Hear My Voice

Supported by the Ashley Family Trust, the Festival worked with isolated elderly groups, in particular those suffering with dementia and mental health problems, helping them to share memories of  their personal “life journeys” (whether physical, mental or metaphorical). These memories were documented via audio and visual recordings and in a large mural created by participants.

The following year, we visited Blackwood Primary School with award-winning children’s author Ross Montgomery, who led workshops to help inspire the students to write their own stories, using the “collected memories” from the year before as stimulus.  These shared memories not only fired the imaginations of our budding writers, but also allowed them to develop how use of sensory and emotive descriptions could bring their own stories to life. The short stories developed were celebrated and shared as part of World Book Day 2019.