The opening of a new exhibition at Alnwick Playhouse offers visitors a thought-provoking celebration of the world we live in.
This article has been sent in to Culture Northumberland for us to share what's happening around the project, which has involved input from local community groups from Warkworth, Shilbottle and Amble. There has also been involvement from Duchess Community High School's Climate Club, which has been a great way for local school children to also take part.
What A Wonderful World Festival runs from June 30th-July 2nd at Alnwick Playhouse. The Loving Earth exhibition is open at the Playhouse until July 4th.
The Loving Earth display features 100 beautifully made 30x30cm textile panels, each created to illustrate beloved places, people and wildlife at risk as a result of the climate crisis.
Messages such as ‘Save Our Soil’; ‘Don’t Let The Sun Set on the Bees’; and ‘Use Your Leftovers’ are communicated in intricate and distinct detail thanks to the efforts of people all over the UK, who have created and donated their works to the Quaker Arts Network’s ongoing Loving Earth Project.
The month-long exhibition, which is on loan from the nationwide initiative, forms part of the What A Wonderful World Festival 2023, which will bring a programme of music, theatre, film screenings and discussion panels to Alnwick Playhouse from June 30th to July 2nd.
An impressive cast of cast of global performers, artists, panellists and thought leaders who share a common passion for saving our planet, will come together over three days for the second such event, which made its debut proper in 2022.
Festival co-director, Liz Anderson, said:
“The Loving Earth project dovetails so beautifully with what we’re doing with the What A Wonderful World Festival, so we’re delighted to have been able to bring such a significant number of panels to display at the Playhouse."
We mentioned the involvement of local community groups from Warkworth, Shilbottle and Amble. Gilly Maude from Warkworth’s piece encourages people to think about choosing to cycle or walk instead of using their car while Jenny Blayney’s contribution explores the issue of toxic waste.
Co-director, Alistair Anderson, said: “Most people now know that the climate is changing. We have all seen wild fires, flooding, tornados and hurricanes on the news. But it is so easy to concern ourselves with the daily problems of life and push questions of our very survival into the box labeled ‘too hard for me to tackle’.
“What a Wonderful World" Festival won’t solve the problems either, but we want to encourage people to talk about the problems and the very real solutions that are available. We want to inspire a great conversation where everyone can share their fears, their understanding and their hopes.
In order to draw people into this great conversation we are trying to bring the arts, science and the natural world together to remind us of what an amazing planet we live on, what we have to lose and to explore some of the potential solutions.”
The What A Wonderful World Festival is made possible by the small voluntary Organising Team whose members are drawn from Friends of the Earth, the Duchess’s Community High School, performers, teachers and climate activists; local organisations including Alnwick Playhouse, The Alnwick Garden, Gallery Youth and funders in cash and kind: Alnwick Town Council, The Joicey Trust, Northumberland Estates, the Sir James Knott Trust, the ERG Robinson Charitable Trust, Barter Books, Bill Grisdale Design, Northumberland County Council and more.
For more details on the programme of events and information on the work that "What A Wonderful World" do, head to the website: https://whataww.org/
Comments