Gathering Place 360 - what we learnt

The Gathering Place 360 pilot project (commissioned by Arts Partnership Surrey) represented Made By Katie Green’s first opportunity to use VR360 technology to make the kinds of heritage responses that we create as a company more accessible to more people, including children and young people and those not currently engaging with their local heritage.

We received funding in March 2024 and planning/preparation began immediately, but the main delivery period took place from September 2024 to May 2025, including:

a) Creation of 360 films

Working with experts from Surrey County Archaeological Unit (SCAU), and responding to previous research and existing interpretation for four initial sites in Surrey, we collaborated with filmmaker Matt Walker (Cave & Sky) to create four 5-6 minute VR360 ‘inspiration films'. These were designed to provide an introduction to the layered history of Surrey, passing through four time periods. We responded to the archaeology of Runnymede Bridge (Bronze Age), St Mary's Priory, Ankerwycke (Medieval), Woking Palace (Tudor) and Witley and Milford Commons (World War I).

Selection of sites

Each site was chosen because archaeological evidence suggested that it had been a 'gathering place' for people through history. It was also important to us to focus on a range of more usually marginalised voices from the four time periods covered by our key archaeological sites (i.e. a Bronze Age woman, a young Medieval nun, a servant working in a Tudor palace and a young soldier-in-training) to de-centre a more conventional sense of who ‘makes history’, how that history is recounted and by whom.

You can read more about the archaeology of these sites in our earlier blog post here.

b) Using the films as an inspiration point for a half term of activity in primary schools

From January - May 2025 we worked with 11 classes of year 4-6 children in 6 primary schools in Woking, Elmbridge, Spelthorne, Runnymede, Surrey Heath and Waverley (as well as 23 teachers and support staff) to test a programme of activity in which the children began by watching the VR films on headsets borrowed from Surrey Libraries/Surrey County Council IoT and Emerging Technology Department in small groups. Whilst waiting for their turn, the children also explored objects linked to the sites depicted in the films in Loan Boxes from SCAU. From the end of week 1 and over the next 3 weeks, they began to hone in on one of the historical starting points (pre-selected by their teacher). Using an ‘Archaeologist Handbook’ (see below) they completed character development activities enabling them to step into the footsteps of someone who lived here hundreds or thousands of years before them, guided by dance artist Katie Green throughout and special guest, poet Anna Selby, in week 3 or 4.

In the final week of the project, the children were supported to bring together all of the ideas they had been working on to create a short performance or film of their own.

c) Development of engagement resources to accompany the school workshops with designer Jo Ogilvie (Sharp Pencil Designs) and illustration by visual artist Hannah Maiya-Mills (Paintbox)

Notably we created a learning pack or ‘Archaeologist Handbook’ for each child taking part in the pilot project in schools, supporting participants to delve deeper into the histories being explored and create their own responses.

Along the way, we also created other resources to support delivery such as Powerpoints linked to the different historical time periods, flash cards, and a project script for the children that was bespoke to each topic.

d) Using the films as an inspiration point for one-off community workshops in libraries and community centres

Between February and April 2025, we also offered four free community workshops in Woking and Spelthorne (in partnership with Surrey Libraries), Runnymede and Elmbridge (in partnership with Elmbridge Museum). These provided young people aged 9+ and their families (and some younger siblings) and other adults living locally with an opportunity to watch the 360 films and then to take part in a linked clay workshop facilitated by our visual artist collaborator for the project Hannah Maiya-Mills (Paintbox).

Accessibility and inclusion

Throughout the different stages of the pilot we experimented with ways to make the project inclusive. For example, we knew from our research and early testing of our films (and the experience of watching them on headsets) that some people found accessing the films more challenging than others e.g. finding the music/narration difficult to hear in a more crowded space, feeling dizzy and needing to take breaks from viewing, or having trouble focusing, especially when wearing glasses. We therefore put in place measures to try to make it as easy as possible for people to access the film and other content comfortably. For example:

• We put together a Social Story for the project for schools, so all participants had the opportunity to find out more about what it entailed, and knew what to expect in advance.
• Participants were given opportunities to watch the films on an iPad or using YouTube on a desktop computer if they weren’t comfortable using the headsets.
• We created a 2 minute ‘Orientation Film’ so that participants had the chance to experience watching the films on the VR headset without sound/voiceover or a dancing figure to begin with.
• We shared the films in a large space, and gave participants the opportunity to sit or stand or sometimes to move a little to engage with the films as they needed, with a member of the company always available to monitor the group to ensure no-one bumped into each other or into any objects in the space.
• In workshops, we were adapting all the time to participants’ needs, but some common ways we tried to make young people in schools feel at ease were:
• Providing the opportunity for young people to step away if they needed to and then to come back again (this was harder where we didn’t have support from an extra adult in the room)
• Changing the group sizes, so sometimes the children could work on their own and sometimes they were working in a small group
• Increasingly working towards a filmed final outcome instead of a live performance, so that those who felt more uncomfortable performing in front of others could be filmed on their own terms, without the pressure of a live audience.

