Travelling Through Tyne is a series of six creative and imaginative activities that explores the past, present and future. It is about looking closely, thinking deeply and imagining boldly with the people and places that make the Tyne Derwent Way home. You can find the resource here and a blogpost, ‘What if we become good ancestors to those who come after us?‘, explaining how the resource was made.
These activities have been designed for you to use as a starting point to explore your community. You are free to use your imagination and build on what we have created.
Travelling Through Tyne was created for the Tyne Derwent Way by Dingy Butterflies CIC and artists Chris Folwell and Liv Hunt. It is inspired by the work of Justine Boussard, in particular the Amateur Ancestor Project. Find out more about how they are made in our blog post by Ben Jones, Director of Dingy Butterflies CIC and Justine Boussard
Do you run creative sessions with local communities?
Maybe you’re a youth worker or a local artist; maybe you run a community centre or a wellbeing group. Maybe you just like to get friends together to think creatively! If so, give Travelling Through Tyne a go, download them below or pick up leaflets at the Staiths Space.
These activities have been designed for you to use as a starting point to explore your community. You are free to use your imagination and build on what we have created.
Download the Activities
Building Dunston Staiths – Dunston Staiths was opened in 1893 to load coal directly onto colliers (coal ships) ready for the onward journey delivering coal around the world. Over the years there have been many suggestions on what to do with the Staiths and how it could be reused for the benefit of the community. In this activity, we will recreate the Staiths together using simple materials to discover its past and imagine its future.
Letters through Tyne – From the development of the postal service, to the invention of the telephone and then the internet, how we communicate has changed dramatically over the last 200 years. How do you think communication will develop in the future? This activity invites you to ask: what if everyone had done everything they could to make a better world and wanted to tell us how.
Windows through Tyne – You can tell a lot about a place by walking up and down it. What will spaces such as homes, shops, offices or community spaces look like in the future? What kind of world do you think your future relatives would live in? What do you think people will need in the future, and how might they get it? Using everyday materials you might find at home and using your imagination we are going to create a future world.
Mapping the Future – We have been creating maps of our surroundings for hundreds of years. Could we create maps of the future we’d like to see? How well can you picture your street? How do you travel around your community? Are there problems you can see with how your community works now? How might those problems be solved in the future? Using everyday materials you might find at home and using your imagination, we are going to map our world and think about how it might change.
Building Nests – Nesting is usually seen as something that animals do, in particular birds, to care for their eggs and young. It can also mean something that humans do, to create a place that feels secure, comfortable, or in control, especially for young parents. We are going to create our own nests. Imagine the creature, person, or spirit who owns or lives in your nest. What do they find comfortable? What do they enjoy doing? What are they protecting and what can be found in the nest?
Making Mascots – In Japan they have mascots called Yuru-kyara, these mascots are usually created to promote a place or region, event, organisation or business. They are characterised by their kawaii (cute) and unsophisticated designs, often incorporating motifs that represent local culture, history or produce. Imagine if your community had their own mascot? Why would your mascot be important to where you live? What would it say about your community?
Each activity invites you to ‘travel through time…’: use this video to help you do so.
Huge thanks to the community groups who co-created these resources with us! They are: Riverside Primary Academy, Kingsmeadow Community School, Land of Oak and Iron, Rosewood Care Home, youth group Dunston Drop In, and Art Diamonds, an arts and wellbeing project for retired people.
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