Saturday night at the..?

Shanine Meadowcroft . . . “the project will provide an excellent opportunity for young people to learn about local history”

Project looks at entertainment in the 1950s
YOUNG people in Hollinwood, Coldhurst and St Mary’s will get a unique insight into what their grandparents got up to on a Saturday night thanks to a project funded by a Heritage Lottery grant.

Photography for Change, co-ordinated by Contour Housing Group, will compare Saturday night entertainment in the 1950s and the present day.

Shanine Meadowcroft, from Contour, successfully applied for the £20,000 funding for the project and said it will provide an excellent opportunity for young people to learn about local history.

She said: “The project brings together white British and Bangladeshi people to research what the young people of the two cultures did for entertainment on a Saturday night.

“As well as bringing cultures together, it will also prove a talking point for generations and I’ve no doubt that today’s young people may be quite surprised to hear what their families did for fun 60 years ago.”

The project will run for over 10 weeks in the summer holidays and will give up to 30 young people aged 13 to 19 the chance to acquire IT, multi-media, research and heritage skills.

Participants will conduct interviews to learn about experiences of entertainment on a Saturday night as well as take photographs of the people involved and relevant entertainment landmarks in Oldham.

The project will culminate in a history exhibition, including a timeline, to be showcased at Oldham Gallery next year.

Shanine said: “This provides not just a great opportunity for the young people involved to learn new skills but will also provide Oldham with a local history project that will remain available for many years to come.”