A short documentary has been released by Nottingham City Council which explores the question of what comes next for community spirit in Nottingham.
A silver lining of the pandemic has been the community response and effort of Nottingham's neighbours, faith, community and voluntary groups in helping others through this difficult time. However, as lockdown eases and the government's shielding measures come to an end, people may be asking themselves what comes next.
Tracey Whitefoot, Nottingham photographer, who has videoed the work of Nottingham’s community groups throughout the lockdown, volunteered her time to produce a documentary which asks just that.
She said, "When lockdown started to ease, I found myself like many people in a reflective place, wondering what comes next and if we’ve learnt anything from this crisis.
"Nottingham’s amazing groups and volunteers, with their combined knowledge and experience, have such an important part to play in answering the question about what next? After all, these are the people who were right in the middle of it all, and so I was really interested in what they would have to say about ‘what comes next’.
"I felt like I owed it to these groups to ask them these questions and to document their responses. So I decided to put my new skills as a videographer to the test, and make a short documentary. It wasn’t about being paid or commissioned to do it, it just felt like a fitting conclusion to a project that has had a major impact on me.
"What I’ve witnessed while out making the individual videos, is that there is a massive power in communities coming together, and when that happens it feels like literally anything is possible. Surely we don’t want to lose that now.”
Watch the 'What Next? documentary here.