January 2023
January Highlights…
January was a fairly quiet month for WonderZoo, as we took time out to rest and recuperate.
However, some very exciting things happened, such as Chi Bennett won an award!
It was for ‘Culture and Identity’ at the Grand BAME Gala, 5th annual business award ceremony at the Pavilions for BAME entrepreneurs, with over 500 attendees.
The awards were created by Diversity Business Incubator and this year they were managed by Tania Nana and Azza Gasim. Well done!
Chi is an Artist, Writer and Mother of 2 little ones. She is one of the Co-Directors of WonderZoo and has worked tirelessly since 2019 to help WonderZoo become the organisation it is today.
January Vinyl Lounge
We had our first Vinyl Lounge (#28) of the year with around 30 people attending. It was lots of fun with board games, music, vegan
soup and great conversations.
Memory Exchange History Group
Chi Bennett did a talk about WonderZoo’s two exciting history projects: ‘Celebrate Respect’ and ‘Hidden Figures of Plymouth’.
Historian Karen Moore did a very interesting talk about Suffragette Leader, Emeline Pankhurst, when she came to Barne Barton, Plymouth.
This event runs every last Saturday of the Month, @ Oasis Project, Manor Street, 10am-12pm.
New History Project - ‘Hidden Figures of Plymouth’
We are very happy to announce that WonderZoo has won £82K funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund to supervise a two year project that centres around people from global majority or marginalised backgrounds who are linked to Plymouth, past and present, such as Ann Wilkinson and Jack Leslie, who have never been given widespread recognition for their achievements.
The project will highlight and celebrate their achievements, with information being shared in educational and community settings.
The project includes creating a booklet, giving talks, history walks, oral history interviews, and workshops.
This will be groundbreaking for Plymouth and will leave a lasting legacy by forming a New Group that keeps this hidden history alive in public consciousness.
We will be recruiting a Project Leader and Assistant, with interviews taking place this week.
New POP Funded Collaboration Project
We are happy to announce that we will be working with three other groups to form ‘The Storytelling Collective’, working together to create events and workshops from March to May 2023.
-Omnium Radio
-Marbles Lost and Found
-Mindful Art Club
-WonderZoo
With £5K funding from Plymouth Octopus Project the four groups will take part in a Research Project with an Independent Evaluator.
Questions we’re asking ourselves:
1. How well do our current events and activities support our local communities, and how could they be made even better?
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How can the four groups support one another to become more sustainable and resilient?
The findings of this research will support a potential long term collaboration between these four groups in the near future.
