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People’s Day
November 30, 2024 @ 11:00 - 16:00
A festival celebrating 50 years of activism at Warwick Arts Centre.
We will be marking the occasion this Autumn with a series of activities, events and projects rooted in the present, yet touching on our history as a place for radical thinking, as well as the University’s reputation for innovation.
Under the banner Rebels With A Cause! we explore activism, both loud and quiet, big and small. We challenge our understanding and experience the extraordinary. And with our exciting People’s Day(opens in a new tab), we hand over creative control to you.
Over the course of a few weeks we look forward to showing you an Arts Centre that’s looking forward to the next 50 years.
From the University visionaries of the 60s who from green fields, created a campus that put an arts centre at its core, to a space that champions creativity, celebrates artists and most importantly welcomes all communities.
Artists & Performers:
Canley Samba Band, Butterworth Hall
Join Canley Samba Band on the stage of the Butterworth Hall for a rhythmic workshop and experience some classic Samba Band beats! Band leader Dave Barrett will share the origins of Samba Band as one that brings people together through joy, connection and solidarity as he introduces each piece you’ll play.
Dotti Sallis and Nor Aziz, Uniting Communities, Upper Foyer
Our friends in Canley take over the Upper Foyer with an installation that celebrates key Canley spaces and the importance these have in bringing the community together. Take part in a lantern making workshop in the morning and have a photo taken with performers from this year’s Canley Parade dressed in their illuminated costumes!
Emerald Book Club, Upper Cinema Foyer
Emerald Book Club is a vibrant community of readers and creatives, passionate about promoting literacy, culture, and thought-provoking discussions. Join them throughout the day for storytelling and reading sessions, creative writing sessions and the opportunity to share your words from the sessions.
Emilie Lauren, Lower Foyer
Explore protest poetry with Coventry’s first Poet Laureate Emilie Lauren! Create your own poems and share them on our collective poetry blackboards to share your words with all.
Foleshill Creates, Theatre Bar
Our friends at Foleshill Creates lead a day long drop-in workshop of craft activities in our Theatre Bar, with a focus on reusable and recyclable materials.
Good Neighbours, Lower Foyer
Discover more about befriending, speak to the team, and take part in activities that celebrate the joy of friendship!
Imagination Reading Cafés, Helen Martin Studio
An hour-long pop-up theatre experience led by Pru Poretta (Coventry’s Lady Godiva) and Jah Man Aggrey, with interactive props, unique puppets, live music and audience participation!
Ode Creatives, Foyer Stage
Enjoy this hour-long showcase set on our Foyer Stage featuring 4 local artists, each performing their own original songs that resonate with the ‘Rebels With A Cause’ theme. A celebration of local talent and amplifying voices.
Out of Whack, Studio
Join Out of Whack, our Elders Dance Company, and choreographer Liz Agiss as they present a new work made specifically to celebrate ‘Rebels With A Cause’ and what dance means to them. A Q&A will follow their performance.
Reign The Girl Band, Foyer Stage
Siân Jessica Lewis and Lily Smith from Reign, a multi-instrumentalist girlband, join us for an intimate, dynamic set showcasing original music from their upcoming EP. Blending acoustic and electronic elements the set will demonstrate the power of collaborative female musicianship. The performance will be followed by a short interactive workshop discussing barriers for women in the music industry, encouraging dialogue on how we can collectively rebel against these obstacles.
Sing for Change, Foyer Stage
Sing For Change is a Coventry based community choir that meets to sing songs for peace, social justice, equality and the environment. Their set includes songs as well as performance poetry, written by poets with experience of the British asylum system. You’ll have the opportunity to learn and sing-along to two protest songs and participate in a Q&A.
Tarla Patel, Creative Learning Space
Join artist Tarla Patel for a zine and postcard making workshop that explores the theme of rebellion! Using collage making, drawing, text and colour, you’ll make your own mini-zine booklets based on the ‘Rebels With A Cause’ theme.
Youth Leadership Collective with DASH Arts, Foyer Stage
Members of our Youth Leadership Collective take to the stage to share powerful and persuasive speeches on topics they feel passionate about created as part of a workshop with DASH Arts. Amplifying voices and hearing what matters to the young people in our community.
Schedule:
| Across our foyers | |
| 11am – 1pm: | Lantern Making, Uniting Communities, Upper Foyer |
| 11am – 4pm: | Poetry Workshop with Emilie Lauren, Lower Foyer |
| Befriending Stall and Activities, Good Neighbours, Lower Foyer | |
| Reuse and Recycle Craft Workshops, Foleshill Creates, Theatre Bar | |
| Creative Writing and Storytelling, Emerald Book Club, Cinema Foyer | |
| Helen Martin Studio | |
| 11.30am – 12.30pm: | Pop-up Theatre with Imagination Reading Cafes |
| 1pm – 2pm: | Pop-up Theatre with Imagination Reading Cafes |
| 2.45pm – 3.15pm: | Reign Workshop |
| Foyer Stage | |
| 12pm – 1.30pm: | Sing for Change |
| 1.40pm – 2.10pm: | Reign |
| 2.20pm – 3.20pm: | Ode Creatives |
| 3.30pm – 4pm: | Youth Leadership Collective and DASH Arts |
| Butterworth Hall Stage | |
| 1.30pm – 3pm: | Canley Samba Band workshop |
| Creative Learning Space | |
| 1.30pm – 4pm: | Zine-making workshop with Tarla Patel |
| Studio | |
| 3pm – 4pm: | Out of Whack, Elders Dance Performance and Q&A |
