A new project will see women make art for, with and about the people of St Helens. Arts Council England (ACE) has just awarded Heart of Glass – which is a partnership between ANU Productions and Idle Women – GBP487,500 (€574,000).
St Helens has experienced economic and social problems due to decline in its traditional mining and manufacturing industries. Heart of Glass plans to rejuvenate the area via installations, exhibitions, performances and other public art projects.
The productions created through the new ACE funding will begin in 2018, which marks the town’s 150th birthday. They will be led by groups of women from across the town, recruited by Heart of Glass.
On its website, Heart of Glass states that the town’s past strengths can be turned into future opportunities: ‘Inspired by our unique industrial heritage in invention and technology, we will mirror this innovation in our approach to growing audiences and participation.’
A Heart of Glass spokesperson added: ‘Working with women across the borough of St Helens, and creating a new set of productions in the year that the town celebrates its 150th birthday will be a dramatic moment to present stories that have been untold, and realise St Helens as a fertile ground for ambitious collaborative arts projects that reflect the politics of our times.’