Heritage Project

Life and Leisure, Changing West Cumbria for Good is a Heritage Lottery Funded Oral History Project. Led by Helen Morgan and Janice Murray from Howgill Arts (part of Howgill Family Centre) the project looked at the recent history of the YMCA in Whitehaven, Cumbria. Young people were trained in capturing memories from their elders with a view to preserving their stories for future generations.

Exhibition

An exhibition at the start of the year was received with great acclaim. It featured photographs, memorabilia, oral histories, film and music from life in the YMCA from 1940s to the 1980s.

Oral Histories

The initial stages of the project saw young people recording oral histories from those who attended the Young Men’s Christian Association; they engaged with their elders to gain an insight into the recent past and looked at ways this can help shape the future. This became the inspiration for the final stage of the project. A final piece has been created which is a collaboration between Howgill Arts, Zoe Crossan & Hannah Reid at Fab Lab, Cockermouth and Joiner, Alan Hawkins. The final piece, which is a mixture of traditional and modern construction techniques, will be on permanent display in the Foyer.