For several months The Arts Society Tyneside has been supporting an ambitious project with Newcastle Cathedral and Community Music Facilitator, Sam Slatcher, to provide vulnerable and marginalised people the opportunity to share their experiences in a safe environment and allow them the chance to put their stories to music and song. 

Stories of Sanctuary is an emotive and poignant show of original songs written and performed by those with experience of seeking sanctuary, linking the past with the present. Drawing on the North East’s rich history of offering sanctuary – from the arrival of an exiled monastic community seeking sanctuary from the Vikings to modern stories of fleeing war in Syria – Stories of Sanctuary warmly invites you into the project that inspired new friendships as well as deeply beautiful songs.

We are delighted to report that Sam has now completed workshops with groups of participants in Newcastle Cathedral and is ready to showcase the music that they have created, not only in Newcastle but in Ripon, Sunderland and Durham. Click here to view the flyer.

Please come along and support the achievements of all those who have made this inspiring project possible. The performances will also feature Raghad Haddad from the Syrian National Orchestra.

The performance in Newcastle will take place on Thursday 18th July in Newcastle Cathedral at 7.30pm.

Tickets can be bought via the Cathedral website www.newcastlecathedral.org.uk, then click What’s On.

This is an ambitious project we have initiated with Newcastle Cathedral which already actively reaches out to several groups of people seeking sanctuary in one way or another. We intend to build on our previous association with Community Music Facilitator, Sam Slatcher, to provide vulnerable and marginalised people the opportunity to share their experiences in a safe environment and allow them the chance to put their stories to music and song.

The Arts Society Tyneside has supported Sam Slatcher in his work with Stories of Sanctuary in the past and we initiated this particular project by holding a performance in the Cathedral on 16th November where some of those who have participated in Stories of Sanctuary with Sam in Sunderland performed their songs alongside Sam and Raghad Haddad, a former asylum seeker and viola player with the Syrian National Orchestra. This event was open to the public, the congregation and especially to those group members currently involved in Newcastle Cathedral’s outreach work (e.g. the Lantern Singing Group, the Recovery Church Group, the families from Music Outreach, asylum seekers and the Street Life Community).

The aim was to attract participants for the workshops in which their stories can be shared and put to music. Newcastle has a long history of providing sanctuary and it is intended that some songs will be created from the sharing of this knowledge. The intention is for this to lead to a celebration concert in the Cathedral later in 2024, and possibly other centres across the NE Area in the autumn.

The performance was a great success with over 200 people attending and raised £1800 in ticket sales and donations. In addition, we on Tyneside, have been successful in securing a grant from The Arts Society through the Patricia Fay Fund. All the money will be used to fund the workshops and the subsequent live performances.

There is potential for other Arts Societies to host similar performances and some interest has already been shown at NE Area Meetings. The project will not only address the needs of the participants by making them feel more included, building friendships and raising confidence levels, but through the performances the public will achieve a better understanding of the problems faced by marginalised and vulnerable people and others seeking sanctuary. It is also felt that this kind of partnership helps to raise awareness of The Arts Society and goes some way towards meeting our charitable obligations. In addition, we want to be able to support the work of musicians such as Sam Slatcher and Raghad Haddard and feel this should be part of the remit of The Arts Society.

Art Bytes is a national art and EdTech (Education Technology) programme for primary, secondary and SEN schools, combining an inter-school art competition with a virtual gallery. ‘Education Technology’ refers to the use of technological advances (e.g. computers) to facilitate and improve education. The programme has been shown to promote talent, ambition and self-confidence among participants. TAST is supporting a local school (St John’s Primary School, Benwell) to enable its participation in the scheme.

In 2023 The Arts Society Tyneside was asked to become involved in an interesting project to transcribe two diaries belonging to James Hargreaves who lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

James Hargreaves was a prominent and highly influential Blackburn businessman, investor, philanthropist, and family patriarch whose adult life spanned the late Victorian and the Edwardian periods and offers us a unique insight into the period. 

Twenty-three of the known twenty-five diaries have been transcribed by several volunteers in the North West, some of whom belong to The Arts Society in Ribble and Craven. The last two diaries have only recently come to light through a descendent of James Hargreaves living in Whitley Bay. We have been asked if we would like to put together a small group of people to transcribe these final two diaries so that the whole collection can be published.

Why are the diaries important?

As far as we know, James began keeping a diary in 1894 and did not cease until his death in late 1918 at the age of 77 years. Each diary is interesting in its own right but the diaries’ deeper value lies in their almost unbroken, unique, absorbing, personal and local longitudinal narrative over one of the most important quarter-centuries in our recent history.

