Coming soon - the Art of libraries toolkit
As a legacy to the Art of Libraries test pilot we ran in partnership with 6 Gloucestershire based libraries between 2017-2020, Glos libraries will soon be launching the Art of Libraries toolkit.
The toolkit shares a plethora of both creative and practical ideas to support artists and library staff to work together to co-create an irresistible creative programme for children and young people. The aim is to inspire and encourage them to be creative and try something new - from music to drama, storytelling, circus or animation to name a few of the activities that have been offered.
Art of Libraries Goes Digital
The first edition of the toolkit was written before Covid 19 - in what now seems like a distant planet - a time when library staff could welcome children and their families into the library to paint, draw, make a mess without social distancing - without hand sanitiser and masks.
During the pandemic libraries have embraced the shift to digital, providing an online alternative to Baby Bounce and Rhyme sessions and Storytime’s for young families.
They have also been working with Can’t Sit Still and Jonny Fluffypunk to develop and adapt their shows ‘Play-Along Plink and Boo’ and ‘The End Of The Pier Show’ which were originally planned as in library performances with live audiences, to digital interactive theatre performances for children and their families to enjoy from home.
In addition they announced 2 new digital commissions for artists and library staff to work together to test out new activities to offer through on-line platforms. One of the commissions was awarded to Rizpah Amadasun who is a mixed media artist. She created a creative writing workshop called ‘Gloucestershire Legends’ with the starting point of a fictitious Gloucestershire legend, painted by Rizpah for the workshop.
The other commission was to theatre company Brave Bold Drama, who designed a ‘blended’ activity – a spy-based art event called ‘The Company of International Artists’ (CIA). The session is based on artefacts in the Corinium Museum, Cirencester to link in with a particular library area.
All this experience will contribute to an additional chapter in the toolkit; ‘Running Digital Events in Libraries’.
More about the artists and their lockdown projects with libraries
‘Plink and Boo’
Following the success of Plink and Boo, a circus theatre experience for young children and their families in Gloucestershire Libraries, the company developed a digital, pre-recorded show, including an activity pack with printable pages for the ticket and video on how to help make simple props from items around the house and even a den to help you interact with the show.
For more on Can’t Sit Still’s journey on creating a digital performance from the original physical event, take a look at their films here.
Find more about the show here: https://www.cantsitstill.net/play-along-plink-and-boo.html.
Jonny Fluffy Punk
Jonny Fluffy Punk is a stand up poet and his 1 hour pre-recorded ‘The End of the Pier Show’was his first show for children. It included poetry, puppetry, story, song focusing on underlying themes of homelessness, plastic waste and unlikely friendships! The show was a co-presentation by Gloucestershire Libraries, Strike A Light and Pound Arts, a theatre in Wiltshire, giving more promotion opportunities. For more on Jonny’s reflections on the project as a performer, take a look at his blog on the Create Gloucestershire website.
Read all about it on his blog here
Rizpah Amadasun
Rizpah Amadasun is a mixed media artist, recently having had a residence at the Wilson Museum in Cheltenham and due to study at the Royal College of Painting in Sept 2021. ‘Gloucestershire Legends’ was a creative writing workshop, with the starting point of a fictitious Gloucestershire legend, painted by Rizpah for the workshop. Children discussed their ideas with simple props on legends and warriors with Rizpah bringing in a sense of place with Gloucestershire settings. Finally Rizpah recounted back ‘their’ story in character.
Rizpah’s blog is coming soon!
Brave Bold Drama
Brave Bold Drama, designed a ‘blended’ activity – a spy-based art event called ‘The Company of International Artists’ (CIA). The session is based on artefacts in the Corinium Museum, Cirencester to link in with a particular library area. The audience were children from a small rural primary school who recited physical activity packs which included activities, materials and secret codes to access pre-recorded online content.
The first test sessions are due to take place in the half term after the Easter holidays and we’re looking forward to sharing their experiencing a in a blog here shortly after that.
If you are interested in working creatively with Gloucestershire Libraries you can get in touch by emailing libraries-readiscover@gloucestershire.gov.uk.