Description:This picture features residents from Castle Vale at the event that we held in the Resident’s Club in July 2009.
Sound It Out Community Music’s ‘Down Your Way’ Music and Heritage Project celebrates Castle Vale's history and transformation.
Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Castle Vale Endowment Trust Fund and Tyburn Ward Erdington Constituency Community Chest Fund, Down Your Way was an intergenerational project which brought together 3 generations of the local community in uncovering the heritage of the estate and that of its older and longer-term residents. Young people from Castle Vale School & Performing Arts College, Chivenor Primary School and the Astral and Sanctuary Youth Centres undertook training on interviewing and recording techniques and have worked with residents and other community participants at Chivenor House, Whittle Croft Sheltered Housing and with other Castle Vale residents to record oral history.
These oral histories included themes suggested by residents, such as asking people about: when they first moved to Castle Vale and why; about their first impressions of Castle Vale and how it has changed; about their work and hobbies over the years whilst living in Castle Vale; and comparing this research to the youths' knowledge and experiences.
Residents have also had the opportunity to work with Artistic Director Dave Howard and musicians Chris Mapp, Bobbie Gardner, Scott Evans, Ian Chapman, Mark Robertson and volunteer Ella Morgan to create music and lyrics as a celebration of the heritage of the estate. These musical extracts have been directly inspired by Castle Vale and the oral histories collected, either lyrically or by copying speech patterns from the interviews and sampling and using specific phrases and words from discussions and sounds collected from around Castle Vale.
Down Your Way has been a huge success in that it has engaged the wider community in heritage, including those who wouldn’t normally access this type of learning, as well as young people and new residents. Music has been a fantastic tool through which to engage people in learning about heritage and to bring people together to reflect this through new music. We hope very much that the project has given the younger generation and new residents a sense of understanding and pride in their heritage and community.