What did we learn?

Following our pilot, we compiled an extensive final report which we can provide to anyone who would like to understand what we did in more detail. Here are just a few of our key learnings from the project in summary:

1. Increasing access to heritage

We knew from previous projects and consultation with local partners that in spite of the ambition to create greater access to and understanding of the county’s most extraordinary archaeological sites, there were persistent challenges in ensuring the heritage of these sites could be available to everyone, including:

• where they are located and how accessible they are
• resources available to access them, particularly in terms of school visits. We were surprised by how many schools had long-standing programmes of work exploring the ‘local history’ with which they didn’t actually engage physically. We learnt that although about 71% of our partner schools integrated museum visits and visits to sites within their curriculum delivery, none of them had taken their children to the sites depicted in the films, even though all the schools were located within 15 miles of at least one of the sites, and some within 3 miles.
• lack of awareness - several of our sites were places that people wouldn't necessarily think to visit independently, because the significance of those sites is invisible, and/or not well-known locally.
• the psychological barrier of people thinking that heritage isn’t ‘for them’.

By:

• using VR technology as a ‘hook’ for engagement alongside other creative approaches such as dance, writing and working with clay
• drawing people’s attention to the extensive local heritage offer in the county and different ways they could access it
• putting the responses of the participants at the heart of how we designed and delivered the experience
• working in schools to reach children and young people who don’t engage with heritage outside of school
• and in community hubs that already had a relationship with local children and families, where our activities could be accessed for free

we were able to increase participants’ enjoyment of and engagement with their local history, enabling them to enjoy their learning, express themselves creatively and share this with others.

The project engaged people who were already more connected with their local heritage, drawing their attention to new perspectives and bringing about a more personal connection. It also engaged people who weren’t currently engaging with the history of their local area (79% of those surveyed in schools and 27% in the community settings), who were surprised and delighted by participating in something completely new.

2. New learning

Our participants, including children, young people and adults, told us that they learned something new through this project.

a) They learned new things about their local heritage, and connected with it more personally.

When asked to recall significant new things from their learning throughout the project, participants focus on:

• things that tell them more about the emotional and physical experience of people in history
• how recently some of what they consider to be ‘history’ actually happened e.g. the end of WWI
• the young age of key characters, not very different from their own age
• striking conquests, ranging from King John being forced to seal the Magna Carta to the Peasants’ Revolt and their breach of the Tower of London.
• memorable details that point to the fragility of human experience and how quickly things can change e.g. the fact WWI started because of the death of one man.

The project empowers people, making them feel part of their local history, and of something bigger than themselves.

b) Building creative skills

A high percentage of participants described their new learning about their local history, but the project also builds creative skills and a sense of ownership over the artistic process. Young people connect with the art-making within the project and tell us they’ve achieved things they wouldn’t have imagined doing: “I never believed I could dance like that!” (participant feedback).

As well as sharing skills and information about dance and history, we have observed once again that the importance of an artist’s work in a school is about much more than this:

3. Everyone can flourish

Teacher and participant feedback and artist observation evidenced that the VR technology and multi-faceted, creative structure of the project were effective in engaging all individuals, including those who wouldn’t ordinarily connect with something like this.

“I was very pleased that ALL the children contributed to the dance and drama workshops at least some of the time, which for one child in particular was unusual.” (teacher feedback)

“One child surprised me in the first week by having a go on the VR headset. [Others] surprised me with their focus and dedication to the choreography.” (teacher feedback)

“It was very accessible - because it was interactive and she can move; traditional 'sitting' activities are very challenging for her” (community participant)

“This project pushes them gently out of their comfort zones and exposes them to new experiences within a familiar setting of school” (teacher feedback)

Many teachers didn’t expect how intuitively the children would engage with the project, and expressed doubt about whether the young people were going to be able to participate effectively and whether it would be a positive experience. However any doubts quickly subsided after the first week.

“I found the mix of styles and materials/delivery ensured everyone was able to participate and surprise themselves with how much they learned/were willing to contribute” (teacher feedback)

4. An empathetic response

The VR technology helps to create a more empathetic, multi-sensory response in the viewer because it is more immersive, and allows a more inclusive, intimate relationship with the performer/narrator, telling their story directly to the viewer.

