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‘It’s All Going on At Sele’ was shot over four months in people’s homes, a hairdresser’s, a pub and 3 ‘Big Brother’ diary rooms and shows more than 100 local people of all ages expressing their opinions about the place where they live and their hopes for the new community centre and the surrounding green space.
 
By placing herself at the heart of the community, Karen was able to talk to people who wouldn’t normally take part in a council consultation. More than 300 people took part in the project, and the film reveals the residents’ strong personal connections to the area and a high level of enthusiasm for making the estate a better place to live. 
A new management committee for the community centre has been formed, involving 16 members of the local community; many of them came forward as a result of Karen’s work. This is a mixed group of men and women of all ages, including two young people, all of whom are keen to see the community centre and the open space used by the whole community in the ways communicated through the DVD.
By using artists the Green Heart Partnership and East Herts Council have sought to ensure that investment will be sustainable and successful for years to come.
A public projection of ‘It’s All Happening at Sele’ onto one of the blocks of flats on Sele Farm is planned to coincide with the opening of the new community centre in January 2007.
Karen Whiteread, artist said:
“What was interesting was the misconception that some groups of people didn’t care about what others wanted. When asked what they wanted at the centre, the children, for instance, said a skateboard ramp, but they also said there should be opportunities for older people to play bingo.”
Philippa Brent-Isherwood, Community Development Manager said:
“The Green Heart Project has seen officers from different services working together to achieve an outcome in a manner that was almost unprecedented before. For perhaps the first time, staff from Housing, Open Spaces, Community Planning and Community Safety are united in working towards a single agenda, rather than the disparate targets of their own services.”
Bob Parker, East Herts Council’s Executive member for Community Development commented:
“The Green Heart Project on the Sele Farm Estate has enthused local people to get involved in numbers that we would never have thought possible, and has proven how approaching things in a different, more creative way can encourage people of all ages and walks of life to become involved and to really take ownership of the project for themselves.”
Press
Article in the Times "What worked for me" 6/11/06
Press release "Digital Art Meets Urban Planning" 01/08/06
Article in Green Places "Viewfinder" 10/06
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