MADE.

Creative Communities - shortlisted for an HCA Academy Award for Investing in Young People

'Involving artists and other creative professionals raised aspirations, gave us all new ideas, and led to a higher quality environment' This is the feedback from partners in our Creative Communities project

This Arts Council-funded project has brought residents, creative professionals and statutory organisations together in three areas in the West Midlands: north Solihull, Sandwell and Tamworth.

Supported by Wolverhampton-based artists Laundry, City Technology College students compiled a film on the regeneration plans for north Solihull. They set up an open day for residents and put on a photographic exhibition, interviewed residents and officials, put together a storyboard and carried out the filming and editing. The students attended regional and national conferences to meet other young people involved in regeneration schemes and were supported by Solihull MBC to visit projects in The Netherlands. Despite a major set-back when their equipment and footage was lost in a burglary, the students completed a 15-minute film, now being shown at neighbourhood events in the regeneration zone. (photo credit CTC Kingshurst Academy)

In Tamworth, Amington Heath Estate residents had expressed concerns about the lack of facilities for young people and the estate’s poor environmental appearance. An outdoor games area had been removed 12 years previously and the local youth centre building had closed due to structural problems. At the same time, some residents were wary about encouraging groups of young people to congregate in new areas.Tamworth Borough Council wanted to explore new ways to engage with both the adult residents and the young people on the estate. Working with creative professionals, young people have designed a new community meeting place based on the design of a maple leaf. ‘The Maple’ is an iconic metal structure and a focal point on the estate.

Creative Communities supported Sandwell’s community engagement approach in Tibbington, which has been awarded a Public Service Award and shortlisted for a Homes and Communities Agency award. We commissioned Digital Native Academy to train residents in computer gaming software to re-design an area of derelict land in the centre of the estate. People living on the estate grabbed this opportunity with such enthusiasm that Sandwell MBC plans to incorporate the technique into the masterplanning of the whole estate. The innovative nature of this approach has been shortlisted for two awards (including LGC/HSJ Sustainable Communities Award), has featured as a case study on the IDeA and other websites, and was recognised by Ordnance Survey for the Most Innovative Use of Geographic Information

Urban Explorers

Urban Explorers is based upon an initiative first developed in partnership with MADE, Creative Partnerships and Chandos Primary School, Birmingham during the Spring and Summer terms of 2007 as part of the school’s development of its Urban Curriculum. The project encouraged Years 4 and 6 pupils to develop skills to observe, record, document and present the built and natural environment at school, at MADE HQ and the journey between the two.

Resource Pack
We have produced a resource pack that will support Learning Outside the Classroom and Sustainability initiatives. The pack will raise awareness and support the use of the designed and built environment within the National Curriculum.

The Resource pack aims to:

• Create opportunities for young people to be questioning and demanding of their environment and the people who create and maintain it.
• Encourage skills within young people and teachers that will promote an understanding of their urban environment.
• Create opportunities for urban design professionals to interact with young people.
• Feed into and create debate regarding current thinking on sustainable living and building.
• Encourage an appreciation of urban biodiversity.
• Understand local distinctiveness. Support Learning Outside the Classroom and sustainability initiatives.      

Download the pack in four parts below
Chandos Urban Explorers resource pack - Part 1
Chandos Urban Explorers resource pack - Part 2
Chandos Urban Explorers resource pack - Part 3
Chandos Urban Explorers resource pack - Part 4

Rescue Geography

MADE is working in partnership with University of Birmingham (Dr Phil Jones) and University of Manchester (Dr James Evans) on a research project entitled Rescue Geography.

Rescue geography is a methodology that is being developed to capture a community’s sense of place and feed these values into the planning process. This creative and professional approach aids in creating a systematic application for future urban planning and development. It offers local authorities and developers the potential to enhance ‘cultural sustainability' in their professional designed environment practice and have a significant impact on the future quality of place making.

The methodology is also feeding into the community consulation taking place as part of the Warwick Bar development. Information about the research project

Dr Phil Jones and Dr James Evans have also recently written a book "Urban Regeneration in the UK: Theory and Practice" Available in paperback and hardback

You can also visit the Rescue Geography Website or catch up on the latest news by reading the blog .

Learning Spaces Living Places

MADE was a partner in Learning Spaces – Living Places, initiated by Birmingham City Council’s learning and culture directorate. The project piloted ad evaluated the potential to use artists as ‘provocateurs’ in radically changing the working practices of developers, local authority officers and school staff. Artists worked with children and young people on a range of project to raise their understanding of the nature and quality of design. Learning Spaces – Living Places has influenced the delivery of Building Schools for the Future in the city, raising awareness of the value of engaging young people in designing learning spaces.

For more information about our eductaion work contact This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Walking as the means to revealing Sense of Place

Visit http://www.makingsenseofplaces.co.uk/ to explore this project further!

The project gathered the evidence for what makes places distinctive, to show local authorities how local people can help to improve and reveal the importance of their places.

Artist Simon Whitehead revealed the Ladywood area in Birmingham through residents' voices, views and paths less trodden. In Rugby, local people joined Eric Gaskell (local artist) on a walk, to uncover something new about the town by ‘looking up'. Horticulturalist Pamela Smith and Architect Joe Holyoak, were joined by local people on a walk to uncover the specific and distinctive flora of Market Drayton. Claire Wood (Textile Artist) viewed Tamworth through the eyes of young people following a walk with local people, young people and architect Marco da Cruz as well as bespoke shirt appliqué workshops. Artist Gérard Mermoz and Architect Alun Nicholas took a walk with local people to examine the specific and distinctive aspects of Dudley as defined by locals.  

MADE has developed a series of alternative visitor guides focused on 5 towns in the West Midlands. These guides are interpretations of a journey that captures the character of the place as discovered by local people. These guidebooks were born out of the walks that took place in Architecture Week 15-25th June 2007.

MADE promotes the holistic engagement of communities in bringing forward developments within the built environment as essential to reinforcing and creating vibrant communities. By harnessing local knowledge and passion for places, people can make a significant contribution to their local area, creating better places.

Architecture Week

To celebrate Architecture Week 2007 MADE ran a series of events:

Youth Space 

Youth Space was a Government Office West Midlands Commission, where young people worked collaboratively with architects and artists to create their own spaces in 6 different parts of the region.

Article from The Guardian, June 2004 

See our Publications & Resources section for details on how to purchase the finished report.

MADE in Eastside 

This artist placement programme brought the talent of individual artists to high profile businesses working in Eastside’s regeneration and the built environment. It built upon the UK’s long-standing tradition of artist placements in industry giving a fresh profile to the Eastside development.

Holding the Edge Exhibition

Pub quiz on Eastside 

Icknield Port Loop 

MADE was invited by ISIS Waterside regeneration to work with Ubanistix to engage and consult with Ladywood community and stakeholders as part of the masterplanning process for the regeneration of the site. MADE proposed a series of four artists commissions for IPL based upon the themes of the four elements, Earth, Fire Air and Water. Each artist was commissioned to create a route around the area taking one element and to work with a small group of local people in developing the route.

Icknield Port Loop masterplan Elemental Routes: community consultation and contextual information for ISIS Waterside Regeneration report