This led to comments from participants that:

• were emotionally expressive e.g. (after watching our Bronze Age film) “she is calm, quiet, and gives me a feeling of being a bit lonely”
• recalled the immediate tactile experience of watching the films e.g. “I was scared…it made me feel weird…I felt calm…I was floating”
• noted multi-sensory, often poetic details about the sites e.g. “the trees were whispering”, “I heard birds”, “a tree whooshing”

The immersive space proved to be highly effective in communicating stories in detail, capturing the sensation of a site, and therefore creating a best case alternative to actually visiting that place in person, and the feeling of ‘standing in the footsteps’ of our ancestors. As challenges with off-site visits do seem to be insurmountable for some of our partner schools for example, it is helpful to understand how deeply their pupils can nonetheless engage with the sites by experiencing them in an immersive virtual environment, which positions their experience at the heart of the project.

After engaging with only 5 or 6 minutes of 360 content on the VR headset, the young people are able to recall key information from the film in a surprising amount of detail, capturing things that get right to the heart of what each film is about and show they’re engaging with the work emotionally and philosophically, making a connection through time:

“the land was as much his as it was mine”

“it’s not always about story and action but it is about waiting”

“the land holds its memories”

“be grateful; we learnt to live with what we have”

“we take from the land that we depend so much on” (audience reflections after the films)

This detail stays with them throughout the course of the project, enhanced by strategies for further ‘connection’ with the physical site (especially using Heritage Loan Boxes), by looking at the starting point from different perspectives and by using different mediums (movement, dance, film, clay).

5. Access to technology

We discovered that many more people than we expected had used VR headsets before, and had easy access to headsets at home or at other convenient local places (e.g. a friend or family member’s house). Many of the participants therefore expressed their interest in watching the films again on their own device. 

75% of children in schools and 64% in community settings had already used a headset. Even though 25% in schools and 36% in community settings had therefore never used one before, 99.6% (schools) and 95% (community settings) found the technology ‘okay’ or ‘easy’ to use.

Of those in schools who stated they had used VR before, nearly half - 48% - of those had access to a headset at home. The other 52% used one at school, at an arcade or other kind of commercial interactive experience, or in another context (usually using one at a friend or family member’s home).

Although the technology wasn’t as new to people as we had expected, many participants commented on the fact that what we were doing with it was new, something they hadn’t seen or experienced before.

“I have [a headset] at home for games, but enjoyed using it differently.” (participant feedback)

We therefore discovered the potential to create an online space where we could be ‘meeting’ new audiences, including some of the young people who found it harder to engage with the content in a larger group at school. We know it is unlikely that participants would find the kind of dance/heritage content we’ve been creating independently (we’ve also consulted with other creators of VR content to get their feedback on this), but there are certainly possibilities here for a bank of resources that people of all ages could follow up and expand at home, after having a ‘curated’ introduction to the project in a school or other community location, or even at the sites depicted in the films themselves.

6. Partnership working

This project naturally links and draws attention to multiple different kinds of provision and local arts/cultural assets in the county. It has enabled us to work more holistically within Surrey, sharing pre-existing interpretation and resources in new ways in order to reach a broader audience including children and young people.

With support from Arts Partnership Surrey and local arts officers in the areas where we were working, as well as key advocates from our partner organisations, we were able to navigate challenges and come up with new solutions.

We are hugely thankful for the support we received to make this pilot happen:

The Gathering Place 360 project has been commissioned by Arts Partnership Surrey and supported by Surrey County Archaeological Unit and Surrey County Council IoT and Emerging Technologies team. We are also grateful to have been granted filming permission for our four sites from Runnymede Borough Council, Woking Borough Council and from the relevant Rangers/Site Managers from the National Trust, to those who provided space for rehearsal during our filming days including the Parish of St Peter Woking, Edge Venue, Chichester Hall and Staines Library, and those who supported our community workshops - Surrey Libraries, The Hub in Englefield Green and Elmbridge Museum.

Project credits

Director: Katie Green

Filmmaker: Matt Bartram

Choreographed and performed by: Megan Griffiths, Alice Shepperson, Amarnah Ufuoma Cleopatra, Matthew Winston

Project Archaeologist: Hannah Potter

Writer: Anna Selby

Composer: Max Perryment

Performance design by Chloe Mead

Learning resource design by Jo Ogilvie (Sharp Pencil Design)

Illustration and arts workshop development for community sessions: Hannah Maiya-Mills (Paintbox)

Project Management Support: Charlotte Mackie

Company Producer: Vicky Thornton

You can now watch our films from the Gathering Place 360 project on our YouTube Channel here.