by Amanda Eleftheriades-Sherry. Photos courtesy of Inclusive Images & HES
Local photo enthusiasts from community groups across West Dunbartonshire had their photography displayed in Stirling Castle for a three-month exhibition.
Organised by Inclusive Images, a local social enterprise which supports people to share their stories via the medium of photography, the exhibition was the culmination of a three-year
project funded by Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland.
The ‘Picturing Our Past’ project focused on the local social, cultural and industrial heritage of de-industrialised Scotland.
Local groups represented in the exhibition included mental health and recovery organisations Stepping Stones, Alternatives and Work Connect plus Unity Enterprises, Neighbourhood
Networks, Improving Lives and Golden Friendships, which provide a range of support services in West Dunbartonshire.
Privilege
Charlie Eleftheriades-Sherry, founder of Inclusive Images, said: “Over the past three years it has been a real privilege and a pleasure to work with so many people who had felt excluded from their history and heritage.
“The combination of participatory photography workshops, heritage talks from local and national experts plus visits to historic sites, helped the participants recognise that history and heritage belongs to us all.
“Working closely with HES throughout this project has been a pleasure, the support and kindness they showed participants on visits to Stirling Castle was thoroughly appreciated by everyone.
“And through participants sharing their views in our end of project report, has helped highlight the barriers – physical, financial and psychological – which still exist, and an understanding of how to continue to improve access to Scotland’s heritage.”
Empowering People
Throughout the project Inclusive Images worked closely with the Learning & Inclusion team at Heritage Environment Scotland (HES).
Craig Fletcher, Head of Learning and Inclusion at HES said: “One of our key aims at HES is to strive to make our historical environment more accessible, which the Picturing Our Past exhibition achieves brilliantly through its community outreach and by being hosted in the iconic Stirling Castle.
“People feel empowered to experience the heritage on their doorstep, and also share it so they are helping shape how we tell history, and effectively Scotland’s story.”
Throughout the project many participants were astounded to discover so much about the history and heritage of Dumbarton, the Vale and Clydebank.
One participant commented: “I never knew anything about Dumbarton’s history, even though I was born, bred and lived all my life here.
“They never taught us any of this in school.”
And another said: “When you see all the great things that people created here in the past, it makes you feel really proud.”
Feedback from participants and groups was used to create an end of project report which highlighted the varied barriers to access heritage and cultural venues and how these could be challenged in the future.
A representative from Stepping Stones mental health charity, said: “It opened people’s eyes and got them thinking about what had happened in their community and in Scotland in the past, going out and capturing it on camera was really good for them as it gives them a purpose to get out of the house.”
A short film about the making of the project can be viewed on the Inclusive Images YouTube Channel.
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