The AfSM is a partner organisation in the Making Waves Together project, which will see communities and groups in Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth work together to build cultural partnerships, engage new audiences and put arts, culture and heritage at the heart of the local vision.
While having so much in common, sharing connected maritime histories, similar socio-economic stories and a rapidly growing off shore renewable energy sector, both towns have embarked on their own cultural pathway. Making Waves Together will tie both towns in an inseparable cultural bond through delivering a broad range of cultural activity inspiring and engaging our communities as both participants and audiences. The aim of the programme is to strengthen both areas and make them more attractive place to visit, work, learn and live in. It will also raise the profile of the cultural organisations involved and make their offer more accessible to communities.
All this is made possible through the Great Place Scheme, delivered by Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England. Making Waves Together received additional funding from the borough and district councils, Norfolk County Council, Suffolk County Council, Great Yarmouth Town Centre Partnership, Lowestoft Vision, and the Broads Authority National Park.
Click below to watch a short film on the successes of the project so far:
The Making Waves Together vision for Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth is:
- More people are participating in and engaging in a wide variety of cultural activity
- The cultural sector will be stronger and more resilient contributing to the economic success
- Great Place funding will leverage further cultural investment from local and regional stakeholders
- The cultural profile will be raised to present unique visitor destinations
- Exemplars for community participation in cultural animation enhancing pride, cohesion and wellbeing
- Learn from each other’s cultural strengths and other Great Places projects to embed culture into ongoing place shaping efforts
- The partnership is made up of 9 delivery partners and a number of supporting partners, bringing together national and international renowned art organisations with emerging community-led organisations in both towns.
The Making Waves Together programme includes:
Historic Rows and Score Project – Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust will work alongside East Suffolk Preservation Trust to undertake conservation work and community activity around the medieval passageways known locally as the Rows and the Scores. At the heart of the project will be the community, through collecting memories and stories and being involved in designing art work inspired by these passageways. The project will also involve people who are unemployed providing opportunities to learn heritage conservation skills, to help build their CV and experiences.
Wind Power – Flipside will work with school children in Great Yarmouth to explore the story of the power of wind and the town’s aspirations to be at the centre of renewable energy production. Using design and engineering principles the project fuses science and art to research and make flags and culminates in a dynamic art installation that acts as a vibrant, visual response to the on and off-shore wind turbines that loom large in the local landscape. This project supports the work of the Local Cultural Educational Partnerships in both towns by providing opportunities for children and young people to take part in cultural activities. Flags will be exhibited at the Waterways and Boating Lake on Great Yarmouth seafront, which is currently being restored by Great Yarmouth Borough Council in partnership with the Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust, thanks to Heritage Lottery Fund, BIG Lottery Fund, New Anglia LEP and DCLG.
Watertight Words – Flipside are working with Lowestoft communities to explore flood protection and look to the future as a resilient, sustainable environment in which to live. The project explores flood protection technology through art and literature and culminates in large, striking, pop-up visual arts installations. The final art work will be an etching on a glass section of the new flood wall at South Pier, part of the Lowestoft Flood Risk Management Project.
Great Yarmouth Expo – A series of community workshops led by original projects; will engage with residents to nominate aspects that make Gt. Yarmouth ‘Great’ and identify new cultural assets. These assets will be shared and marketed through exhibitions, making culture, including, publications, souvenir items, cultural symbols, new traditions. These will be produced in collaboration with community members and will be displayed in redundant shops and vacant spaces.
Pop-up Performances and Roller-coaster – Marina Theatre Trust and Sea Change Arts will lead community engagement workshops and provide participatory performance and installations to transform our town centres and seafronts. Communities will be involved in shaping the performances, which will build a sense of pride and achievement through seeing their work presented as part of a high profile professional event.
Lowestoft Dance Map – In and around Lowestoft town centre, Dance East will work with residents to interpret collections at Lowestoft Museum and the Maritime Museum through movement and dance. The project will specifically focus on the cultural traditions of the Scot Girls, whose job it was to sort, prepare and pack the fish.
Seaside Collections – Time and Tide part of Norfolk Museum Service will work with Lowestoft Museums’ part of the Association of Suffolk Museums, to create a dedicated coastal heritage collection for the east coast and deliver museum pop-up exhibitions in and around Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth to reach and engage with new audiences.
Untold Tales – In Lowestoft, a drama facilitator project involving local schools will see children work with a storyteller and drama facilitator to help shape stories based on local histories. A selection of scripts will be performed at the theatre to showcase the young people’s talents and hard work. This project supports the work of the Local Cultural Educational Partnerships in both towns by providing opportunities for children and young people to take part in cultural activities.
Developing LCEPs – The Enjoy Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Rising Local Cultural Education Partnership will work closely together to support the delivery of their individual Cultural Manifestos and strengthen their capacity to drive the local education offer. These partnerships connects schools, children and young people with arts and cultural activity, these partnerships are supported by Arts Council England’s network of Bridge organisations.
Cultural Networks – The Marina Theatre and Sea Change Arts will coordinate quarterly networks, workshops and monthly gatherings for emerging cultural enterprises and existing organisations to come together, share creative ideas and take part in learning opportunities.
Venue Development – Landmark performance venues across both towns will come together and collaborate, including looking at audience development, marketing and planning future activities. This will be delivered by Marina Theatre Trust and Sea Change Arts, working with The Seagull Theatre and St. Georges Theatre.
Cultural Acceleration in Lowestoft – This strand of Making Waves Together is led by Waveney District Council and will drive the development of a cultural strategy in Lowestoft and build a network of cultural organisations across the town, sharing good practice and developing knowledge and skills.
Underground Gallery – Reprezent will profile Great Yarmouth artists through film, exploring key cultural assets and spaces along the way. This emerging community-led group will also animate underpasses transform them into a public outdoors gallery, adding more colour and energy to the town.
For more information on this project, contact MWT Project Officer, Patricia Day at patricia.day@norfolk.gov.uk