A new regional partnership is bringing together cultural organisations, artists, schools and community groups across all six boroughs of the Liverpool City Region. Sound Stories explores what happens when people, ideas and resources are connected across places in the new Cultural Place Partnership.
Supported through the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region’s Percent for Culture initiative and coordinated by community arts organisation Heart of Glass, Sound Stories brings together cultural partners Arts in Libraries, Future Yard, Liverpool Philharmonic, Norton Priory, Rule of Threes, Shakespeare North Playhouse, alongside artists, community organisations, and local authority teams.
Sound Stories will use music, creativity and storytelling to strengthen community connections, celebrate local identity and create opportunities for residents to connect across the region.
Across Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral, communities are developing new and exciting creative work rooted in their own places and experiences.
Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said: “Culture is in our DNA here in the Liverpool City Region. We’ve got brilliant artists, musicians, performers and storytellers in every corner of our six boroughs – and some fantastic stories to tell.
“That’s what I like about Sound Stories. It’s putting communities front and centre, giving people the chance to tell their stories in their own way, while bringing people together from right across our region.”
“From Halton to Sefton, Kirkby to West Kirby and everywhere in between, there’s a wealth of talent and creativity on our doorstep. I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing what people come up with.”
Patrick Fox, CEO, Heart of Glass said: “The opportunity for this network to come together feels particularly timely. We work across the Liverpool City Region, in different ways and across different artforms, but share a belief that arts and culture belong everywhere and are for everyone. At a time when division can feel like the loudest voice, arts and culture can create space for people to come together, share stories and hear one another. We’re really excited to see what becomes possible when we connect more closely across the region.”
Stories rooted in place
Sound Stories starts locally. Communities are exploring what makes their places distinctive, using music and storytelling to connect people across generations. The project will highlight that there are stories, culture and creativity in every postcode across the region.
Activities are taking place across the region:
Halton: Norton Priory is bringing local heritage and folklore to life with live music performances and storytelling, working in partnership with Halton libraries, connecting generations, schools and communities across the borough.
Knowsley: Shakespeare North Playhouse will be working with community groups in Kirkby in partnership with Quarantine to create opportunities for conversations and for hearing stories about Kirkby and the people who live there.
Knowsley and St Helens: Heart of Glass is working on a songwriting and performance project with community groups and young people exploring heritage and social issues through music and learning and creating together across generations
Liverpool: Liverpool Philharmonic will co-design interactive relaxed concerts to bring generations together at Toxteth Library. Workshops will bring residents, partners and artists together to share stories, themes and content that reflect community experiences.
Sefton: Rule of Threes is working with artist and performer Jennifer Reid to produce ‘Folklore for a New Town’. The project will bring together groups of young and older people to explore local, working-class stories and histories, transforming them into song.
St Helens: Heart of Glass is working with Come Together Hub and communities on a programme writing and performing songs from lived experience, with the support of St Helens Arts in Libraries.
Wirral: Future Yard will work with writer, performer and director Ashleigh Nugent on a project connecting young people in Birkenhead through music. Young people will lead the creative process, shaping the stories, music and performance and reflecting their experiences and vision for the future of the place they call home.
Connecting projects, people and places
A key part of Sound Stories is asking what happens when local projects connect rather than operate in isolation.
Participants and partners will travel across the region to experience cultural activity and share their own work with people and communities beyond their own borough.
The programme will also see organisations sharing knowledge, learning and resources.
Connecting schools through music
Sound Stories is also exploring what a regional approach could offer schools.
Future Yard has spent the past year working with primary schools to strengthen access to music-making, supporting curriculum development, musical development plans, live performance, careers in the music industry and teacher confidence.
As part of Sound Stories, new free resources will be made available to pupils across the Liverpool City Region. Young people will create new music to be performed in their community.
A Sound Stories celebration
Sound Stories will culminate in a celebration in 2027, bringing together participants, partners and audiences from across all six boroughs to share music, stories, visual art, folklore and community creativity developed through the programme.