What was Lowestoft Folk:
Over the course of two years, a team of artists including visual artists, creative writers and a musician/composer worked with primary school pupils and care home residents to explore their local heritage, using exhibits and stories found in Lowestoft Museum and the Lowestoft Maritime Museum.
Together, they created cyanotype pictures, reflecting items from the Lowestoft Porcelain collection, and multi-coloured paper ‘Suffolk Puffs’ – inspired by the fabric quilt hanging in the Domestic Room at Lowestoft Museum.
At the Maritime Museum, the children were enthralled by the stitched pictures, painted shells and model boats. They were also fascinated by the nicknames given to sailors and the stories of the lives they led and composed their own, modern-day shanties, including one about 48-hour Millionaires.
From painted shells and messages in bottles, to peg dolls reminiscent of the model figures at Lowestoft Museum and songs about fishing and the treasures waiting to be found in their local museums, the intergenerational groups created beautiful pieces of art, sang songs, learned new skills and remembered some long-forgotten, whilst all the time getting to know one another – and having a lot of fun.
Lowestoft Folk also provided family storytelling events and workshops at local festivals, including the inaugural First Light Festival, the town library and, of course the participating museums.
Unique exhibits were created for each museum – the Cabinet of Curiosity for Lowestoft Museum and a special Sea Chest for the Lowestoft Maritime Museum – which will tour around the town over the winter period.
A further 240 primary school children, including pupils in the Specialist Unit for Deaf Children at Elm Tree Primary school, enjoyed the original Lowestoft Folk stories, which were commissioned for the project and based on the exhibits and some of the characters in the partner museums.
Who was Lowestoft Folk for:
Lowestoft Folk was for children from partner primary schools and residents from partner care homes / sheltered housing schemes.
When & Where did Lowestoft Folk happen:
Lowestoft Folk took place in Lowestoft from January 2018 to November 2019.
Contact:
Candida Wingate on 01986 873 955 or candida@suffolkartlink.org.uk.
Further information:
- Read about the first iteration at Oulton Broad Primary School and Broadlands Care Home in the pdf booklet or in the text only word file version of the first iteration booklet.
- Read about the second iteration at Hildesley Court and Pakefield Primary School in the pdf booklet or in the text only word file version of the second iteration booklet.
- Read about the third iteration at Roman Hill Primary School and Britten Court in the pdf booklet or in the text only word file version of the third iteration booklet.
- Read about the fourth iteration at Hildesley Court and Pakefield Primary School in the pdf booklet or in the text only word file version of the fourth interation booklet.
Lowestoft Folk has been made possible by generous funding from The National Lottery awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and supported through Lowestoft Rising.
