ONE CITY
Wednesday 30th April 2008
Victoria Hall
FREE

First presentation 4 - 5pm
Second presentation 7-8pm (opened by Steve Robinson Chief Executive of Stoke on Trent City Council)

The Axis Festival's massive ONE CITY project comes to a climax tomorrow at the Victoria Hall. The project which began in February this year and has spanned the whole city has involved over 1000 local  people in its preparation. The project began with 3 intensive weeks of intergenerational reminiscing workshops where young people interview older people. Themes as diverse as Saturday Night Out to My First Job were covered as well as School Yards and Nursery Rhymes and High Days and Holidays.

The groups teased out those themes which were shared city wide, whilst also reinforcing those things which preserved a local sense of individuality. In the 5 weeks following the story telling the young people have worked with some of the best local artists to express not only the city's history but also their aspirations for the future. The students have been encouraged to take ownership of their city and their future and have a hand in its remodeling and regeneration.

Over 200 young people will be part of the performance tomorrow and it is hoped that the common experience of preparing the work and it being part of a bigger festival generated excitement spectacle will enhance the community and civic pride.

In the foyer there is an installation which the young people have been making for the last 5 weeks. There are silk screens, models, projections and other objects. You will also see five huge banners hung side by side. Created by professional designer and Festival director Phil Rawle, these banners represent the individual area's of the city. Each area as represented in the banner has it's own distinct stories, names and identity, but put together they become a much brighter and forceful image. The symbolism is simple the individual as part of the whole is stronger but not less important.

The project was developed after a day's arts workshop which happened as part of the 2007 festival, and it was recognised that through art and music we could begin to discuss and ultimately tackle some of the negative issues we wrestle within the city.  This project specifically looked to approach topics such as low aspirations, the lack of unity and sense of belonging and our seemingly low sense of civic pride
 
The presentation you will see on the 30th is merely a snippet of the hours of work, research and aspirational discussions that have been going on for the last 3 months.

By bringing all these groups together to perform in their city centre  -in the city's premier music venue - we are reinforcing focus of the city centre, and the sense of the individuals part of the whole.

Not only have local artists been asked to input into this project, but also Spearfish, a Manchester based arts group has been commissioned to create huge 8x8 ft canvasses in response to the project which will form part of the installation. Their pieces were created "live" in the city centre last Saturday in full view of passers by, are the finished work is modern, young and impressive.
 
This part of the project was to encourage those outside of the area to take a fresh look at Stoke and know that positive change is happening and that we will be a cultural force to be reckoned with in the coming years.
 
The project has been funded by Arts Council England, The Heritage Lottery Foundation, Staffordshire University, local business and Stoke City Council. Also there has been many hours donated time from local highly skilled volunteers.

The installation will stay on public display for one month.