This year, Lyrici Arts celebrates its tenth anniversary. We have grown and developed from programming a community festival – Paint The Town (2016–19) – into an organisation known for bold, innovative work that champions inclusivity and social development. We have made significant artistic strides and now deliver high-quality, diverse work.

We have also delivered partnership work across county and national projects, including Arts Council England flagship programmes The Collaborative Touring Network (ACE Strategic Touring, 2016–19) and library-focused projects Legacy (Medway Council, 2017) and The Classics (Kent County Council, 2019).

In 2022, Lyrici Arts joined Arts Council England’s National Portfolio. We also launched the Homeward Artist Academy and Soul Food Solo Stories, which has toured across Kent in schools and community venues to audience and critical five-star acclaim.

OUR HISTORY:

LEGACY – BLACK THEATRE AND LITERATURE

Legacy was an Arts Council GFTA library project bid for £35,776 which included a programme of 20 African and Caribbean BME theatre and literature events within six Medway community libraries. The project staged a totally free season of community events including adult author talks, poetry, music of black origin, dance and theatre events, storytelling, family workshops and food- all rooted in African and Caribbean culture. The project shared cultural stories with the wider community, and explored and celebrated diverse and rich heritage. The project was pinpointed as ACE pinpointed Legacy as an example of the Creative Case for diversity in the South East, succeeding in community cohesion, engaging BME audiences, creating recognition for library services and successfully exploring effective ways to share and celebrate cultural stories.

The Classics with Kent Libraries

In 2019 we were awarded an Arts Council Project Grant to run a short six month pilot project with Kent Libraries which focussed around a community arts engagement programme in North Kent libraries called The Classics. The Classics project ran from February to May 2019, with 15 North Kent libraries exploring and celebrating a famous children’s classic – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. During this project we successfully secured industry CPD sessions for Kent Library management from NPO organisations Farnham Maltings, Battersea Arts Centre and Cambridge County Council (The Library Presents).

The Collaborative Touring Network

Paint The Town was a bi-annual theatre and arts festival produced by Lyrici Arts in partnership with Battersea Arts Centre & The Collaborative Touring network. We are currently one of nine regional partners in the third phase of The Collaborative Touring Network, and in the future this will see one big show touring our associate venues. Over the years our diversity and inclusion projects have demonstrated that we can run local and national projects that engage and connect with audiences and creatives locally and nationally.

WHAT WE DO:

Black and Diverse Arts Programming

It’s not enough to just reach diverse audiences – we also need diversity amongst our artists and practitioners, elevating them to centre stage. We ensure that we not only reflect our communities, but inspire them through diverse artist programming. Equality and diversity has always been at the forefront of our work, and we seek to address it via arts programming. Diversity runs through everything we do. We create live and digital programmes featuring industry black and diverse leaders, showcase black and diverse touring theatre and open up more opportunities for Medway residents to get involved and see themselves reflected.

National Touring Theatre

We bring touring shows to the GlassBox theatre in Gillingham, showcasing the best Black-led theatre from around the UK and beyond. Our partnerships with National touring artists and organisations allows us to showcase the best in theatre in our local area and beyond, alongside wraparound work delivered by artists for the Medway community. As well as traditional theatre we provide access to community spaces that inspire innovative work.

Arts Library Projects

We work in libraries as a way to bring diverse and accessible theatre and art to local communities. Taking theatre to the community is essential for reaching more people, and we work with library services across the area to programme black and diverse theatre in spaces that feel familiar to people, but also encourage them to see it with fresh eyes. Arts Council England has highlighted our work as a leading example of excellent work, supporting their Creative Case for Diversity in the South East.

Artist Development

Lifting others up to do great things is central to our work. We mentor and support artists who want to deliver creative and diverse work in both the local community and nationally and internationally. We use our knowledge and experience to support others to be artistic and excel in their field. Our own work, partnerships and touring opportunities enable us to provide varied and exciting artistic development opportunities, through everything from performance to workshops, mentoring to training, and more.

Consultation and Evaluation

We support and guide others to create diverse and inclusive theatre. Our experience and enthusiasm for theatre means that we are well positioned to offer consultancy and evaluation support for other organisations looking to create excellent theatre that is diverse and inclusive. We will offer consultation around black and diverse arts programming for theatres, libraries and community venues.