In 2022, I produced Sharing Stories Through the Ages, a multi-partner project commissioned by Newcastle City Council as part of the region-wide Inspired by the Lindisfarne Gospels programme. The project explored how storytelling and communication have evolved over time, connecting historical traditions of image and text with contemporary experiences.

​

Alongside leading the exhibition design and marketing for the project, I was commissioned to create an installation and developed a regional public engagement programme delivered across 13 libraries. The programme was designed to reach communities who may not regularly engage with cultural activity, with a particular focus on older and vulnerable residents.

​

Working with more than 100 participants, we co-created a collaborative zine through a series of participatory workshops exploring collage poetry, visual collage, zine-making and print processes. Through these creative activities, participants reflected on themes including modern communication, loneliness, media literacy, the future of work and the lasting social impact of COVID-19.

​

All of the collage poems produced by participants were risograph printed and installed on a custom movable gallery wall in the gallery space. Members of the public were able to make their own zines using any or all of the collage poems produced by participants. 

​

For the artist commission I created an AR installation, 50 Shades of Truth. This installation explored media literacy using historical and contemporary examples of fake news, media bias and the introduction of deep fakes. Humour was a key aspect of this installation so that it was pitched correctly for the diverse audience at Newcastle City Library. As the audience got closer to the AR installation to trigger the AR in each poster, they were drawn closer to the glass. Through the gaps or lines between the posters a mock, oversized headline stand reminded people to read between the lines. 

​

The work produced through the workshops formed part of a wider exhibition exploring storytelling across the ages, presented at Newcastle City Library. The exhibition attracted nearly 4,000 visitors and the project outputs were also incorporated into the library service’s schools outreach programme, extending the project’s reach to younger audiences.

​

My role combined strategic coordination with hands-on creative facilitation, including project management, audience development and recruitment, venue coordination with library staff, participatory engagement design, exhibition development and risk management. The project demonstrated how libraries can act as welcoming creative spaces where communities come together to share stories, experiences and perspectives across generations.