26.08.10
Our Stories
Last week, Community Music Wales and The Fostering Network joined forces to run a series of workshops for Looked After Children and Foster Carers to record their memories by making music and short films. This project was funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.
The two groups in Wrexham and Carmarthen began the first day of the workshops with an ice-breaker session, playing percussion instruments from West Africa as an introduction to different musical styles, instruments and culture. Through doing this, the children and Foster Carers were given the chance to improvise and express themselves in sound and music, both as individuals and as part of a group.
They were then introduced to different animation styles including clay modelling and drawing.
On the second day the group produced a multi-track recording and an animation based around the techniques they had previously explored.
Whilst the young people were busy creating this, the Foster Carers received advice on IT safety and home software so they could continue to record their memories at home.
The project was a great success and the participants went home inspired and enthusiastic.
One participant said: “We had a great time. We were very proud of what we achieved during the workshop”.
The workshop material will be collated to make a CDROM resource to raise awareness of issues relating to looked after children. The package will showcase new ways of working with music and film, particularly when identity protection is an issue. The resource will be made available through the Fostering Network.
