THE ISLAND PROJECT

Voluntary organisation Silver Darlings received £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for its exciting Island Project in Great Yarmouth in 2018.  Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project explored the diversity of the town’s population and revealed the fascinating backgrounds of some of its inhabitants.

Silver Darlings partners Kevin Hunn, an artist and former Norfolk school teacher, and Charlotte Dickens, the daughter of a local potter, who is also an artist and has studied the origins of music and culture, were raised in Yarmouth and urged local people to come forward to tell their stories too.

Kevin said: “Charlotte and I work well together and have a love of both art and Yarmouth so it felt like the next step was to combine these interests.

“Today, our town stands on this former sandbank – therefore, the 100,000 people who now live here must all have descended from migrants or migrated here themselves”. Kevin Hunn

From Wednesday 21st February, public workshops in research and clay modelling were held, with adults and schoolchildren invited to make artwork based on their family stories.

The project culminated in a grand exhibition from September 10 to 16 in the town’s library, where more than 100 models were displayed on a seven-metre replica of the Yarmouth sandbank.

Silver Darlings worked with partners including Anglia Ruskin University, New Routes Old Roots Project, Great Yarmouth Library, Time and Tide Museum, GYROS, ENJOY and SeaChange Arts, as well as local schools Edward Worlledge Ormiston Academy, Priory St Nicholas Primary and St George’s Primary.

This project is now completed.