Renewed focus on events programme at Museum and Library

A vibrant programme of events and performances has been announced to bring Warrington Museum and Library back to life after the building’s long closure.

The teams at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery as well as the Central Library are aiming to once again put the venues at the centre of the community and the town’s cultural offering.

The Grade II-listed building on the corner of Bold Street and Museum Street was closed for a prolonged period between December 2020 and April 2022. This was due to pandemic restrictions followed by essential roof repairs to protect the 170-year-old structure for generations to come.

Families were able to access services in the meantime via the Pop-Up Museum and Library in Golden Square. But the temporary closure also gave staff the chance to think a bit differently about the type of events they could host and the new audiences they could potentially attract.

There will now be more of a focus on a diverse range of live performances for all ages.

So on Saturday, 11 June, the library will be welcoming Kindred Folk Dance Theatre for Lost, a children’s show based on a folktale aimed at youngsters aged four and above.

Then on Saturday, 25 June, the acclaimed Company Carpi will present When You Light a Candle, You Also Cast a Shadow, a contemporary dance piece co commissioned between Culture Warrington, Lancaster Arts and Dance Consortia North West.

On top of that, Warrington Lit-Fest will return at the library between 4 and 11 June and there will be family celebrations to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Leah Biddle, Cultural Manager at Culture Warrington, the charity behind the Museum and Art Gallery, said: “It’s been fantastic to reconnect with our supporters since reopening our doors.

“But we’ve certainly been busy in the interim period and have been looking at all kinds of ways to reach new people. A big part of museum work is about preserving the past but that doesn’t mean we can’t be forward-thinking with our events.

“We’ve always been good at engaging with families and the community but we’re particularly keen to now build on that with a bespoke programme of live events which we hope will inspire and surprise and make people see the museum and library in a new way.”

Platinum Jubilee celebrations – 4 June and 18 June

Warrington groups such as the Warrington Signing Choir, Mulan Culture and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service will be joining forces for a Jubilee themed day of activities and crafts on Saturday, 4 June, between 10.30am and 2.30pm. There will also be refreshments and a theatre workshop performance by Imagining Histories. A second Jubilee celebration will then take place on Saturday, 18 June, with free family-friendly activities led by dance artist Stacey Atkinson and community artists and storytellers, Story Stitchers. The artist takeover of the building is supported by Cheshire Community Fund and Arts Council England and is themed around kindness in our community.

Warrington Lit-Fest – 4-11 June

Warrington Central Library is one of a number of venues for Lit-Fest 2022. Highlights include meet-the-author events with Martin Edwards and Sarah Ward but the area’s writing and poetry groups will also be showcased with taster sessions and events for all ages.

Lost – 11 June

Culture Warrington has commissioned Kindred Folk Dance Theatre to bring ‘Lost’ to the library – a family performance based on a folktale. Lost will take families ‘across the seas’ with dance and music to tell the story of a girl whose voice was frozen in her throat with three performances on Saturday, 11 June.

When You Light A Candle, You Also Cast A Shadow – 25 June

A new hybrid dance theatre work devised by Company Carpi especially for gallery spaces. Dance choreography will meet a string quintet for this moving piece inspired by the seasons and climate issues taking place on Saturday, 25 June.

For more information visit wmag.culturewarrington.org and livewirewarrington.co.uk