Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage is bowing out until the new year to have a well earned break.
Thank you to everyone who’s been involved with our activities and projects in 2018, whether through being a participant, a volunteer, a freelancer, a director or attending a course. It’s been great to work with you all and we’ve very much enjoyed it!
We’ll be back from 4th January 2019 with lots of new events, and look forward to seeing you then.
Trench BrothersStrike a Light has been part of the Trench Brothers project with HMDT Music and this great event is part of this on Wednesday 17th Oct at the Brighton Dome. There’s still tickets available here: https://brightondome.org/event/18306/trench_brothers/
Trench Brothers concert
Music: Julian Joseph and Richard Taylor
Libretto: Tertia Sefton-Green
Trench Brothers is a new music theatre work commemorating in Brighton the contributions of ethnic minority soldiers during the First World War through music, theatre and puppetry, bringing to life their hopes and fears, their longing for home, their camaraderie, courage and valour.
Directed by Clare Whistler and Freya Wynn-Jones to Neil Irish’s designs, it features over 250 children from local primary schools in Brighton, Newhaven, Lewes and Seaford alongside acclaimed jazz vocalist of the year and MOBO nominated Cleveland Watkiss and ‘superb’ (The Times) opera singer Damian Thantrey.
There will be a pre-performance talk about the creation of Trench Brothers with Julian Joseph, Richard Taylor and Tertia Sefton-Green. Tickets to the evening performance also give access to the pre-performance talk.
http://www.hmdt.org.uk/hmdtmusic/trenchbrothers/performance/
Project Details:
We’re pleased to have been commissioned to become a hub in Brighton and Hove by the Big Ideas Company to develop activities with local community groups to explore the history of the Labour Corps – service personnel during World War I, and often forgotten in this part of history.
Events:
Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage will deliver workshops in October and November 2018 (We will confirm dates very soon) in Brighton and Hove with ten different groups in ten different venues across the city to look at the theme of The Unremembered. We aim to commemorate the Labour Corps service personnel and their experiences.
Free drop in families puppet making sessions (at following venues and times):
and
Monday 19th November 2-3pm: Talk on Labour Corps and Sussex at Strike a Light, Brighton Open Market, Studio 8 (Mezzanine), Marshalls Row, Brighton BN1 4JU.
*** More dates tbc ***
The Unremembered project background:
This project is about the Labour Corps – Service Personnel in the British Army who have essentially been pretty forgotten and aren’t really commemorated anywhere. The aim is to raise the profile of the Labour Corps and share this learning with community groups.
Who were the Labour Corps?
Image: Collection of John Sheen author of histories of the Northumberland Fusiliers and Durham Light Infantry.
The Labour Corps supplied the army with weapons and ammunition, food and fodder, water and fuel. They built and maintained roads and railways. They were essential to the war effort.
British and Allied Forces struggled to cope with the demand for manpower after the huge losses of men during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. From January 1917, manpower was drawn from the UK, China, India, South Africa, Egypt, Canada, the Caribbean and many other places within the British Empire.
Tens of thousands travelled thousands of miles to defend freedom and although they rarely saw service in the frontline, many died or were seriously injured. Today their contributions and sacrifice are all but forgotten. They are The Unremembered.
Events:
We are working engaging with freelancers and volunteers to deliver a series of history and resource led activities which focus on the art of making articulated paper puppets (a common past time a centenary ago) with community groups and families.
These puppets are a mixture of pre-printed on cardboard outline templates which can then be designed, created and compiled by participants and for those with dexterity issues or the very young, pre-designed printed templates which can be assembled with support and displayed. We will use fabric scraps, wrapping paper and wall paper to create overlaid uniforms for these puppets and to bring them to life.
We will also create activities to create dressing paper dolls, so creating the one dimensional paper dolls through templates which are cut out and then one dimensional clothing made relevant to our theme which can then be folded over the puppet body. These dolls were popular during WWI and were still printed then despite paper shortages.
