On Saturday 2nd November, Frome Town Hall was a riot of colour, noise and bubbling new ideas as young people and families filled every room of the building.
First thing in the morning, Frome Mayor Andy Jones signed a declaration (which was then shouted out in style by the Town Crier) handing over power of the town to young people.
Local arts organisation Terrestrial invited children to come and make the building, and the town, their own. One room was covered floor-to-ceiling in paint, another had a forest brought in through the window, and a ‘cardboard city was created in the Council Chamber. Somehow, the entire place was spick and span again by Monday morning, and a return to normal service for the town hall, but the organisers hope that the ideas generated amongst the mess will live on for a long time. The town hall event follows recent takeovers of Frome Library and Frome Museum.
Terrestrial’s Director Tom Spencer says: “At the heart of this wild set of arts experiences was an invitation for young people to feel their creativity has real power.”
Adults had to sign a document on entry promising to let their young people be in charge for the day. And as the day went on, young people’s suggestions of ‘new rules for Frome’ were pinned up around the building – and then presented back to the Mayor at the end of the day. They will be following up by attending the next full meeting of the Town Council to put forward their ideas.
A group of local artists hosted activities in different areas, from forest crafts to painting, music-making to scrap play. The Town Clerk’s office was even transformed into an Escape Room, designed by a group of young people during a workshop with Terrestrial the day before.
“We work with inspiring artists and local community groups to make adventures happen”, explains Tom Spencer. “Often our projects are behind closed doors, working with schools, charities and small community groups to craft things together over a long period. So it’s been really fun to make a bit of a splash with some big public events recently. For this one, we wanted young people and families to create some special memories in the Town Hall, so that every time they walk past, they associate it with ‘the place I climbed through the windows’ or ‘where I made my own escape room’ rather than seeing it as just a set of meeting rooms.”
Around 300 people attended over the course of the day. And the whole event was free, thanks to support from Frome Town Council and Arts Council England.
Families who took part were full of praise for the event. “They absolutely loved that they had control of the town hall!” said one parent. “Wild and wonderful”, said another. “The kids ran the show and I am proud of my local council for inviting that level of chaos in an official building!”
Over the coming months, Terrestrial will be back to making longer arts adventures, working with several schools as well as families with experience of migration, an anti-loneliness group for older adults, and a local sports team. More information at www.terrestrial.org.uk
