Childhood memories of Baycourt needed for research

University of Waikato student Sharna Steer (right) is working with Dr Bronya Dean (centre) and Professor Lynda Johnston (left). Photo / Supplied

A new research project is exploring the role the Baycourt Community and Arts Centre played in shaping the musical experiences of children and young people in Tauranga — and your memories are needed.

University of Waikato student Sharna Steer is working with Dr Bronya Dean and Professor Lynda Johnston on the project and is putting the call out for participants to share their experiences.

Dean says Steer recently completed the second year of a Bachelor of Arts in political science and psychology and was awarded a Summer Research Scholarship to assist with the project, Growing up Arty.

“Thanks to support from Tauranga City Council, this project aims to explore the influence experiences at Baycourt may have had on people’s life-long musical identities,” Dean says.

“First-hand recounts of childhood experiences as audience members or performers will be used to help us understand how children and young people have engaged with music events at Baycourt over the past 40 years. These experiences will help inform council’s future strategy for children and young people in the arts.”

The research is dependent on people sharing their memories.

People who have memories of performing or attending musical events at Baycourt as children are invited to share their memories in a series of face-to-face interviews, which will take place at Baycourt during the first two weeks of February.

Zoom interviews can be arranged for people now living outside of the region.

Please contact Dr Bronya Dean at Bronya.Dean@waikato.ac.nz for more information.

For those who are unable to attend the interviews, but still want to share memories, submissions in written or audio format can be emailed to Bronya on the above email.

- Supplied copy