An installation inspiring you to be you
21st October - 3rd November 2023
The advice of Mansfield's young people shared across a whole district!
In June 2023, Zest met 100 young people aged 10-15 in workshops to learn what it's like to be young in Mansfield. Powered by the participants, these conversations explored the challenges of being young and why being yourself can often be tricky.
In October 2023, their words were turned into vibrant artworks, ready to be found on banners, flags, and digital screens across Mansfield to inspire the community with tips on creating a better, happier world together.
Refresh Mansfield shared the insight of young people at the heart of the community, bringing colour and conversation to the place they call home!
#RefreshMansfield
Locations
Oak Tree Primary School
My Community
Around the perimeter of the school fence were 4 artworks sharing why the children of Oak Tree love their neighborhood and how to build a better community.
Mansfield Market Place
Saving the world and being you
At the heart of Mansfield Market Place, 12 huge flags colourfully shared the unheard honesty of local young people with tips on creating a better, happier world together.
Jubilee Tesco Extra
Focusing on you
Did you find the digital screen outside the Jubiliee Tesco and take a moment to focus on yourself?
Refresh DigiVan
Refresh Mansfield Highlights
Sharing impactful quotes on huge video screens, the Refresh DigiVan visited sites across the district!
Take a Look
Credits
Creative & Production
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / LEAD FACILITATOR
Toby Ealden
PRODUCER
Adam Pownall
DESIGN
Fabric.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Ian Dearman
Carrie Austin
Jay Glen
Research & Development
SUPPORTING FACILITATOR & ARCHIVIST
Dan Morgan
WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
Rob Hart
Participating Schools & Groups
Oak Tree Primary School
The Samworth Church Academy
With thanks to
Candooh Media
Sian Booth
Christopher Neil
Lachlan Madin
Environmental Responsibility
Young people are incredibly concerned about the environment and urgently want the world to prioritise this issue. However, touring, theatre, and public art can be extremely wasteful and have a negative impact on the planet. Zest is therefore working to reduce our work's environmental impact. We want to keep learning and adapting our practice and processes - we’ll therefore be updating the sections below to be transparent about our choices, share our learning, and be accountable for the elements that negatively impact the environment.
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With the support of Julie’s Bicycle, we are tracking the full scope of our Carbon Footprint, not just for this project but for our whole organisation. This includes our travel, the emissions from the DigiVan, materials (including those listed here), office energy use, digital activity, and anything else we discover has an impact. We’ll use this data to help us reduce our emissions next year whilst planting trees each year to offset our impact.
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Flag bases are made from Polyethylene. Flag poles from aluminium. The flag fabric is Polyester. All of these materials can be recycled when they come to the end of their life.
These component parts are all made with virgin materials. We will log this when tracking our carbon emissions to track this higher impact - evaluating and offsetting accordingly to improve future delivery and reduce the impact of this project
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We use a new, more environmentally-friendly banner product. EnviroBanner looks exactly like PVC and has the same strength, but it is completely free of both PVC and phthalate. It also uses less water to make the banners. If all PVC banners sold in 2018 were replaced by EnviroBanner, it would save enough water to fill 1,750 Olympic size swimming pools! Emissions from the fabrication and transportation of EnvrionBanner are over 100 times less than those created by PVC banners! Compared to non-eco-friendly alternatives, EnviroBanner can be incinerated safely without any harmful effects on the environment or personal health.
We use strong cable ties to secure our banners to the school fences. Cable ties are not environmentally friendly. Our Refresh banners are large and will stay up for the remainder of the academic year. Whilst biodegradable cable ties exist, there isn’t currently a suitable product to ensure the artworks can safely remain in place in all weather over the coming months without deteriorating in the rain.
