Marking 80 years since the end of WWII, this free community musical is based on people’s memories of living in the area during and after the war – including the VE Day celebrations when the Billy Bowman band played to the crowds from the roof of the air-raid shelter on Main Street. * Moving and … Continued
To try and capture the essence of the Our Freedom: Then and Now project that Stockport Libraries is delighted to be a part of, artist Audrey Albert will be visiting Bredbury Library on Saturday 18 October (11.30am – 1.30pm) and Wednesday 29 October (12.30pm – 2.30pm) to help participants create sun prints. Also known as … Continued
Our Freedom: Then and Now is a community storytelling and art project funded by Arts Council England and led by Future Arts Centres. It invites people from all walks of life to share what freedom means to them. Inspired by the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day, the project explores personal and collective experiences … Continued
To try and capture the essence of the Our Freedom: Then and Now project that Stockport Libraries is delighted to be a part of, artist Audrey Albert will be visiting Bredbury Library on Saturday 18 October (11.30am – 1.30pm) and Wednesday 29 October (12.30pm – 2.30pm) to help participants create sun prints. Also known as … Continued
To try and capture the essence of the Our Freedom: Then and Now project that Stockport Libraries is delighted to be a part of, artist Audrey Albert will be visiting Bredbury Library on Saturday 18 October (11.30am – 1.30pm) and Wednesday 29 October (12.30pm – 2.30pm) to help participants create sun prints. Also known as … Continued
Winsford Young Photographers have curated an exhibition exploring what freedom means for them and their futures. In collaboration with Storyhouse and supported by professional artists, young people took part in a four day project to learn about all aspects of photography from composition and lighting right through to making frames for the finished photograph and … Continued
In collaboration with Storyhouse, artists Alison Pitt and Pat Tripney of Art in the Place have worked with writer Lekhani Chirwa to create a visual representation of the stories, ideas, and experiences contributed by Winsford residents to the freedom manifesto. Two banners have been commissioned as a lasting memento of the project and will be … Continued
What does freedom mean to you? What does freedom look like? Who is freedom for? Winsford residents of all ages and backgrounds have been exploring what freedom means to them. In collaboration with Storyhouse, writer Lekhani Chirwa has worked with community groups and schools to find the answers to these questions and combine the diverse … Continued
Visit a powerful new community-led exhibition reflecting on the profound meaning of freedom, 80 years after the end of the Second World War. The exhibition will include a heritage display developed in partnership with Cumbria Archives and Barrow Archive Centre and their volunteers, showing archive material including photographs, diaries, letters and drawings that depict Barrow … Continued
Through a series of workshops, local groups, social media, the Home Library Service, and individual contributions, Stockport Libraries have gathered stories and reflections on the theme of Our Freedom: Then & Now from across their community. These shared memories and thoughts will be transformed into a vibrant bottle top mural by their commissioned artist, Caitlin … Continued
Presented by Kirkgate Arts and Heritage, the Our Freedom: Then and Now Cockermouth Musical will be performed at the Christmas Lights Switch on, onstage at Main Street at 1.30pm. The musical has been created by musician JP Worsfold and storyteller Jessie McMeekin, drawing on stories from Cockermouth at the end of the Second World War … Continued
Enjoy a variety of free, family-friendly creative activities in the gallery inspired by the themes of Lou Miller’s Bluecoat exhibition We Dream of Our Freedom. Get involved with screen printing, badge and zine making, and writing postcards with your own vision of freedom. For We Dream of Our Freedom, artist and activist Lou Miller collaborated … Continued
Manchester-based artist and activist Lou Miller has collaborated with children from St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School in L1 to explore their vision of freedom. The resulting exhibition transforms the voices of the children, aged 8-11, into a series of textile banners, clay, and print works for adults and children alike. Miller’s practice has … Continued
You’re invited to the Our Freedom: Then and Now Exhibition and Comic Book Launch at Barrow Library on Saturday 8 November. The exhibition will include a heritage display developed in partnership with Cumbria Archives and Barrow Archive Centre and their volunteers, showing archive material including photographs, diaries, letters and drawings that depict Barrow during WW2 … Continued
Join The Bluecoat for a weekend of free, family-friendly fun this September. The artist-led activities will be part of the nationwide Our Freedom: Then & Now project. More information coming soon!
