The project Home took place over two years, bringing together ten artists and hundreds of participants from two countries to explore the notion of ‘home’. Three teams of artists (choreographer, filmmaker and composer) worked with performers in three locations (East London and Somerset in the UK and Washington DC in the USA) to make three dance-based film and video pieces. The project was based at Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc). NewVIc is one of the largest Sixth Form Colleges in England, located in Newham in London’s East End. Newham is one of the city’s most culturally diverse communities and also one of the country’s most deprived areas. On the index of local deprivation 2000, which provides nationwide scores based upon unemployment, income, health, education, housing and access to services indicators, Newham ranks third of all wards in England and Wales. In 2000 it was estimated that over half the population is from black and Asian communities, with the proportion higher among younger residents. There are more then 30 ethnic minority communities in the borough. The project was developed as a response to this context. Home explores issues of enforced migration, conflict, refugees and generational responses to the multicultural context of east London.
Photos by Angela Diskin - Music by Robert Wells

Jo worked with the teams of artists to develop their projects and also choreographed the London project. In London, she worked with Anton Califano, the director, and Robert Wells, the composer, and a cast of twenty-six people to make the film Home. The cast consists of students from six schools in Newham and their families, along with two professional performers and community members. The film was produced by Dhiraj Mahey of Primal Pictures and shot by a professional crew, with trainees from the schools. The Washington DC project was led by Krissie Marty. The Taunton project was led by Cassie Jones. The project sought to offer training opportunities to students, as well as allowing them to build relationships with older students and professionals, identifying pathways through education into the dance and film industries. The rehearsal period extended over a period of six months to allow these relationships to develop. The integration of the students’ families into the project sought to strengthen support networks for the students, widen opportunities for participation in arts activities to include siblings, parents and grandparents and to offer families an opportunity to discuss issues arising in the project together.

Home premiered at Stratford Picture House, east London in July 2002. It has since been screened at dance and film festivals in London, Monaco, Barcelona, Hamburg, New York and Cologne, as well as at many conferences and independent screenings internationally.

In 2005, the project Home formed one strand of a NESTA-funded research project, led by Graham Jeffery, investigating the learning culture at NewVIc. Jo wrote a chapter in the book presenting this research: The Creative College: Building a Successful Learning Culture in the Arts. The book is edited by Graham Jeffery and published by Trentham Books.

As part of the same research project, Jo created DVD-based education pack to support teachers and students wishing to develop similar projects.

Funded by Arts Council England; Awards for All; NewVIc; NESTA and Primal Pictures.

“It brought me and my family a lot closer together. We discussed things we wouldn’t have otherwise…we were so close, and got such great friendships out of it.” Project participant
	"Before I did Home I was shy around school, I was shy everywhere, but then once I got to meet people, once I got used to other people, once I understood their point of view, once I got what they thought about me, I changed completely." Project participant
"I told (a fellow performer) a lot of things during Home, things I hadn’t even told my best friend. That’s because I trusted him so much. I (was) so happy to let things out of my mind about how I feel because when you keep something inside, it hurts a lot. Then you let it out, it does a lot of good and that’s what happened to me during Home." Project Participant
		"I learned an enormous amount from the (students’) experience, their enthusiasm and acceptance…Part of the special thing is having all ages and backgrounds together." Adult community participant