We're delighted to be a part of Future Arts Centres new UK-wide programme 'Our Freedom: Then and Now', reflecting on what ‘Our Freedom’ means to local people and their communities, following the 80th anniversary of VE/VJ Day.
The Bluecoat is one of 80 venues around the UK taking part to create an exciting programme of events, artworks and more.
Future Arts Centres will lead the programme, working with 60 arts centres and libraries, their communities and artists to create special cultural events, exhibitions and performances that are meaningful to people living in these places and across the UK.
This week, we travelled to Contact Theatre in Manchester to launch the programme, and hear what the other venues have planned. We also got to hear from Chief Executive of Arts Council England, Darren Henley and the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, who has been commissioned by Future Arts Centres to write a new poem for the project. The poem, Freedom Road, will act as a centrepiece and a starting point to explore what freedom has meant across generations and how it is felt and understood today. Click here to read the poem.
At the Bluecoat
We'll be working with children aged 8-11 as part of Out of the Blue, our after school art club, local communities and local artists to explore what #OurFreedom means to us. We're partnering with a primary school local to the Bluecoat in L1 to develop a new Out of the Blue club, and will explore the themes of the poem and the project with the children. After this, the children will then work directly with the appointed artist to develop an artwork which will be displayed in our galleries later this year. We'll also be developing a programme of events and workshops to take place over the summer and autumn.
Stay tuned to our social media channels as we share behind the scenes of our work with Out of the Blue, and for announcements on our upcoming events as part of the programme.
Follow us on:
Facebook - @thebluecoat
Instagram - @the_bluecoat
TikTok - @the_bluecoat
The programme, which is supported by UK Government through Arts Council England and in partnership with Libraries Connected, will be based in arts centres and libraries to build on their established relationships within their localities. An additional 20 celebrations will take place in museums, resulting in a total of 80 communities projects to mark the 80th anniversary.
Huge thank you to Future Arts Centres for having us as part of this incredible programme.