National Museums Collection Centre x Granton Youth

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A group of young people from Granton Youth participated in a 10-week photography project in partnership with Stills Centre for Photography based at the National Museums Collection Centre. Working together with curatorial colleagues and facilitated by Stills, the young people have learnt new photographic processes while exploring objects relating to Granton and the local area.

Project Overview

The National Museums Collection Centre Photography project was an opportunity to test how we might engage young people who live locally with the National Museums Collection Centre collections and work in collaboration with staff across the museum, including Science and Technology, Natural Sciences and Scottish History and Archaeology departments.

The young people from Granton Youth equipped with the historic camera collection, learned both analogue and digital photography techniques from creating cyanotypes and photograms to manipulating their images using photo editing software. The group were introduced to the darkroom at Stills allowing their creative imagination to run wild. While exploring the stores in the National Museums Collection Centre, the young people captured details of a lighthouse mechanism, bottled mineral samples gathered from the Granton shoreline and encountered Gary the Rhino. Their photographs celebrate the diverse collections stored in Granton as well as telling stories rich in local heritage.

The Granton Youth Group taking pictures of analogue cameras.

The group have produced a range of fantastic creative outputs while participation in this National Heritage Lottery Fund project and have expressed their enjoyment and skills developed along the way.

“
I am just really proud of myself and the rest of the group, which is a nice feeling.

Granton Youth Group interview

The short video gives insight into why young people were keen to get involved, improved skills sets and their key takeaways from participation in the project.

“
I am really grateful to have been able to take part in the project. It's been a fun couple of months and something I'm really going to miss!

Granton Youth Group display

Granton Youth produced many stunning images throughout the course of the project, the hardest part was selecting the final photographs to go on display. Young people took their time in carefully considering images that had a personal connection to them.

The images taken by Granton Youth have been beautifully arranged in a booklet named ‘Granton Explorations’ produced in collaboration with Stills, National Museums Scotland staff and the young people.

In addition, a selection of images are on display in The National Museums Collection Centre, showcasing some of the objects discovered by young people in the stores. As well as in the National Museum of Scotland, Learning Centre and soon to be in Royston Wardieburn Community Centre, to be admired by many.