Everything You Need To Know About Animating Ashington
Celebrating community, creativity and connection, Animating Ashington is encouraging locals to love where they're from
Outdoor arts specialists Walk the Plank were commissioned to develop, produce and deliver Animating Ashington – a programme of exciting events to connect communities, residents and businesses through creativity. ‘Investment is happening and arts and culture is a really good way to engage people, so I see this programme as a catalyst to get people excited about what’s happening in Ashington,’ says senior producer Bev Ayre.
Ashington itself is currently in the middle of a large-scale regeneration programme, with a new cinema being built and the reopening of the Northumberland Line last year, so what better time to come together and celebrate the town and its community?
Animating Ashington is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the North East Combined Authority, as part of the Regenerating Ashington Programme and since last year, the programme has brought large-scale events to the community. At Christmastime, there was a unique toy procession to the Christmas Tree Lights celebrations. ‘We led a procession of small “toy soldiers” who were from the Gladwin Ballet and Stage School in Ashington and that led another procession of young people up the high street towards the Christmas tree who had all made lanterns. It was lovely, and over 5,000 people came out to see that.’
Next up was Light Night which saw two nights of pop-up interactive drumming. ‘What we didn’t want to do is just arrive in a place and say “come and see our work”. We wanted to get to know the community properly, so we spent a lot of time engaging with them,’ says Bev. ‘We worked with Spark!’s illuminated drummers and developed a walkabout show with mobile pyrotechnics. We entertained shoppers in the high street and then we decided to take it to where people live. We knocked on people’s doors, and kids came out of their houses so we could share with them that the following night we were putting on a spectacular show. We also went to the train station and serenaded everyone who got off the train. We created a large drawing with locals (of a big miner’s wheel with a heart inside that we set fire to) and a big pyrotechnics show, and almost 2,000 people came to that. It was a bit like the old trick of the circus coming to town to get people to come to the final show – there was a big buzz about it.’
For the Pride of Ashington Torch Lit Procession, people were asked to nominate their local hero – an everyday hero who goes above and beyond. ‘We encouraged them to register that person and themselves and to walk through Hirst Park carrying a flaming torch,’ says Bev. ‘That was led by Mr Wilson’s Second Liners who are a brilliant parade band who play ‘90s classics in an “oompah” style and at the front were the foster families of Ashington. We led that into our fire garden, then into Full Circle which is a local project which provides free meals for local residents and we funded 3,000 bowls of soup and rolls for the people who’d come to see the parade. Inside the fire garden we had local musicians and a walkabout show called Ghost Caribou featuring two great big puppet reindeer and a drummer.’
Young people have also been involved in a series of workshops. ‘We asked them to imagine they were town planners designing Ashington and we produced beautiful artworks which have been put on display around the building works for the new cinema,’ explains Bev. Renowned land artist James Brunt held workshops to offer the opportunity for the community to participate in the creation of site-responsive pieces of land art. ‘He worked with Bothal Primary and Central Primary School and they made their own artwork,’ Bev adds. ‘Whilst he was doing that, he asked them what was important to them about Ashington and then spent time in The People’s Park to create a spectacular land art piece, Seeding the Future, very much informed by local people who would stop and say “you’ve got to put football in it” or “you’ve got to put ash leaves in it”. It’s there for people to walk their dog, play on and appreciate when they see it. It’s incredible.’
When we spoke to Bev she was preparing for more exciting events taking place in May. One Amazing Day closed Station Road and saw a wrestling ring, opera, hip hop and a local brass band play. There was an aerial show inspired by Lewis Carroll, a tortoise the size of a mini, and the smallest hotel in the world.
All that’s been leading up to the final Animating Ashington events. On 6th June, everyone’s invited to join the Powering the Future Parade alongside a full-size replica of Stephenson’s Rocket, to officially celebrate the opening of the Northumberland Line, bringing passenger trains back into service between Ashington and Newcastle for the first time in 60 years. ‘It’s pedal-powered and it’s got a confetti canon coming out of its chimney and it’s pulling three wagons behind it,’ laughs Bev. ‘In those are six Victorian “horses” who are going on their holidays because Stephenson’s engine has put them out of business. Behind that we’re working with local dance schools and we’re hoping to have 60 “butterflies” aged three to 15 and we’ll be doing some workshops and choreography with them. They’ll follow the train to the town fete.’
Finally, on 2nd September, there’ll be a day of reflection and learning with key stakeholders, businesses and community representatives looking back at all these events and again focusing on the future of Ashington.
‘We work all over the world but we’ve spent a lot of time in Ashington and we’ve had a great time,’ Bev says. ‘I come from Liverpool, and I left in the ‘80s, but the European Capital of Culture brought me back and enabled me to stay and make a living there as a creative person, but it’s also improved the standard of living for people here.
‘We wanted to take a bit of that positivity to Ashington and say “change is coming and you can be part of it and be proud of where you come from”. They are very proud of where they come from. They’re very warm-hearted people and half the population of the town has got involved. We’ve worked hard to get to know people, but they’ve been so welcoming and we’ve had such a positive response. You’ll always get criticism thrown at you wherever you work, but we’ve had such a positive response here in Ashington with people turning out in their thousands. It’s just been marvellous.’
