The Moss Side riots of 30 years ago had a profound effect on the local and the wider community. For many, the events are still fresh in the mind and for others, in particular the new generations in Moss Side and Manchester that time is purely an event in history. Project ’81 will give those involved in the riots an opportunity to reflect, and those that weren’t there a place to learn about what ha
ppened. The creation of a ‘Media Tent’ in Alexandra Park will be and addition to this year’s carnival celebrations on the 13th & 14th August 2011. The Media Tent will house four parts of the overall HLF project:
1. There will be screening of archive documentaries and news footage from the riots. The BBC, ITV and the Northwest Film Archive have agreed to open their archives to the project and we will compile all of the best material for screenings. Some of this material has been kept in the archives for 30 years, being deemed to politically sensitive to release at the time.
2. We have commissioned a new documentary to be premiered at the carnival. The WFA in Hulme will be a partner on this part of the project but the documentary will be made by aspiring filmmakers from the local area under the guidance of top TV professionals.
3. We will display an unprecedented collection of newspaper cuttings, documents, professional and non-professional photographs depicting and describing the riots. This project has many partners and the material will come from various sources. MEN Media (Manchester Evening News) have pledged their support, The People History Museum will be curatorial advisors on the project and the libraries and universities of the city will help dust off their archives and let the records see the light of day once again.
4. These hot ticket events will provide access to an intriguing list of speaker where we will dig deeper into the human experience riots. The speakers will come from the worlds of Politics, Policing, Music, Sport, Popular Culture and first hand experiences. The Caribbean Carnival’s unique street procession is the highlight of the event for many people and Project 81 will be a key part of this. In partnership with the Zion Arts Center in Hulme we will be creating a very special ‘Troupe’ and float for this year’s procession. A mixed age group will design the ‘1981 Float’ which will be lead the main carnival procession. The float and costumes will be created especially for the day and will be made by the local community aided by creative professionals. The final part of the project is a series of Educational Workshops which will engage with local schools. These workshops will challenge the children to understand and engage with the subject matter and inspire debate on how the area has change in the 30 years since the riots. The subject matter will be new to many of the children and we want the younger generation to start engaging with the older one like never before to create a further understanding and respect. Project ’81 will unearth material from the archives, create brand new material and develop a deeper understanding amongst a community. Never before has such effort been put in to a project to look specifically at this period of recent history. We will create a resource for future generations which will be of the standard and class of our institutions and media partners.
