Raploch on film at Green Arena

May 4 2011 by Donald Morton, Stirling Observer Wednesday

HUNDREDS of Raploch residents turned out to help christen the area’s “Green Arena” recently.

Two years ago Raploch URC, along with Architecture and Design Scotland, Rankin Fraser Architects and arts organisation Wave, proposed an idea to the then Scottish Arts Council, (now Creative Scotland), to take a large area of land known as Site Seven at the back of Craighall Crescent and think about how it could be made available to the community during the years before it would be built on.

Plans to plant the land and open up the space for a variety of uses were discussed. A path was made into the site and a large circular disc cleared and prepared to hold a promenade audience.

And on April 22, more than 300 people attended the first-ever event at the Green Arena – coincidentally Earth Day.

A three-screen outdoor film projection featured a reflection on the rich history of the immediate area around Craighall Crescent and featured local stories shown against the backdrop of Stirling Castle. The three screens showed a range of footage on local history, along with portraits of local people and there were also images of the area as it could be in the future, set against images from 100 years ago.

Among the gems shown, was an animated film “The Guid Man of Ballangeich” made by children from Raploch in 2002, which was screened with new interviews with those budding young film-makers, such as Caitlin Marshall, who have grown up into 20 and 21-year-olds.

Peter McCaughey, lead artist and creative director of Wave, said: “The first ever Green Arena event was a truly uplifting day. We want to give a warm thank you to all who came and to all who were involved.

“The event was an example of great teamwork between Wave, Small Majority, Raploch Community Partnership, Raploch URC and an army of helpers. It provided great entertainment and also an opportunity for local people to learn about the Green Arena project.”

As an event that was also a celebratory look back at the history of the area, it provided a valuable insight, by and for local people, about the changes that have happened over time. The hope is that this space for reflection on the changes in Raploch, will help to provide the impetus to think aspirationally about the future.

The idea is that this could be an event that is built up from grassroots, like a gala day, to become Scotland's first outdoor community cinema, giving voice to local opinion, local achievement and becoming a lens through which to begin thinking about the future.

"We had great fun recording the interviews with many of the community, there is clearly an untapped wealth of knowledge and texture particularly amongst the older interviewees of Raploch,” said Michael Rea, director of Small Majority.

“Their contribution is particularly honest, poignant and valuable given the physical change of the area. I think through the collection of interviews, you get a real sense of a community talking to itself, coming to terms with the regeneration and trying to find a new identity, a way forward.”