Inspire College has been providing Employability, Personal and Social Development and Vocational Courses across Nottinghamshire for over fifteen years. As part of their programme, all of our young people take part in work experience and enrichment activities which encourage them to engage with the community and broaden their view of society and the arts.
In Bassetlaw, our Retford and Worksop bases have an excellent record of involving themselves with local initiatives that have provided a benefit both to the wider community and the learners themselves. These have involved litter picking and working on the grounds of local public spaces, to local decorating and art projects, creating and improving for others to enjoy.
One particularly memorable partnership was The Mayflower Project. In January 2019, artist Jo Wheeler and curator Kate Stoddart began working with a group of ten young people from Worksop and Retford, and their tutors. The goal was to share Bassetlaw’s Mayflower story and select an artist to continue with the project in 2020, as this marked 400 years since the ship set sail for America with pilgrims from Nottinghamshire on board.
To make an informed decision, young people visited Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Tate Modern, Derby Format International Photography and took a boat trip from Boston up the River Whitham out to sea, following the route of the pilgrims. Video production company Electric Egg documented the young people’s journey and the film was screened at a celebration event at our Worksop Base in October 2019. Young people also recorded their experience through photography and their work was displayed at the event. The project impacted positively on all the young people involved, with two going on to Art College and one pursuing photography beyond their time on programme.
Given its history of involving young people in so many worthwhile projects down the years, Inspire College is now proud to be involved with Bassetlaw’s Points of View project, which will culminate in an exhibition at our Worksop Library base on the 23rd, 24th and 25th May this year. Inspire College learners will be creating and event which displays their own art work along that that produced by young people involved with other organisations committed to the POV project.
