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NEWCASTLE CATHEDRAL
NEWCASTLE CATHEDRAL
A BEACON OF LIGHT
- This event has passed.
Story Chair Launch
8th September @ 9:15 am - 2:00 pm
FREEJoin national charity Changing Lives and University of the Year in the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards 2022, Northumbria University, for the launch of ‘Story Chair’!
‘Story Chair’ – a collaboration between the two organisations and supported by the North East Probation Service – has been facilitated over the last 12 months and involved more than 50 women across Newcastle, Ashington, North Tyneside and Sunderland participating in an eight-week programme. Through a series of workshops, the women involved with the programme have explored story-telling techniques, enabling them to tell their stories and take control of their own narratives moving forward.
The Revd Jon Canessa, Newcastle Cathedral’s Lantern Initiative Lead, explains why the launch event is happening here: “When they visited, the women were captivated with the Cathedral’s crypt, finding it a place of sanctuary, despite, at the time, being full of scaffolding and broken chairs. Seeing beyond the clutter, the women asked if they could use the Crypt as a place to share their stories so that others might better understand. By doing so, they imagined saying goodbye to their past just as mourners gathered to say goodbye to the deceased.”
Following the completion of the programme, which started life in the Crypt, a physical story-telling chair composed of the women’s artwork has been built. It will be used across the country to open up conversations with cultural venues about what they can do to make their spaces more inclusive.
At this event, the Story Chair will be unveiled publicly for the first time at the place of its inception. The day will also see the launch of the Story Chair toolkit, which provides practical guidance and ideas on using craft and storytelling activities in one-to-one or group settings.
Book tickets for the event via Eventbrite and see the running order.
After its reveal, the Story Chair will remain in the Crypt for visitors to see until the end of September.
