Bessbrook Groups Awarded Funding For Free Media Workshops

An exciting opportunity to get involved with ‘Bessbrook: The Model Village Living History Archive’ has become available.  Local video production company SlackPress are hosting a series of workshops to explore the history of Bessbrook in modern ways.

Led by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council through The Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership Scheme, this project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.  It is steered by volunteers from the local community and aims to develop local skills, increase residents’ knowledge base and networks, and hopes to engage with the community in a fun and interactive way.

These workshops, hosted in the Bessbrook Community Centre every Wednesday will run from 4pm to 6pm starting on 15 February for six weeks. They will suit secondary school children and young people aged 16-25 not in education, employment or training. The workshops will introduce the history of Bessbrook, explore themes in video production and allow the participants to write and develop storyboards and scripts. This work will eventually become mini docu-dramas, promoting the history of Bessbrook and its surrounding area.

Commenting on the workshops, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Gillian Fitzpatrick said, “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund. We are confident the project will support and further help develop a strong community network that will bridge the political, religious and generational divide.”

Richard Black, member of the Bessbrook Development Company, said “these workshops will form the basis of our series exploring the unique history of our village. I am excited to help young people realise the distinct character Bessbrook has and how we can share that story with the world".

Heritage Lottery Fund awarded £55,000 in 2016 to run a programme of events up until August 2017, the community groups involved are Bessbrook Development Company, Bessbrook Heritage Group and Friends of Derrymore. This programme runs from Wednesday 15 February, finishing on Wednesday 29 March. For more information, contact Simon on 02830250973.

To sign up, contact info@slackpress.co.uk or visit www.Bessbrook.org for an application pack no later than Monday 6 February at 5pm.