Being Playful and Creative

“Being at Osterley makes me smile.”
Participant, Berkeley Primary School

A creative approach has been central to the success of London Voices. An informal and creative initial exploration of a property can be seen to spark curiosity and leads to a deeper understanding of historic contexts. Just as importantly it offers families the opportunity to influence their own learning, make connections and draw out their own relevance.

The project worked with artists who brought a particular way of mediating the properties, through narrative, theme, the visual and the kinaesthetic. The London Voices approach included participation and dialogue. There were no right answers rather, questions were encouraged to make sense of the shared heritage.

Artists were able to recognise which stories, which objects or people were going to provide a fruitful meeting place with the families, and a starting point for exploration.