Join Barrovian writer and performance poet Caleb Staps for a captivating and fun Blackout Poetry Workshop inviting you to write in new ways. Blackout poetry uses a technique of crossing out, circling, and drawing on pieces of text, creating short tales with the words left behind. With permanent markers in hand, you’ll be delving into … Continued
Local writer and performance poet Caleb Staps, the self-proclaimed Bard of Barrow, invites you to a War Poetry Workshop. Whether you’re delving into history or commenting on contemporary issues, you’ll be supported to discuss and create poetry based on your own interpretation of the subject. As part of Our Freedom: Then and Now, reflecting on … Continued
Join Barrovian writer and performance poet Caleb Staps to explore modern day contemporary Barrow, developments in the town, and hopes for the future. Local poet Caleb, the self-proclaimed Bard of Barrow, invites you to join him for a poetry workshop focusing on Barrow’s present and future. Caleb believes that the present is an interesting time … Continued
By The Light of Our Losses. A beautiful, thought provoking light art installation illuminating, with multiple light bulbs inscribed with poetic reflective messages of loss, at The Dukes and across the city of Lancaster. Audiences will follow the trail of these lights to reach Moor Space at The Dukes where draping festoons of the lights … Continued
Two city centre murals that celebrate Lancaster as a City, what freedom means to the community and looks at the history of Lancaster in relation to WW2. Commissioned by The Dukes as part of Our Freedom, designed by Assembly Arts and supported by Lancaster BID and Lancaster City Museum.
Join artist Lou Miller for two days of free, self-led and artist led activities exploring what freedom means to you, as part of the nationwide Our Freedom: Then & Now project. Make your own badges and zines, give screen printing a go and more. You’ll also get to collaborate on a large scale mobile that … Continued
Join Barrovian writer and performance poet Caleb Staps for a captivating and fun Blackout Poetry Workshop inviting you to write in new ways. Blackout poetry uses a technique of crossing out, circling, and drawing on pieces of text, creating short tales with the words left behind. With permanent markers in hand, you’ll be delving into … Continued
How do you make a comic? In the first of a series of four youth arts workshops led by illustrator, writer and comic-book artist Lyndon White, this workshop will introduce visual storytelling through comics – learn the process and steps to creating your own stories and how to draw creative comic panels. You will be … Continued
What makes an interesting story? In the second youth arts workshops led by illustrator, writer, and comic-book artist Lyndon White, you will work as part of a group to share ideas, learn how to write a blurb, and start to develop your own stories into comic scripts. Explore techniques behind the art of graphic novels … Continued
Using your own stories and ideas, join illustrator, writer, and comic-book artist Lyndon White for the third of four youth arts workshops, where you will start visualising your characters and the worlds they inhabit. Discuss what makes interesting characters and how to add that to their visual identity. These workshops are perfect for young people … Continued
You have your story, you’ve visualised your world, now it’s time to draw your comic! Part workshop, part live ‘drawing-jam’, come and work alongside illustrator, writer, and comic-book artist Lyndon White in this fourth and final youth arts session. These workshops are perfect for young people who are curious about graphic novels as well as … Continued
What does freedom mean to you? Throughout summer 2025, The Met has been working closely with community partners ADAB, The Proud Trust, and the Two Tubs pub (on their Military Mondays) to interrogate this very question, inspired by the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day this year. And now you’re invited to an event … Continued
Fitting under the umbrella of its Out of the Blue (OOTB) Project, and with most of the sessions taking place in the form of after school clubs, the Bluecoat will lead on an exciting project which will result in a public facing family programme in October 2025 based on the theme of freedom. Expanding its … Continued
With support from Arts Council England and Future Arts Centres, Our Freedom: Then and Now became a heartfelt community storytelling art project inviting people across Stockport to reflect on a simple but powerful question: “What does freedom mean to me?” Inspired by the 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day, the project encouraged residents to … Continued
Kirkgate Arts and Heritage commissioned two local artists, storyteller Jessie McMeekin and musician JP Worsfold, to create a community musical inspired by stories from Cockermouth at the end of the Second World War and in the post‑war period, alongside reflections from people in the town today on what freedom means to them. During the summer … Continued
Situated in an area heavily affected by the Barrow Blitz – and with a basement that once served as an air‑raid shelter – Barrow Library holds an important place in local history. Today, as a Library of Sanctuary, it continues to be a safe and welcoming space where people can express themselves and where creativity … Continued
Working with an intergenerational group of residents of Winsford and delivering a series of masterclasses ranging from creative writing to performance, filmmaking to visual arts, to explore the theme of freedom, Storyhouse will present a project in Winsford Library reflecting the thoughts and experiences of the people of this area.
Rooted in Bury and working with the town’s veterans groups, its LGBTQ+ Forum, the area’s South Asian and migrant community, and volunteers and staff at the Fusiliers Museum, The Met will engage with its diverse communities to gather responses to the notion of freedom. How free are we now? Are some of us more free … Continued
The Dukes will work with local communities to explore the history of Lancaster, its part in WW2 and what freedom truly means to us, utilising different art forms and embracing varied experiences to make a significant contribution to art and history in the city centre. Partnering with organisations including Assembly Arts, Lancaster BID and Lancaster … Continued