WVRF aims to connect communities, inspire and support creativity, and to interpret and celebrate our outstanding landscape. This includes working with partners to make arts accessible for all, embedding new skills that support individuals on their personal creative journeys, whilst fostering a deep appreciation of the environment.
To extend the range of the festival’s creative connections we recruited five dynamic ‘Creative Community Champions’ who worked across the area throughout 2022. All are talented local creatives who have been developing projects with local communities to build confidence, ambition, and skills. Their collaborations featured in the festival and built lasting networks and partnerships that will enable the development of a year-round WVRF creative programme.
We had such a great time with our 2022 cohort that we are doing it again in 2024!
Check out the Creative Community Champion individual pages to find our more about what they have been up to.
The 2024 Creative Community Champions
They’ve just arrived… check out their own work, and watch this space to find out more about what they are planning for WVRF…
Artspace Cinderford – established in 1988, they specialise in offering fully inclusive, accessible creative opportunities for people of any age or ability. Building on this years theme, EARTH BENEATH OUR FEET 
they plan to develop a series of events and workshops building on ‘STORIES RELATING TO FOOD’ 
We are excited to embark on this journey together…
Katie Hanning – We are excited by the ways Katie evokes partnership – active participation and curiosity through the varied works. Katie has proposed a series of ‘WALKSHOPS’ – movement explorations outdoors to create a series of art works involving local residents, fellow artists and environmentalists.
Olivia Preye – Olivia’s practice has evolved to encompass composition, solo and ensemble performance and creative facilitation. Over the last 15+ years, she has led creative workshops in a range of contexts from psychiatric units to abandoned cinemas, from orchestral halls to farms both here in the U.K. and in other places such as: India, West Africa, Indonesia, Japan and Bosnia. In 2018 she founded Voice Yoga UK.
Olivia is leading two projects for WVRF: The Cosmos Within Us – a songwriting project exploring grief through our connection with nature and the night sky and The Mothers In All Weathers Choir – a choir of mothers who learn their songs whilst out walking.
If you are interested in being involved with either project, check out our What’s On page. To get involved, please contact Liv via www.voiceyoga.co.uk
The 2022 Creative Community Champions & Projects:
Aimee Blease-Bourne – Queering the Wye
Catherine Hawkridge – I Live Here
Chez Dunford – Exploring Thrutopia
Claudia Peake – Altered places, changing spaces
Nichola Goff – Youth Banner Project
You must be logged in to post a comment.