Pandemic community spirit is turned into video art project

Earlier this year, Wakefield’s annual Public Health Report was published, celebrating the resilience, stories and ideas from communities across the district during the coronavirus pandemic.

The content in Local Story - an interactive archive created during Covid-19 by arts organisation One to One Development Trust as the Annual Report 2020 for Director of Public Health, Anna Hartley – has now been turned into a video as a trailer for the project.

Local poet Matt Abbott worked with the project’s creative director Judi Alston to devise a poem inspired by the incredible stories and community spirit documented in Local Story and members of the Old Quarry Adventure Playground were invited to each record a line from the poem on their mobile phones.

The Local Story Poem is now available to view at https://vimeo.com/458766307

Coun Faith Heptinstall, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing, said: “This video is so uplifting and heart-warming and it is wonderful to see what incredible people we have across our district.

“Their help and support really has been a lifeline to many and I think a lot of people will relate to the video.

“Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers, local organisations and our partners for helping our district get through what has been a really difficult time.”

Anna Hartley, Wakefield’s Director of Public Health, said: “Our community groups and local organisations have truly stepped up during the coronavirus pandemic and have provided amazing support to many of our residents.

“This year’s report allows us to celebrate all the wonderful work that has gone on, sometimes unnoticed, and serves as an archive for communities to remember their stories and experiences during lockdown.

“If your group or organisation have been involved in supporting local communities during the pandemic then do get in touch and add your story to this growing archive.”

Local Story also explores relationships with the environment and how individually everyone can ‘do their bit’ to help address climate change making the world a healthier place to be.

It explores ideas for how local communities and people can address important issues around climate change, encouraging a greener more environmentally friendly way of life, and how the environment can help people’s physical and mental health.

This is an evolving project which will actively run for a year until March 2021 providing a valuable resource of local stories, gathering insights into community resilience and ideas for a greener, healthier future.

Judi Alston, CEO and Creative Director at One to One Development Trust, said: “Local Story celebrates the strength and resilience of people and organisations across the Wakefield district during Covid-19, it has been an inspiring project for my team at One to One Development Trust to produce for the Public Health Annual Report, as well being an important legacy documenting the outstanding community response during this difficult time.”

Read the stories at https://localstory-wakefield.co.uk/ or follow the project on social media using hashtag #LocalStoryWakefield

One to One Development Trust, an arts organisation based at The Art House, will be developing the project further over the next few months. If you would like to contribute a Covid-19 resilience story, or a contribution for a Go Green story, please visit https://localstory-wakefield.co.uk/local-stories/submit-your-local-story/ or call One to One Development Trust on 07901 686142.