· Learn all about what Coventry and Warwick universities are working on for City of Culture 2021 at free event at FarGO Village on 5^th October from 12.30-2.30pm.

· Enjoy free food and activities and have a chance to purchase a new and exclusive Glitter Beer brewed by Twisted Barrel Ale, Colla-beer-ate.

· Researchers, local Coventry residents, charities, dance clubs, libraries and theatre groups that are involved in research and planning for 2021 events will all be available to chat to about their work.

With City of Culture 2021 less than two years away, there are plenty of exciting new projects underway across Coventry – and you can hear about what will be offer this Saturday (5^th October) at FarGo Village from 12pm-2.30pm.

From dance theatre to board games, and from the visual heritage of our industrial city to cinema and photography - the University of Warwick and Coventry University have joined forces to work with local organisations and communities on a number of projects for Coventry City of Culture 2021.

We will be delighted to share some of these projects with you while you enjoy hands on activities and a free afternoon tea!

The partnership between Coventry’s universities and the Twisted Barrel have come together and brewed a one-off, exclusive special and sparkly collaborative beer, Colla-beer-ate, to add to the day’s celebrations that will be able to purchase on that day only.

 “City of Culture 2021 will be an amazing and transformational experience for Coventry. It has already has positive effects, not least that It has stimulated new levels of collaboration between the City’s two Universities.

“We’re very proud of the joint projects undertaken with colleagues from the University of Warwick, we are looking forward to celebrating these with a beer and to toasting the launch of the next round of funding”.

Dr Shaun Hides, Academic Dean Faculty of Arts & Humanities Coventry University

“City of Culture has already started to stimulate exciting new research in and around Coventry and new opportunities to work more closely with colleagues at Coventry University. Over the last two years we have funded 26 joint research projects which focus on collaboration between the two universities, community groups and local artists.

“As we reach the end of our second round of projects and launch our next funding call, we thought this was the perfect time to celebrate with a little more informal ‘collaboration’.”

Professor Jackie Hodgson, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, University of Warwick

“We've teamed up with Coventry and Warwick universities to create a soft, juicy, easy drinking pale ale that literally glitters. Give the glass a swirl and see the edible, vegan, glitter sparkle, perfect for your social feeds!

“It's been fantastic to work with both local universities to create this special one off brew, and together provide the city with its first ever Glitter Beer. We ensured we used a traditional English yeast strain to culture the beer, in fitting with the theme of cultural sharing.”

Ritchie Bosworth, Twisted Barrel Ale Limited

Projects you’ll be able to learn more about on the day include:

· Route 10 Health and Healing with Mercurial Dance

This unique project focuses on health and healing through the creation of a brand new dance local dance theatre for touring, with potential outreach and community work. Through imagery and film, you’ll discover how this project is working with local residents as well as work underway to create a live dance and spoken word performance in the near future.

· Literacies for Life in the City of Culture with Coventry Libraries/ Coventry City Council

This project has helped members of the public with formal pieces of writing. Our research team will be on hand during the Family Festival element. They will be offering a welcoming and friendly space to talk about or receive feedback on writing and formal documents and offer some free advice on writing a CV, creating a letter of complaint, or just understanding an official letter received in the post.

· Homeless Monopoly

Homeless Monopoly explores how arts and games can raise awareness in young people of the issues faced by Coventry’s homeless. Researchers have been trialling the game with CU Coventry, Cyrenians, Coventry University, University of Warwick and Cardinal Newman School. There will be two prototypes available to play and discuss on the day.

· The Visual Heritage of Industrial Coventry

Researchers spoke to the public about television and photographic archives that showed how people used to earn a living in Coventry’s industrial past. Using imagery and archival footage the team will discuss their project and how others can get involved.

· Reclaiming the Coventry Canal

This project worked with at least 25 volunteers to hold a Canal Festival to show the potential of the canal as a multicultural and environmentally rich space and increase the feeling of ownership among the local communities. The event was a success with a turnout of approximately 250 people! There were some very enjoyable performances and informative talks. The project team, including some public volunteers, would like to share their experiences and next steps.

· #thisiscoventry2022: Exploring cultural legacy and social value of creative and social enterprises in the City

Join us to explore the legacy narrative in the context of Coventry City of Culture. Watch a documentary from our workshop and see a Legacy Map created by leaders of creative and social enterprise organisations in the city. On the day pick up your own vision plan template for achieving value for your organisation and the communities you serve beyond 2021.

 

· Transmission

In the near future many of us, no most of us, will not have the privilege to become old, unless… Antibiotics – how and when to take them? A presentation on demonstrating this to our local audiences and the success of an amazing collaboration between the arts and the sciences… we might, we just might, stand a chance.

· ‘New Midlanders’: Self-reflective Photo Artworks with Asylum Seekers and Refugees

This project has ran on-going ‘Self Reflective Photo Workshops’ and created interdisciplinary photography, sound and moving image works that involve image sequencing, language and story-telling with Coventry/West Midland based asylum seeker and refugee participants.

· Concrete Cinema: Everyday Brutalism

This project brings the beating heart of creativity to peripheral areas of the city by organising a place-making workshop with artists and filmmakers who will be guided in their creative process by locals.

ENDS.

Contact:

Tom Frew, Senior Press and Media Relations Manager – University of Warwick:

E: a.t.frew@warwick.ac.uk
M: +44(0)7785433155