James Hargreaves readily, tirelessly, and enthusiastically assumed the responsibilities that, to Victorian and Edwardian minds, went with social status. We read, for example, how he was a driving force behind the formation and increasing success of the first Girls’ High School in Blackburn (and was its Chair of Governors for many years), the Trusteeship of Almshouses (in which he showed considerable, humane commitment), the establishment and subsequent development of the Blackburn Infirmary, taking a leading role in the erection of the Queen Victoria Monument in Blackburn. One of his daughters, Nellie, was an equally tireless volunteer in the “Buffet” service, established on Preston Station to serve food and tea to troops on transport and hospital trains during the First World War.

His genuine love of music and desire to promote it as a dimension of Blackburn’s social and culture life led to his being made, just before his death, the first Chairman of the new Blackburn Choral Society (formed by the merger of the St. Cecilia and Choral Union).

He also learned to have a taste for fine works of art. At the sale of his possessions and elsewhere in the diaries reference is made to a collection of some quality.

He was a man of faith, with a preparedness to go to different churches and chapels to hear good preachers (and never afraid to comment on those who failed to live up to expectation!). He was involved in funding the building and further development of St. Silas’ Church in Blackburn and led the efforts to find, and to fund, an appropriately high quality and beautiful church organ. His diaries indicate the extent of his inquiries and the expertise of those he was determined to consult. In this context the diaries offer another insight into the work of the Anglican Church in this period.

In January 2024 a request went out to members to find people who might be interested in transcribing the diaries. Four people responded and they now form a small group involved in the task. Help was given by Ribble and Craven concerning the format of the transcriptions so that our contributions match those already completed.

It is anticipated that once the task is complete the completed set will be made available to those involved in research, and if money can be raised the transcriptions may be published at some future date.

Olwyn Graves            olwyngraves@outlook.com

We work with people of all ages providing opportunities to get involved in creative arts activities. For instance we have supported projects in a local hospice enabling art programmes to be developed and with a church community helping asylum seekers feel welcomed and more secure.  We have helped children and young people to build a lasting enthusiasm for the arts and an awareness of art heritage and its conservation. Our support also helps to release the artistic potential of children in both Primary and Secondary schools.

Click on the selection of projects on the left in order to find out more details of our varied work.

If you know of a group, potential project or an individual that might welcome some support please let us know.

The Arts Society Tyneside (with help from the Patricia Fay Memorial fund) is supporting a project for asylum seekers and refugees in Westgate Baptist Church, Newcastle Upon Tyne.

The project began in autumn 2017 with 4 workshops run by Pippa Bell from Magic Lantern (an arts education charity) and artist Margaret Bodeley- Edwards.

To begin the group talked about hopes, fears and feelings about the future and what makes a better life: qualities such as courage, faith, love, friendship, hope and community.

Though the process of its creation was as important as the finished work, a banner was chosen as the tangible outcome of the initial workshops. It was unveiled at a celebration in February and is now on permanent display in the church.

“A banner is a universal symbol of unification and people power. It also has deep cultural roots in the North with links to mining and the Trade Union movement. It seemed the perfect vehicle to represent a new community, whilst referencing the cultures that the participants have come from.” Pippa Bell.

The central theme is keys. Keys to our homes can be carried with us wherever we are and for many forced to leave their homes a key can be a symbol of a home left behind. It can also symbolise future peace and security. And so each panel has a key sewn onto it and every key a tag carrying a personal message (in English and Farsi) from each participant and visitor (including members of our Arts Society committee). These, and the lovely panels, each designed and made by a participant, are all linked by a golden thread representing our journeys through life and our being linked together.

“Art is a great unifier, transcending language and cultural barriers. Creating an artwork as an opportunity to unite different cultural groups.

It has been great to see this project raise morale .... Some of the edges are a little rough and the finished banner is not perfect; but then neither are we. It bears our minds and our hearts, and in making it we made good friends.” Margaret Bodeley-Edwards.

That friendship was palpable at the workshops, at the delicious Persian thank you meal prepared by the participants and at the unveiling ceremony.

“I have enjoyed helping to make the banner, and am happy to see it finished. When I’m painting I forget my worries about the family I have left behind in Iran” Raza.

The project has built its own momentum, the group grew as participants invited their friends to join in. It has been so successful that our Society is funding a fortnightly arts group until at least September.

In St. Oswald’s Hospice we have been involved in two important projects. Initially we paid for volunteers to be trained on how to lead art sessions for patients. The training provided the volunteers with an introduction to watercolour; looking at materials, brushes, and techniques that they could use with the patients in their regular Wednesday classes.

More recently Simon Terry, the ceramics artist has worked with patients, families and staff to create a wonderful mosaic which now adorns the main reception  in St Oswald's Hospice.The mosaic depicts in colour and image aspects of the hospice that mean the most. One patient described the hospice as a 'safe haven', whilst another said it was 'a harbour' - somewhere you would want to be in a storm.

We are proud to be able to support such projects as it is one way in which we can help people to express their ideas and feelings as well as develop their artistic talents.

We want to thank everyone who has helped us raise money through our mega raffles so that we can help fund the projects. We shall keep you posted on future plans.