Youth Conference
Wild, Wild Women
Mulberry enjoys tenth annual intergenerational arts project with Magic Me at The Women’s Library. By Samilah Naira, 9B
Magic Me is a project in which Year 9 students work with older women from our local community to create an artistic production. This year the title was ‘Wild, Wild Women’. Of course, most of us were confused when artists Sue and Polly sat down with us with tea and biscuits to talk. It wasn’t like a normal drama production when you’re up on your feet working. It was different. When we saw the older women at first, we were hesitant to talk to them but once we started we couldn’t stop. They weren’t reserved old grannies who wanted nothing to do with us, but quite the opposite. They were just like us! They were in their 60s and 80s, but soon enough age just became a number. They talked to us, really talked to us. We found ourselves enchanted by their stories. If anything it was a surprise that they trust us with so much. With every word they said we realised how lucky we were to even get then opportunity to meet them. Our world, that barely stretched past east London, grew. Our words became the base of our drama production and our friendship became the ties that pulled the whole thing together. Magic Me wasn’t just a club, it was a place where we were free to talk without any restrictions and our voices were heard without reluctance. I’ll tell you now; you’ll never meet anyone like those women anywhere else. They really are the gems hidden away behind the old, cranky, stereotypical grandmas we all imagine. To the next year’s Magic Me group, what type of tea do you like? Prepare for tea, biscuits and some of the most amazing, wild, wild women you’ll ever come across!