heritage

Great War MK Remembered

On 6th November 2015, the Great War MK partners are presenting the finale to their WW1 centenary project – a powerful performance of dance, drama, poetry, music and film.  Drawing on the different elements produced over the last two years, Great War MK Remembered will provide a poignant evening for all.

This showcase will bring together a patchwork of creative responses to WW1 in an evening of entertainment, commemoration and reflection.  The evening will celebrate the talent and achievements of the Milton Keynes arts and heritage community and will include performances of original music composed by young people, moving dramatic performances from Pepper’s Ghost Theatre Company, haunting poetry, and breath-taking choreography with dancers from Shenley Retirement Village and Initiate Youth Dance Company.  There’s also a rare chance to see the spectacular replica of a WW1 tank created by carnival company Festive Road and animations made by children working with Independent Cinema MK, in what promises to be an uplifting and poignant finale of the Great War MK project.Tank at Station Square

Great War MK Remembered is a unique opportunity to see the work of eleven fantastic organisations from the Milton Keynes region on one night, in one spectacular showcase performance. 

Great War MK Remembered will take place at 7.30pm on 6th November at The Venue MK, Walton High.  The show is being produced by local production company, Full House.

Tickets are £3 each or £10 for a family of four, available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/eventsmk

Manny Ademolu, Young Singer/Songwriter for Great War MK said:

‘This project has been great … it has challenged my skills as a songwriter to create a new piece of work that conveys a matter that still affects us to date. And working with a passionate and talented group of musicians is a constant reminder of the beauty and power that music holds.’ 

Euan Henderson, Chair of AHA-MK said:

‘This is the culmination of two years’ planning, researching, creating and delivering new ways of looking at the First World War 100 years ago as experienced in the area now transformed by the Metropolitan Borough and New City of Milton Keynes.’

Replica tanks, street theatre and commemorative dance for Great War MK

For the Fallen

For the Fallen

How about seeing a bit of theatre in a full-size replica 1st World War tank? Or watching a commemorative dance with hand-made banners? Or perhaps participating as an Old Time Music Hall audience – letting the performers know what you think of their acts! New music from young musicians, new film shows of the Great War era, extraordinary installations and exhibitions – all these are part of the Great War MK project about to explode on the Milton Keynes community.

Great War MK is a collaborative project led by the Arts & Heritage Alliance Milton Keynes (AHA-MK). It explores the impact of the First World War on the communities of Milton Keynes – an area now covering six towns, 41 villages and 1/4 million people – through research, commemorative events, participatory learning activity and community workshops. During 2015 Great War MK will be presenting events and opportunities for people to explore and commemorate the lives and the stories of the Great War.

With funding from Heritage Lottery Fund and seed-funding from MK Council, this project brings together various arts and heritage organisations, which are all exploring WW1 themes and using different methods to tell stories. The partner organisations are: Cowper and Newton Museum, Deanshanger Village Heritage Society, Festive Road, Independent Cinema Milton Keynes, Living Archive, MK Gallery, Pepper’s Ghost Theatre Company, Westbury Arts Centre through support from MK Heritage Association: Bucks Constabulary Museum, North Crawley Historical Society and Simpson History Group.

Great War MK aims to work with people of all ages and abilities, providing opportunities to take part in workshops, and activities are now developing. To find out more see our events page and Facebook or follow @AHA_MK #GreatWarMK on Twitter. You can also hear more about the projects on our Vimeo page.

Alongside these events, Great War MK is also putting a call out to any community groups or individuals that want to be part of this large-scale project: we want you to create and donate your very own hand-made poppy to be added to a WW1 banner. Using the sewing template found here (or by knitting or crocheting), we are asking for as many people as possible to create a poppy that will be included in banners used as part of an act of commemoration in July at Campbell Park. To find out more please see the blog.

Marion Hill, author and Chair of the Great War MK Steering Group says: ‘Even after a hundred years, the Great War continues to move and inspire – and with the wealth of talented people that we have here in Milton Keynes, we look forward to so much more to reflect upon – because Milton Keynes does it differently!’

The stories of Milton Keynes in WW1, of those that went off to fight, those that stayed behind and of those that did not return will be commemorated through this project and we invite all residents of Milton Keynes to remember them with us by attending a workshop or event, making a poppy or by volunteering with us.

Link

Explore the remembrance of WW1 on the BBC – resources, programmes and events

WW1 on the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/ww1/

The BBC have commissioned documentaries, research and drama to commemorate the Great War via the link above you can find their ‘Count Down to War’ Timeline, information about the men who signed up for WW1, clips of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge ‘planting’ ceramic poppies at the Tower of London and this series looking at the stories of International Soldiers (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0239rlx)

Frontline Project Artists Announced #GreatWarMK

Poppy fieldMK Gallery is pleased to announce the selection of artists Alicja Rogalska and Teresa Paiva to deliver its Frontline schools engagement programme over the coming 12 months. Frontline forms part of the wider Great War MK project, conceived and managed by the Arts & Heritage Alliance MK, to mark the centenary of the First World War and is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

During the coming year Alicja and Teresa will work with pupils from Hazeley Academy, Lord Grey School, Oakgrove School and MK Academy in Milton Keynes via workshops and visits to national museums and galleries to explore the question ‘How have artists used the visual arts to depict and interpret military conflict, historically and in the present-day?’. The project will culminate in an exhibition of their collaborative artwork in MK Gallery’s Project Space in June 2015.

Speaking about the project, MK Gallery’s Formal Learning Manager, Hannah Gaunt, said:  “We are so delighted to have Alicja and Teresa on board with this exciting project to commemorate the centenary of World War One. We received many strong and impressive applications from artists wanting to be involved in ‘Frontline’ and the wider ‘Great War MK’ programme, but we are certain that we have selected two candidates with significant experience and knowledge of the subject area who will be able to expertly guide and develop the artistic outcomes with the participating school pupils.”

Alicja Rogalska has over 8 years of experience working in arts education and gallery settings, including interdisciplinary and research-based projects.  Her practice encompasses both research and production, with a focus on social structures and political undercurrents. Many of her works and projects are context-specific, collaborative and have educational elements. She has an MFA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College (2011) and an MA in Cultural Studies from Warsaw University (2006).

Teresa Paiva is a multidisciplinary artist with over 10 years’ experience working with diverse communities in London on arts education projects, as well as working across galleries and museums to deliver artist-led programmes and projects.  Her current practice explores the cross-over between new media and more traditional artistic mediums.  She has a BA in Sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto.

The Frontline project coincides with MK Gallery’s autumn exhibition An My Lê (19 September – November 2014).  Lê (b.1960) now recognised as one of the most significant photographers working in the world today, is a Vietnamese-American artist whose images explore the experience and culture of conflict, drawing on her personal history as a political refugee from the Vietnam War.