Travelling Along the Trail: The development of community based art projects in the Stroud Valleys

A resource document of written and visual material which describes how a broad cross section of Nailsworth inhabitants, which included people of all ages, different ability, social and economic backgrounds, made art works with the assistance of practitioners as a major part of the town's annual Festival. Art works are located in the Nailsworth Archives and along the Stroud Valleys Pedestrian Cycle Trail, which follows the route of a railway line that operated from 1867-1966. The five art works described in the dissertation include the recollections of Nailsworth residents who remember the Nailsworth Valley from 1902-1995; the Nailsworth Friendly Circle book called 'Gardens and Nailsworth Railway' and a Trail bench; a map for the Stroud Valleys Pedestrian Cycle Trail produced by Nailsworth Civic Society; a painted mural produced by the Junction youth club and an art week called 'Pig week' which involved Nailsworth Primary School. Participation in the art projects enabled people to respond to and celebrate the history and meaning of their locality, and their relationship to the disused railway line and current cycle trail. The experience enabled people to communicate their knowledge of Nailsworth in response to the social, environmental and cultural changes affecting the town, and this encouraged a much deeper and shared understanding of the town's oral and written history, and how this could be celebrated through communal participation in associated art projects. The author describes how she co-ordinated and recorded the projects, her relationship with residents and how they influenced the outcome and subsequent development of the Nailsworth Festival from 1994 to 2000. She suggests that continuity and communication are important in order for people to maintain Ownership of their knowledge and creativity, and that the lessons learned during the process of making art works may be useful reference material for other national developments. The documentation of the projects, and the information which informed them is stored in Nailsworth Archives