Community Cultures at the Shakespeare North Theatre.
Knowsley Face learners perform at the Shakespeare North Playhouse.
An amazing event Called Community Cultures was facilitated by Knowsley Family And Community Education (FACE) team at the Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot on Friday 11th July.
Community Cultures was the culmination of several adult education courses focussing on different cultures from around the world through, several different subjects, aimed at bringing our communities together.
Since January over 200 learners attended courses such as, Dance Cultures, upcycled costume sewing, Cultural Come Dine With Me, Cultural Art, Local History of Prescot & Knowsley, Cultural History of Holistic Therapies, and many more. On show was amazing dance routines from all around the world including a surprise flash mob of ‘House of Bamboo’ in the foyer of the theatre during lunch break. Local female vocalist Charlotte Powell closed the show with some rock and roll and a powerful and emotional performance of our own scouse anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
The project was funded by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and delivered alongside partners such as Shakespeare North Playhouse, Share Knowsley, Merseycare NHS Foundation Trust, and was attended by the Leader of Knowsley Council, Cllr Graham Morgan, and Knowsley Council’s Chief Executive, James Duncan.
Here are some quotes from the event organisers and attendees –
Leader of Knowsley Council, Cllr Graham Morgan said “I was delighted to attend the recent Community Culture event and it was wonderful to host such a great community event in the iconic Shakespeare North Playhouse. Showcasing the amazing community spirit we have here in Knowsley through dance, song, crafts and so much more was lovely to see, as well as seeing the great talent of our local communities. Well done to everyone who took part – it really was an amazing community event.”
Alex Horrocks, Event organiser added:
‘It was such a privilege and an amazing experience to see people who have never danced before actually get on stage and perform on such a stage! People who have never sewn before creating such amazing cultural dresswear, and people from all walks of life come together to learn more about each other and their cultures and enjoy a fabulous day together! I am really looking forward to building on this event and the partnerships we have developed to provide all Knowsley residents with opportunities to come together and bond through education.’
Rebecca Feeley – Coordinator on Community Cultures
I have loved being a part of coordinating this project with my manager, Alex Horrocks. Working in the community, it is important that we work together, and Community Cultures would not have been as successful as it was if it wasn’t for working in partnership with different organisations. As when we work together, we make can make the biggest impact which has been demonstrated in Community Cultures. We all have one goal and that is to help people in the community. I wanted our learners to get the best experience through our Coffee and Craft mornings and various courses. The Coffee mornings were a great starting point for people to come together, learn something new, make friends, build confidence and have access to different opportunities in the area. The performance and exhibition at the Shakespeare were brilliant and you could see all the hard work that our learners, tutors and partners had put in on the day. I am so proud of all of our learners and how far they have come and what they achieved. I am honoured to have been a part of such as impactful project and to have been able to develop our partnerships. I am looking forward to strengthening them partnerships in the new academic year, we have an exciting time ahead.
Evonne Bixter, Head of Engagement at Shakespeare North added,
“This was a wonderful event, and we were delighted to see so many happy faces in the building. We are looking forward to working in partnership with FACE to deliver adult learning opportunities in the future, nurturing the health and wellbeing of our communities through creative activity”.
Dennis Dewar, Engagement Manager in Merseycare NHS Trust Social Inclusion and Participation Team
It was a wonderful way to display people’s skills in such a great venue. The quality of the work on show was outstanding and I was taken aback by the wide range of skills involved. Speaking with some of those involved it was clear how Face Forward plays a major role in their wellbeing.
Lynsey Sewell – Dep Head of School, St Helens & Knowsley College.
The work that Rebecca and Alex have done with our ESOL learners is valuable and powerful, displaying stories of human joy and heartache we can all share regardless of the language we speak. The event provided a platform for participants to be proud of what they had produced and was a wonderful showcase for the growing diversity in the local community. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of it.
Abigail Hall – LIVV Housing Group
‘It was wonderful to come together and celebrate some amazing achievements within the community! It was great to see the positive impact FACE has on learners across the region, from reiki to dance classes, sewing to art. We’re really excited to work with FACE moving forward.’
Sharon Connolly – Costume designer & FACE sewing Tutor
It was an honour and a pleasure to be a part of this amazing project watching people come together through Education. Whilst at times throughout the year it was testing it was without doubt worth it in the end. Most of our learners were new to sewing and FACE so to see them grow and develop their skills to enable them to make such quality garments has made me so proud to be a part of it. I am looking forward to building on this work next year and helping even more students push their barriers and achieve their goals.
Julie Ashurst – Freelance Drama Practitioner & FACE Tutor
It was both a pleasure and a privilege to act as on-stage host to the fabulous FACE team and our amazing learners. It was more than just an enjoyable day, it was a powerful reminder of the richness that education, the arts and diverse cultures bring to our lives – and these three things meet every day at FACE. I hope that days like this can help everyone to feel a deeper connection to our Knowsley community.
Diane Crawford – Dance Choreographer & FACE Tutor
A wonderful day it was for us all. I’ve had some amazing feedback.
The dancers said the experience had a tremendously positive impact on their confidence. Having felt nervous beforehand, they were surprised how much they enjoyed performing in front of an audience! They felt thoroughly appreciated and supported by the face team and their audience too.
I think they would be more than happy to do it all again!!
Charlotte Powell – Female Vocalist
I was honoured to be asked to sing at the Knowsley FACE Community Cultures event at the Shakespeare Theatre on Friday 11th July. The event was wonderful, bringing lots of people from our community in Knowsley together to share their art of dance, dressmaking, drawing, painting, photography, and poetry. I particularly enjoyed looking at all the artwork displayed on the day by the learners. I loved that the project brought together people from all around the world who are living here in Knowsley to share their stories.
I was thrilled to be asked to sing at the event and celebrate our musical culture here in Liverpool by singing ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ by the Beatles and the anthem of Liverpool, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
