LEEK: once, now and next
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| very little of the original Dieulacres is left.... |
Using the 800th anniversary
of the founding of the now vanished Dieulacres Abbey to get ideas going, Leek:
once, now and next sets out to
encourage the people of Leek and the Staffordshire Moorlands to celebrate the
richness of their heritage. I'm involved in this as one of the artists - so join us for some wild times, big drawings, fascinating talks and occasional silliness!
With a grant from Awards for
All, the project offers free activities for families, youth and community
groups, clubs and the general public involving everything from "design
your own abbey" pop-up landscapes, to "once and future"
lanterns, and a "Leek Now" Big Draw frieze. In the middle of the project
there will be a "Birthday Party for a Lost Abbey" featuring Abbey
Lanterns from local youth groups, music, storytelling and a giant Abbey
Birthday Cake
The Lost Abbey:
running through all our events is the thread of Dieulacres: Leek's Lost Abbey.
For a few hundred years Dieulacres was one of the richest and most important
Cistercian Abbey's in the county but with its Dissolution in the reformation
almost all traces of it disappeared. A few carvings and other stoneworks survive in the buildings of Abbey Farm,
but that is all. 2014 would have been the Abbey's 800 birthday…
Organisers
Buxton-based community arts group, Stone and Water find innovative ways of
celebrating the richness of the people, wildlife and landscapes of the Peak
District. Recent project have included crocheting a prehistoric seabed fro the
ancient seas that gave us the limestone of the White Peak and adventurous
activities designed to encourage people to go "exploring with
stories"
Borderland Voices aims to promote mental health
through the arts and to raise public awareness and understanding of mental
health issues by delivering accessible arts projects and offering creative
space for self-expression within a mutually supportive community.
Public events
all events are free and no booking is required
Sunday 12th: Apple Day,
visit this farm in the Upper Dove Valley for an autumn day of orchards, fruit
recipes, art and stories and a chance to explore this beautiful landscape, its
animals and plants
Time: 11am - 3.30pm
Where: Dove Valley
Centre, Under Whitle, between Sheen and Longnor
Friday 17th: Stitching
time: join our artists and add your own panel to the new Cope
for the Lost Abbey. Images of ancient saints and modern heroes lie side-by-side
on this community cloak. With fabric and felt, wool, silk, thread, beads and
sequins: no experience is needed!
Time: 1 - 3pm
Where: Silverdale
Library, Newcastle: High St, Silverdale, Newcastle ST5 6LY, 01782 297444
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| illumination workshops have been capturing Moorlands moments |
Saturday 18th:
Old stories, new adventures! Join our storyteller to listen to
old tales of the Moorlands: of giants and mermaids and magic and monsters! Create
your own stories about life and adventures in Leek
Time 10am - 12noon
Where: Leek Library, Nicholson Institute Stockwell Street Leek. ST13 6DW
Saturday 18th: unrolling Leek! a Big Draw event, we'll be drawing all your
favourite places in Leek on one huge piece of paper: from Brough Park to the
Foxlowe, from William Plummer's anchor memorial to your own back garden,
everywhere works!
Time: 2 - 4pm
Where: Foxlowe Art Centre, Market Place, Leek, Staffordshire ST13 6AD
Thursday 23rd, Ladydale Well, the Leek Ladder
and other marvels: a talk by archaeologist Mark Olly. A chance to meet the more
mysterious side of the town, join us to think, wonder and speculate
Time: 7.30
(finishing about 9 - 9.30), refreshments provided
Where: Quaker
Meeting House, Overton Bank
Leek ST13 5ES
Saturday 25th, Birthday Party for a Lost Abbey!
make a small monk puppet, write a poem, listen to stories, wonder at the Abbey
Lanterns, add your own visions for the future of Leek - an afternoon of
activities and creativity will lead to the unveiling of the Cope and the formal
cutting of the Abbey Birthday Cake
Time: 2 - 6pm
Where Foxlowe Art Centre, Market Place, Leek, Staffordshire ST13 6AD
Tuesday 28th, Ancient
Adventures: To
celebrate Leek's ancient history: come along and make your own medieval castle
or pop up abbey – and add some tiny puppets to tell some ancient tales!
Time 10am - 12noon, 1.30 - 3pm: drop in,
allow yourself 45 minutes to make something!
Wednesday 29th, Dieulacres
Abbey - Leek's vanishing heritage. A talk by local historian
Michael Fisher: find out about the history of Leek's lost abbey!
Time: 7.30 - 9
Where: Foxlowe Arts Centre,
Thursday 30th: Ancient
tales, modern adventures: storytelling,
story making, art: what adventures can we invent for the trees, animals and
children of Brough Park?
Times: 10 -12, 1 - 3
Where: Brough Park:
Vicarage Road Car Park or walk in and find us under a tree in the middle of the
Park!
For more
information, contact 01298 77964
