The Portland Thinkbelt : Street Level Learning

The Portland Thinkbelt : Street Level learning (and how a small neighbourhood in Stoke On Trent is making Cedric Price's concept a reality)

The Portland Inn Project is an arts and community-led organisation established to address inequalities of access to social, cultural and educational activities for people in our local area. We aim to galvanise community cohesion, economic, social & cultural development in the streets where we live. We believe in the power of art: as a tool in communicating our story; representing our needs & creating space for communities to learn.

In August 2020 we began to deliver The Portland Thinkbelt, a summer programme of creative activity for our young members. The outdoor classroom/workshop came out of a need, firstly from families who were concerned that their children’s achievements outside school were not always valued by the schools they attend. And secondly, to create a safe outdoor learning space during a time when young people had been trying to learn from home due to the pandemic. The Portland Thinkbelt is now an annual programme of activity, and grows every time it is delivered.

During this discussion as part of Architecture Fringe, Portland Inn Project directors/lead artists Rebecca Davies and Anna Francis reflect on the work with some of the project’s young members. They will be joined by Prof. Maria J. M. Sanchez Associate Dean of Research. Scott Sutherland School of Architecture. Robert Gordon University. She has been the founder and organiser of the Cedric Price Day at Staffordshire University which has now become a network of national and international Schools of Architecture.

(photographs by Glen Stoker)