Here’s the next instalment of our Sharing Stories, Standing Strong project from Ben, the Project Manager. Need a recap on the project so far? Click here to find out more about Sharing Stories, Standing Strong.
At the end of May we invited the artists, library staff, and communities along to Lawrence Batley Theatre for a celebration of what we’ve created together so far.
Since January we have seen people taking part in all sorts of arts activities at their local library – creating their very own art – from writing songs, to making zines to writing poetry. We wanted to support folk to explore their creativity, think about what their own stories might be and how they could share them with the wider world.
Every session I attended had a buzz of excitement, with people coming back each week to create and experiment together – not just unearthing hidden talents but also finding out about each other and discovering new connections. Songwriting, poetry, zine-making, painting, stand-up comedy, drama, and storytelling were all on offer with adults and children working together and with our artists as equals. Henry Bateman worked with two session regulars to write songs together, as well as singing the favourite songs of local service users from Connect Day Services’ Orchid Centre. Rachael Gorton worked one-on-one with a sign painter who told us that she’d help him re-find his creativity. Marianne Matusz even worked with a pageant queen to tell the story of how she entered a competition and won!
As well as leading exciting and fun workshops, the artists also created their own work in response to being in the libraries and meeting the communities. They were given the space to create for themselves, writing poems, songs, stories and painting pictures inspired by the world around them.
All this came together in our Celebration Day at Lawrence Batley Theatre. Our artists – Cherry, Henry, Marianne, Rachael and Ruth - took to the stage to talk about their experiences and share some of their work. We also heard about the wonderful conversations which had taken place and heard some of the songs and stories and saw some of the pictures people had created. For many people this was the first time they had been to the theatre, let alone seen and heard their work performed on the stage – or for those less shy, actually take to the stage and perform themselves.
Here’s some of the stories we heard - Marianne Matusz, poet, storyteller and theatre maker, talked about the different people she had met at Batley Library. She worked alongside the Batley Bulldogs Sporting Memories Group, a group that allows Batley residents to gather and discuss memories of their local rugby team. Marianne presented a poem she had written especially for the group, based on the conversations she had heard.
‘We come to find an escape
in this game, this place.
Ya’see,
It’s family, it’s pie and peas,
It’s “can I have another bitter please?”
It’s the try that’s got you on your knees.
It’s our history.’
(Extract by Marianne Matusz)
Ruth E Cockburn, theatre maker, poet and stand-up comedian, told us a story about many of the mums she had spoken to at Birkby and Fartown Library as they were passing through on their way from school drop off. From these conversations, Ruth had written a poem to celebrate these women, written from their perspectives, and she performed this –
’I just make the world safer for everyone else.
And hide the darker parts of myself.
I’m just a Mum quietly sitting here.
Just postponing my plans for one more year.
I’m just smoothing the way for others to walk.
Just leaving a gap for others to talk.
I’m just moulding the next generation.
Without a need for congratulations.
Coz I’m just a Mum.
I’m just a sister, a daughter, a best friend, a Mum.
Well, if we didn’t do it, it wouldn’t get done!’
(Extract by Ruth E Cockburn)
The event was a wonderful experience, with community members from each library there and speaking out about their experiences. There really was a community spirit throughout the day, joined with great food and even a group singalong.
This project has shown me the importance of sharing our creativity, feelings and experiences in a safe space like the libraries and the boost people get from taking part in creative activities that they might not think were ‘for them’! At the creative zine-making session with Cherry Styles, at the Chestnut Centre in Deighton, I saw community members creating their own self-produced magazines. They were overjoyed to share their work with me and tell me more about why they were taking part - this enthusiasm was a truly inspirational thing to see. I saw that when folk engage in a creative activity they are really exploring their own ‘inner artist’, finding a way to express themselves that is unique to them and as they get creative their confidence and sense of identity grows.
Art really is for everyone, and next time you’re out and about and you see a free creative activity, whether it be singing in a shopping centre, or painting a picture in a museum, why not stop, have a go, and see how it makes you feel.
I also saw how special it was for people to come to their local theatre for the first time – to find it was a place for them and a place to feel special, treated, celebrated and seen – long may this continue!
