activ8 Awards and Showcase

Over the last twelve months, over 5,000 people and community groups of all ages from in and around Bolton have worked with activ8, utilising various art forms to make outstanding contributions to their communities and their own lives.

activ8 presents the third annual activ8 Showcase where the evening will feature some of the exceptional theatre, film, art and music projects created by participants of activ8’s workshops, projects and youth theatre over the course of the past year.

The evening culminates with an awards ceremony, which will honour deserving individuals. The awards are sponsored by The co-operative and the categories are:

• Outstanding Personal Achievement and Development through Creative Arts
• Outstanding Contribution to Bolton’s Communities through Creative Arts
• Most Supportive Team Member
• Most Memorable Individual Performance and Most Promising Newcomer

Winners will be published on the blog in due course.

Caz Brader, Head of activ8, comments:

“There are many achievements and success stories that often go unrecognised, such as a young person overcoming a confidence issue; we want to make sure these amazing people get the acknowledgment that they deserve.”

The Showcase takes place at the Octagon Theatre in the Main Auditorium on Saturday 5 July, 7.30pm. Tickets are available from £4 at the Ticket Office on 01204 520661.

The Touring Wardrobe

The title of this post might sound like the name of a 70s prog rock band but it is actually a project created by one of our outreach groups, art-beat, which is based at the Age Concern and Learning Resources Centre in Farnworth. The project is part of a wider programme of work for the over 50's.

Our participatory and education department, activ8, employed writers and artists to work with a small group of Farnworth residents to explore their memories creatively. This involved an old wardrobe filled with reminiscences of growing up and living in the local area. Here it is....

The wardrobe conveys a collection of touching accounts and witty stories presented inside the wardrobe in a variety of ways. Some stories are recorded on CD and can be played through the headphones displayed on one of the shelves, some are hand written and hidden in shoe boxes within the wardrobe.

There are photos exhibited on the inner walls of the wardrobe and on the shoe boxes, and there are also some items relating to particular stories that are found hanging inside, including a red dress and a pink wig!

The wardrobe is currently touring Bolton visiting Age Concern centres and sheltered housing centres etc so that more people can have a look at this unusual piece of art! Here are the tour dates and venues. I will post further dates as and when they are confirmed:

Date Venue
Now Alderbank
3 - 16 June Rivington House, Horwich
17 - 30 June Aspinall Court, Horwich
1 - 7 July The Octagon Theatre, Bolton

So why not pop to a venue near you and have a look. We'd love to inspire more people over 50 to get involved and hopefully set up a few more outreach groups around Bolton. If you are interested in getting involved in art-beat activities, contact activ8 on 01204 556501 for more information.