INSPIRE
Eleanor has over twenty years experience of creating, managing and delivering a wide variety of creative projects and collaborations. The relationship with landscape, heritage and myth underpin a lot of her work. She is passionate about enabling people of all ages to reconnect with their creativity and has worked in primary and secondary schools, community groups, corporate and individuals.
She collaborates with other artists and creatives to produce immersive and inspiring experiences. Projects support people to develop skills in digital media, photography, art and storytelling. Below are a selection of some previous projects.
Lead Creative Schools
Creative Practitioner & Creative Agent (Arts Council of Wales)
Eleanor has been involved with the Lead Creative Schools Scheme since it started in 2016. She has worked with primary and secondary schools on a variety of enquiry questions using her skills in video, photography, storytelling, theatre, drama and art. She uses the Creative Habits of Mind and Mantle of the Expert to support pupils in developing their skills, creativity, resilience, cooperation whilst adapting to different learning styles. Some of the projects she has led on include:
Rhos Primary: oracy, literacy and performance.Exploring methods of story and character development and performance using mask and drama. In collaboration with sculptor Mark Folds.
Rhydyfro Primary: oracy, art, visual imagery, performance. Exploring the Great British Empire, looking at historical art to understand the visual messaging promoted by the colonisers. Comparing to current ways of promoting ‘wealth and success’ and comparing similarities. Using drama to create experiential performances to enable pupils to explore how it may have felt to be both colonisers and colonised people. Production of zines and posters to present their findings and wishes for the future.
St Oswalds: literacy, story development, comic book production, ITC skills. Using their school name to investigate the historical St Oswald and find out what it might have been like living during his time. Using online and off site visit to immerse themselves in the history, before developing the story, storyboard and working in production teams to develop characters and design scenes. Using iPads to pull the final production together and how to produce a professional outcome.
Time Travel, Future Food
Actor, Storyteller, Workshop Facilitator (Bannau Brycheiniog National Park)
Future Food is an innovative, arts-based educational initiative that bridges generations and empowers Key Stage 2 and 3 pupils to engage with our food systems and their impact on both people and environment.
The heart of the project is a Time Machine, where pupils can discover what food production was like in Bannau Brycheiniog in 1939 and compare that with current methods, including innovative sustainable initiatives. From this they are invited to imagine a future where they are the decision makers and create short films about what they hope to see happen by 2035.
These messages are taken back into the Time Machine and shown to key decision makers facilitating a discussion where young people ensure that their voice is included in decisions that will affect their future.
After the successful pilot with Crickhowell High School further development of the project is underway. See Landed Futures for more information. Script by Jody Bond, film by Chris Britten.
Swansea Canal 225 Oral History Project
Project Manager, Facilitator and Audio Editor, Canal & River Trust Wales
Celebrating 225 years of the Swansea Canal, this project involved collecting memories of many generations who have lived and worked on and around the canal. Memories from the last barges used, childhood games, dangers of the waters, to the filling in of sections and the renovation and renewal of the canal for future generations. Project by Glandwr Cymru, Canal and River Trust Wales sponsored by the Heritage Trust.
Listen to all the episodes on Apple Podcasts here.
Voices of the Stones
Project Manager, Artist, Filmmaker, Facilitator – Community Multimedia Project (Glasu/Powys County Council)
A year-long community multimedia project to creatively respond to the ancient standing stones in west Bannau Brycheiniog. Using the question ‘what things they would have seen, what stories they could tell?’ to devise short videos using animation, stop motion, audio soundscapes and photography.
Participants came from the community and local primary and secondary schools with the final film launch being a celebration of the extensive work undertaken.
Watch the film here>
Ancient Journeys
Artist, Walk Leader, Facilitator – Creative Exploration of Landscape, Heritage and Myth.
Leading walks and creative experiences in the landscape of Bannau Brycheiniog. Group sizes are small and there will be elements of storytelling, artistic encounters and support for creatively responding to the environment. All abilities catered for.
Eleanor is an artist and Mountain Leader and has knowledge of the history, geology, wildlife and mythology of the area.
Dates for 2025 Ancient Journeys will be available soon.
