Village halls are brilliant places. They’re so versatile and yet can have a real character of their own. My project for #Aiseirigh #CultureCollective aimed to get their usage up after so many had been left empty over lockdown, particularly as culture spaces to share experiences. 
I didn’t want to just put on events though. Events are great but they only attract events people. I didn’t want to have lots of two-hours-where-a-big-group-of-people-silently-watch-a-small-group-of-people-do-something.
So I teamed up with @CatherineMacP12 from @HLHArchives. We came up with a plan to hold memory sessions with free refreshments. No agenda, just people getting into their local hall and chatting about the past and present.
Catherine put together exhibition boards for each area displaying old photos and articles, to be an informal provocation for discussion. We also encouraged people to bring in their own objects.
At the end of each session we’d have some music organised by my #Aiseirigh colleague Angus Mackenzie.
Crucially none of these discussions were led. There was no agenda. The main thing was to get people together after so long apart. More than once someone told us “I haven’t been in the hall for years, I didn’t feel like it was FOR me” but community spaces are for everyone!
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