kind and helpful. The buzzard is a symbol of protecting the community. I have often seen this as I drive along Bells Lane and wondered about its story. Now I know!
There was much work with fashion and upcycling, involving young people and artists in the area. A fashion show was put on. 

This only touches on Jayne's work over the 8 years and I have only included a small part of what she said. Everyone at guild was very interested and lots of questions were asked. We were all impressed and a little overwhelmed with the hard work and volume of activities that Jayne and many others had initiated. 

Here are a few pictures from In One Place, a book about the project.

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Flags made by different groups

The Sunset Club

The Mural designed by Mohammed Ali

There were found to be 37 species in the area. West Midland Birds Club helped

Music & Style were inspired by local resident Tony Crampton

Tony Crampton's original punk clothes collection