This year we brought arts, culture & creative happenings to Liverpool City Region... in ways we hadn’t quite anticipated.
We started the year with the Story Box, bringing stories to life in Kensington Library, Walton Life Rooms, Stanley Park, Toxteth Library and Kitty’s Launderette.
5 days, 5 locations, engaging over 100 kids in reading for pleasure.
— Creative Spaces Co. (@createspacesco) February 21, 2020
A pretty successful February half-term with @BookwormPlayers 👌 pic.twitter.com/KhzsjbYppV
We spent the first few months of 2020 supporting fellow social enterprise Inclusive Economy Liverpool, working with them on their celebration night, spring workshops and climate change conversations.
It was an huge honour to be part of the nomination committee for @ieLiverpool’s celebration event last night, congratulations to all the winners!
— Creative Spaces Co. (@createspacesco) February 7, 2020
As @LesleyPenton said, what an honour to be with so many good people, doing so many great things! #IECelebrate20 pic.twitter.com/GAiHsCPpSQ
In March we celebrated World Book Day in Walton Life Rooms with our friends The Bookworm Players
This week we took over @LifeRooms_MC with stories, games and crafts for #WorldBookDay2020! 🧡
— Creative Spaces Co. (@createspacesco) March 7, 2020
How did you spend the day this year?#LiverpoolReads pic.twitter.com/vT0b7pVtAf
As the UK went in to lockdown we launched Writing for the Soul, asking writers to share their stories, poems and musings from our collective isolation. We brought it together with the help of Ronnie Hughes of A Sense of Place, local artist Louis Tuckman and dozens of local writers. Later in the year it was featured in Museum of Liverpool’s Covid-19 display.
Our Writing for the Soul zine in @MuseumLiverpool’s Covid-19 display.
— Creative Spaces Co. (@createspacesco) October 11, 2020
The museum wanted to collect & record experiences of the pandemic & lockdown to enable people to learn from & make sense of these unprecedented times.https://t.co/u1pzTyFNIg pic.twitter.com/w4W5JHc6zb
In April we began to create activity packs for children, hoping to provide a little creative entertainment throughout lockdown and summer - we’ve now created over 1000 packs
Today we dropped off Craft Packs to the Community Food Partnership at Dovecot MAC with @harrydoyle96 and @_AlisonClarke
— Creative Spaces Co. (@createspacesco) May 18, 2020
Our packs are available in the community shop and will be included in foodbank parcels for families; hopefully providing a few hours of entertainment! 🧡 pic.twitter.com/AS5QR6V32N
In June we reaped the rewards of our joint flower sowing with Scouse Flowerhouse and All Saints Primary School. It was lovely to see the wildflowers in Thirlmere Park that are helping to brighten up this hidden gem in Everton.
Back in January we joined @scouseflowers and @AllSaintsL4 to sow seeds in Thirlmere Park.
— Creative Spaces Co. (@createspacesco) June 18, 2020
And now look... a beautiful wildflower meadow 🌺🌸🌻 https://t.co/sp0m0PLU7L pic.twitter.com/qggPZgm6RH
In August we launched Imagine That! A creative writing competition for 5 to 13 year olds. Encouraging children to write, for the pleasure of writing. You can watch the winning stories and poems, performed by The Bookworm Players
At the end of summer we launched our virtual book club, bringing people together over zoom with a cuppa and a good book
In September we supported Granby Street Market with their crowdfunder, helping them get back on their feet after a fire destroyed all their market equipment.
I would like to add that @rachael_obyrne of @createspacesco created, organised and did the hard graft on this fundraiser for @GranbyMarket
— Theresa MacDermott (@TheresaMacD) October 8, 2020
She did this as a volunteer, and above and beyond the call of duty.
Thanks Rachael - you smashed it 😍❤️ https://t.co/7nMXhGZky7
And finally, one of the biggest projects we ran this year was The Story Box at Home; as we couldn’t hold our usual reading events in libraries and community venues, we moved online and gifted hundreds of free books with activity packs to families over October half-term and the festive season.
Over half-term we gifted 101 Story Box at Home packs to families across Liverpool City Region 🧡📖https://t.co/f0UQ96c8RT pic.twitter.com/GzMQ0Y2Cg8
— Creative Spaces Co. (@createspacesco) November 1, 2020
We couldn’t come together for stories, games & crafts this Christmas, so we brought our Story Box in to 241 homes instead
— Creative Spaces Co. (@createspacesco) December 27, 2020
Which meant...
📖 We gifted hundreds of books & activity packs to Merseyside families
📺 Created Story Box videos
📚 And shopped local with @LinghamsBooks pic.twitter.com/QghHPv4cIk
It’s been a tough year for so many of us but we hope in our small way, we’ve made things a little brighter.
If you like the work we do and want to see us do more good stuff across Liverpool City Region in 2021, you can support us here
