Thursday 24 March 2016

SPINE Festival: Libraries Out Loud! – The Final Chapter

Today we welcome Maddy Sakakini from Apples & Snakes to the website, to fill us in on the SPINE Festival, which took place in libraries around London this month. ~Laura

As we close the book on SPINE Festival 2016, Maddy Sakakini looks back at the fantastic programme of events in libraries across 14 London boroughs, and what a celebration it was!

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Kicking off the events with World Book Day, SPINE Festival brought London communities together to celebrate arts and literature in libraries with free, inspiring activities and workshops for children, families and young people to get involved in. From music, dance, and drama, to poetry, storytelling and visual art, there was something fun for everyone! It was a SPINE-tingling-tastic-time, here’s what the participants and librarians had to say….

“A marvelous opportunity for nursery aged and school children, and families to enjoy and participate in a wide range of events from best selling authors to innovative drama and theatre performances, amazing poetry, and fascinating puppets.” – Sarah Smith, Brent Libraries.

“It was great! Very inspirational for adults and children.” – SPINE Participant, 2016

“Very expressive! Engaging and thought-provoking. Mindfulness at its best!” – Dance Workshop Participant, 2016

“I didn’t know you could turn photos into film.” “It was fun.” “It’s almost as if you’re the editors, we’re the creators, directors and actors.” – SPINE Participants, 2016

Well, we thought it was great too! SPINE Festival 2016 saw young people and families encouraged to stand up and be heard in a new creative space. As always, SPINE aims to inspire local communities to see their libraries as cultural hubs, accessible to everyone. The passion behind each project was contagious, as artists and librarians worked tirelessly to transform library spaces into dance floors, animation studios, Manga comic strips, magical woodlands, and theatres. It was this dedication and enthusiasm that was the driving force behind the project, and we’ve never seen anything quite like it.

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SPINE Festival is dedicated to encouraging children and people of all ages to explore ideas and express them creatively. Both adults and toddlers were involved from beginning to end whether through giggles, wiggles and rhymes in Electric Baby Land at Chelsea Library, or in the powerful dance and movement exploration at Leytonstone Library. In any case, the sense of community in each event was pervasive, bringing new creative experiences into library spaces in London, in true Libraries Out Loud fashion – to the surprise of some studious library regulars…

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School children worked with performance poet Paul Lyalls to create a giant book of poetry, producing amazing results and lasting memories. See Paul’s blog about the experience here. Paul, along with other SPINE Festival Artists in Residence, helped SPINE Festival to build new connections between schools, students, and local libraries through filmmaking, commissioned poetry, and interactive creative writing. For the animation ‘Shoes’ from Charlotte Bill’s workshop with school students can be watched on Vimeo.

“It was brilliant; the kids seemed to really enjoy it. I will definitely bring them along again. The performer was an amazing talent. 5 stars!!” – SPINE Participant, 2016

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These are only a few of the fantastic events that have taken place over the course of SPINE Festival, and just some of the outstanding artists who have contributed to this celebration of arts and literature in libraries. A big thank you to the artists involved in making SPINE Festival a great project, and to the library authorities we have collaborated with in Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hounslow, Kensington & Chelsea, Lewisham, Southwark, Sutton, Waltham Forest, and Westminster. We continue to work together to inspire and encourage people to view libraries as the spine of local communities across London.

SPINE Festival is produced by Apples and Snakes in partnership with library authorities across London as part of Apples and Snakes’ work as an Associate Bridge organisation. For more information visit the SPINE project page or follow #SpineFestival2016.



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