Active Energy (2014-2020)

Active Energy was an arts-led project that helped local people address issues affecting their lives. The research addressed the concern that older people’s life experience was failing to be being taken into account in the new development of technologies. Its focus has been driven by the interest and knowledge of members of the Geezers Club at AgeUK East London, who chose to work on how renewable energy could benefit their community and local environment. Around fifteen have worked with the project since 2014, participating in discussion, design, development of artefacts and inter-generational workshops with young people. In May 2017 a floating water wheel that drove an aerator was installed in Three Mills tidal basin, with a second installed in June 2019 in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Both were accompanied by public events. The project has modelled the capacity for art to support real change in communities by drawing out and applying creativity at local level. The older people experienced enhanced well-being through the opportunities to use and share their knowledge and skills, including in cross-generational workshops. These helped develop young people’s learning, recognition of future career paths, and ongoing changes to school and college curricula. Active Energy has also influenced methodologies subsequently employed by researchers from other disciplines. The project was disseminated through:_ 1) Workshops with young people at Bow School and City & Islington College (2019-2020) involving construction of working model turbines. 2) Public workshops and events (National Mills Weekend 2016, Three Mills launch 2017, Olympic Park launch 2019). 3) Website with documentation, information and drawings for replicating structures: http://www.active-energy-london.org 4) Eleven web articles by Geezers Club members: https://www.ourbow.com/tag/active-energy-project/ 5) Two articles in The Environment magazine. 6) Networking with another community group in Leeds (2017). 7) Six book chapters/articles (2014-2020). 8) Nineteen public presentations (2014-19).

An output that documents elements of the arts-led project Active Energy Project, placed in the public realm between 2014 and 2020. Since 2014 creative facilitation workshops have been held with the Geezers and young people, involving an engineer and several partner organisations. This stage of the project culminated in the creation of two small-scale water wheels in the River Lea, which drove aerators to help keep fish alive at times of high pollution. One was installed at Three Mills heritage site and another in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Each demonstrated ways in which sustainable sources of energy could benefit this community and its environment.