Culture Catch Up 1: Hello!
Hello! My name is Emma, and I am the Rekindle Project Support Officer. I am delighted to have a space on this blog to talk to you about all the wonderful cultural activities we are programming within our library service and how it all works behind the scenes.
Buckinghamshire Council are incredibly lucky to have been awarded funding from the Arts Council to program this cultural work as part of their ‘Rekindle’ project. Rekindle is all about getting cultural activity back into libraries, and this ranges from music to theatre, poetry to art and so much more. Rekindle is a test and learn project, meaning that over our three years, we will understand how to make our libraries venues for cultural activity, and to do this in a sustainable way. Libraries have always been places of innovation and community, and it is wonderful that we get to be part of Rekindle, alongside four other libraries nationwide. It really is a trailblazing project.
You may have already heard of Rekindle, as it was officially launched in October last year. We have five Rekindle libraries, Buckingham, Burnham, Chesham, Aylesbury, and High Wycombe, and since our official launch we have hosted several events in them. You may have attended one of our Fun Palaces, or a performance of The Head Gardener, a poetry workshop from Simon Mole or even a ballet from Black British Ballet amongst other things. Our audiences absolutely loved each event we put on. The range of what we can program is truly a broad church, and I am looking forward to seeing what our second year brings!
To make this all happen, we are working very closely with Farnham Maltings, our arts partner. Farnham have helped us to understand the complex world of arts contracts, fees, and tour schedules, and have been a fantastic supporter of the project. As a service, we are eager to learn how to integrate cultural activity into our offering in a self-sustaining way so we can make it a permanent fixture even through the restructuring.
Two participants of the Craft Your World workshop show off their creations!
Speaking of the second year, our first event was a series of family workshops led by artist Anna McCallion called Craft Your World. The workshop saw participants create a paper diorama of their local area, getting them to consider the world around them deeply. I have seen some pictures of completed dioramas and they look stunning. This workshop was run alongside the 2024 Summer Reading Challenge, Marvelous Makers, and it truly was a marvelous event. A huge thank you to Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Burnham and Buckingham Libraries who hosted this event.
If you’re looking for a bit more culture during the summer holidays, then Chesham Library is hosting a performance of The Pigeon and The Peacock from Quanimals Theatre Productions on the 20th August at 10am. The play features marionette puppetry and a musical duo, focusing on themes such as empathy, judgement, mental health, and confidence. The music for the play is semi-written and will be semi-improvised with jazz influences. It will be followed by a ‘touch tour’ where the blind or partially blind will have the opportunity to go on stage and touch the part of the sets and puppets, led by Soledad Zarate puppeteer.
Afterwards, there will be a fun, interactive workshop at 11am led by music therapist Rich Muscat based on the themes explored in the play. This workshop will be inclusive to children from all musical backgrounds, using accessible percussion. Tickets for the play cost £5 and tickets for the workshop are £3. You can buy tickets for The Pigeon and The Peacock in Chesham Library, or you can email on [email protected] to reserve a place.
That is all for this Culture Catch-Up! I hope you have enjoyed reading about the Rekindle project and see you at one of our upcoming events.