Your inspiring words could be written in large metre-high letters across locations in Blackburn and Darwen this spring.
Members of the public are now being called upon to express themselves through poetry to be part of the celebration.
'Of Earth And Sky', is a sculpture-trail collaboration between artist, Luke Jerram, poet, Hafsah Aneela Bashir and Blackburn’s National Festival of Making.
Twenty-five hand-picked locations will host lines of poetry in free-standing, letters, sprayed onto grassed areas, posted onto buildings and hosted on the town’s digital screens.
The words could be a moment of sudden inspiration, something painstakingly prepared or lines from the past.
Lauren Zawadzki, Director of The National Festival Of Making, said: “Blackburn and Darwen have had a particularly difficult time over the last 12 months as people’s health and livelihoods have been threatened and, at times, moments of joy have become difficult to find. As we look forward to brighter times, we open our 2021 programme by reminding people of Blackburn, Darwen and wider-Lancashire’s resilience, creativity and thoughtfulness in ‘Of Earth And Sky.’
"Staying true to our making ethos, the making of some of these installations will be supported by our manufacturing partners and of course we are focused on making new moments of hope, shared community experience and a reason to get outdoors as spring emerges.”
Luke Jerram said: “Of Earth and Sky is an opportunity for people to express themselves, see their words and poetry on a large scale as part of a temporary public installation for everyone to enjoy. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the project animates both Blackburn and Darwen.”
Hafsah Aneela Bashir added: “People have always turned to poetry for its ability to reach out and connect over time and space. It’s the reason the Poetry Health Service was established in the first place and it’s my pleasure to collaborate with Luke Jerram and the National Festival of Making, embedding poems into the landscape of Blackburn and Darwen at a time where human connection and the healing power of poetry is needed more than ever.”
Anybody living in, or with personal connection to, Lancashire, of any age or background, whether a recent enthusiast or experienced poet, is invited to submit their offering before 11 April 2021.
Cllr Phil Riley, Executive Member for Regeneration and Deputy Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said: “It’s been an incredibly challenging and difficult year for everyone. We felt it was the right time to bring something of this scale to the borough as we journey on towards the recovery from Coronavirus. To have such a high-calibre collaboration is a real coup for the borough and provides a once in a lifetime opportunity for our residents, young and old, to have their ‘’pandemic poetry’ captured and shared with the world.
“It reminds us, in these turbulent times, of the importance of language and shared experiences in helping us to connect together with different communities and think beyond our normal boundaries. The initiative very much marks the start of bringing us out of what has become the ‘online lockdown’ norm by taking these small steps to getting us back out and about safely and celebrating all that’s brilliant about our place.”
The sites in Blackburn and Darwen are expected to include the towns’ waterways, town centre squares and parks with the final locations revealed on the festival website in the first week of May 2021.
To find out more visit www.festivalofmaking.co.uk/projects/ofearthandsky/.
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