Both these forms of puppet making are ideal for classroom and community projects because they are made with everyday craft supplies and reused materials.
The puppet theme for this project is two-fold – one that it is an engaging and accessible way to teach young people and community groups who are unaware of this lost period of history about the Labour Corps, and secondly that the puppets can be seen as a metaphor for the role of the Labour Corps in terms of having no control over their work or location, that they were moved around like mules and essentially treated as such too. This will be a way to valorise those men and celebrate their role.
This will help to remember some of the soldiers who served with the Labour Corps and their link with Sussex and draw this forgotten history into the light.
https://strikealight.org/projects/the-unremembered-project/
Did you know that you can hire our central Brighton studio for meetings, events and training at an affordable price!
Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage has affordable space available to rent in its’ Brighton’s Open Market based studio (mezzanine level) between 9-6pm weekdays and weekends throughout the year.
If you’d like central Brighton space to try out a new workshop activity, run training sessions, access hot desk space space, or to run a regular creative session for up to ten people each time (that’s our limit due to room size), then get in touch!
The space is available for the affordable price of £7 per hour (min three hours per session).
‘We loved it!’ Brighton Housing Trust
The studio offers broadband, a disability access lift, WC, heating, tables and chairs, flip chart holder, as well as a kitchen area with microwave, sink with running hot and cold water, and kettle, cups and teapots etc for your own refreshments. Refreshments can also be provided for you as an extra cost, as can flip chart paper.
If you would like to find out more about this facility or view the space, please contact the Creative Director of Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage: strikealight@rocketmail.com / 07727006538
https://strikealight.org/about-2/affordable-room-hire-for-workshops-and-meetings/
We’re running two training courses at our studio this summer: a one day Introduction to Reminiscence day for beginners and those interested in finding out more about this area on 20th June, followed by a two day (much more in depth) Reminiscence Training Course on 18th and 19th July.
Fees per person per course:
£85 (Group/organisation rate per person) for one day training / £60 individuals
Two day training: £140 organisations (per person) /£100 Individuals
Please email: strikealight@rocketmail.com or call 07727 006538 to enquire or to book the courses.
Event address:
Strike a Light-Arts & Heritage
Studio 8
Brighton Open Market, Marshalls Row
Brighton BN1 4JU
Find out about all the training we offer here. We can also provide bespoke in-house training for your organisation if you require it.
We aim to run more courses in autumn 2018, so do Follow our website so you can stay up to date and book your place early!
Strike a Light continues with its’ project Mazel tov Brighton! Movement through Tradition celebrating links between Judaism and Brighton and Hove lives with residents of the Jewish Care charity run home Hyman Fine House.
The project celebrates Judaism through active aging, finding physical as well as mental ways to address early onset dementia. We are doing this through dance activities and physical workshops, whilst exploring Brighton’s Jewish history.
We began this project in April 2017 and due to further funding, will be able to run it until summer 2018 thanks to Brighton and Hove Dementia Action Alliance
https://strikealight.org/projects/mazel-tov-brighton/
We are really enjoying our ongoing project Dancing with Dementia in Brighton, encouraging older residents with dementia to stay active, and using music to trigger memories.
Thanks to the Healthy Collaboration fund through Trust for Developing Communities for this support and the Mrs A Lacy-Tate Trust for joint funding us to deliver a series of activities at Brooke Mead, a new purpose built Dementia focussed sheltered housing scheme run by BHCC in Brighton and Hove.
We are currently seeking a freelance facilitator with some experience in dance, music or movement to deliver two sessions for our upcoming Dancing with Dementia project in Brighton.
Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage is hosting a small festive soiree along with our studio partners QueenSpark Books on Wednesday 6th December 5-7pm at our venue in Brighton.
If you have been involved with our organisations this year and would like to come along for a glass of wine and some nibbles, then please RSVP: strikealight@rocketmail.com
We look forward to seeing you to share some festive cheer.
Numbers limited so get in touch soon!
