Writer in Residence

This project will include a digital diary, creative writing workshops/talks, a new gallery display and live performance on the streets of Nuneaton. It is being supported with a grant of £7,665 from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.  In kind support for the performance is being provided by Coventry University.

 

Councillor Ian Lloyd: ‘It is fantastic that this project has been selected to receive this funding by Arts Council England.  This is a chance for the George Eliot collection to be seen in an entirely new way by audiences.  In the Audience Development Plan carried out last year local people wanted to see greater use of the internet by the museum and the writer’s blog will be an excellent start. This coupled with workshops and performances which people can take part in hopefully means there will be something for everyone’.

 

Nuneaton born playwright, Vanessa Oakes will use the George Eliot collection as a starting point for the residency which will take place between May 2011 and January 2012.  The project is also being assisted by expertise from Coventry University who are providing in kind support for the production of the live performance

 

 Vanessa Oakes: ‘The stimulus for both this residency and the resulting play was a comment by a local person who said, “George Eliot, yeah; I should really read his books ". It is this ambiguity of authorship which I want to explore. During the residency I want to investigate what George Eliot means today to local people and how (or even if) they feel connected to both her life story and the power of her words’.

 

To visit the writer's blog go to http://desperatelyseekinggeorge.wordpress.com/

 

STOP PRESS

The residency has now finished to see the finished gallery please visit the museum during normal opening hours.  To view the film of the live performance go to http://desperatelyseekinggeorge.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/joe-on-you-tube/