We were delighted to be at Contact in Manchester on Wednesday 4 June to launch Our Freedom: Then and Now, part of a £2million national creative programme marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Supported by UK Government through Arts Council England, the initiative will see 60 arts centres and libraries across the UK present community-led projects exploring the legacy of VE Day and VJ Day.
In total, the national programme will feature 80 creative commissions: 60 community-led works as part of the Our Freedom: Then and Now campaign and 20 additional museum-based projects. Together, these 80 projects mark 80 years since the end of WWII in their local communities.
Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, launched the campaign with a specially commissioned poem, Freedom Road.
Defining freedom through art
Our Freedom: Then and Now empowers artists, veterans and residents to explore themes of past and present freedoms through 60 creative projects, including exhibitions, performances and installations running from June to November 2025
Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, opened the Our Freedom: Then and Now campaign at the launch, reading a specially commissioned poem alongside a speech from Arts Council England CEO, Darren Henley.
Armitage shared: “Like all art, poetry itself is a form of freedom, the right to say what we want, where and whenever we like. In this poem I’m celebrating the kind of freedom that makes art possible, allows it to exist. I’m saying that freedom is most noticeable when it’s under threat, which is a warning against taking it for granted or thinking it will just fall into our hands. It’s a constant journey, a mindset and a lifestyle, and in our domestic settings it requires a live-and-let-live neighbourly tolerance. True freedom is a wonder and a joy.”
Public spaces as vital threads in Britain’s cultural fabric
Annabel Turpin, Co-Director of Future Arts Centres, said: “This campaign is about more than remembrance. It’s about giving our British communities the chance to define what freedom means to them, in their words, voices, and art.”
She continued: “The campaign aims to celebrate the role of public spaces, which are not only cultural venues but also safe spaces for communities. Where we are from is part of our identity. It’s a place of mutual understanding and pride, a space for both the new and the old, where traditions are formed and history can endure.”
The use of local libraries, art centres, and community centres as platforms for Our Freedom: Then and Now highlights the significance of these accessible, everyday spaces, which serve as vital threads in the UK’s cultural fabric. They are places where people have the freedom to express their thoughts and where creativity, dialogue and connection can flourish.