DATE: 23 October 2004
TIME: 10.30am
VENUE: Fenland Hall, March, Cambridgeshire.

You are invited to the official launch of VIEWPOINT, which will take place in the promotions tent outside the Fenland Hall, March from 10.30am - 2.30pm on Saturday 23 October. You are invited to send a reporter / photographer / film crew to the launch. To confirm attendance or for further details please contact me on 01484 301805 or 07779 649207

VIEWPOINT has brought together 12 community groups to celebrate life in Fenland and develop a sense of place and civic pride. This innovative project involving the use of text messaging has been funded and supported by English Heritage, the Arts Council of England and Fenland District Council.

As VIEWPOINT belongs to the local community we have organised a launch inviting market goers to find out all about VIEWPOINT, pick up free goody bags and mix purchase with poetry by adding their own words to the archive.

We will also present Katie Williams of Lionel Walden School with the 'Poem of the Month' award for her poem (prize winning poems will be announced every month):

BOWL
I SEE THE CHURCH, THE UNEVEN BLUE GRAVEL, THICK GREEN WEED, THE BUBBLES RISING, THE DIVER AND THE TREASURE CHEST, THE TWO FRIENDS DOWN BELOW RISING TO EAT.

Participating groups to date include: Octavia Hill Birthplace Museum, Wisbech; Young Carers Group, March; Lionel Walden Primary School, Doddington; Peckover Primary School, Wisbech; Angles Theatre Group, Wisbech; Bowthorpe Writers, Wisbech and a travellers group.

Since June, more than 200 members of Fenland's community have been busy writing new poems under the guidance of writers Ann and Peter Sansom from The Poetry Business, over a course of intensive creative writing sessions. All poems written during the workshops will be available as free texts to all mobile phone users from October.

Over the next few months' visual artists will be working with each group to generate new works of art inspired by the writing. To date mosaic artist Morwenna Catt has helped pupils of Peckover Primary School make poetry mosaics which will be set into the school walls to become a permanent expression of the school's outstanding creative spirit.

In addition to the text service a 24-hour audio service will enable anyone to listen to the authors reading their poems. Mobile phone users will be encouraged to leave their own audio messages. If you have any queries or special requests, please do not hesitate to contact me.




Lisa Roberts,
VIEWPOINT Project Manager

PS We will be publishing a VIEWPOINT book later this year so keep an eye on the web site:


www.viewpointfenland.co.uk
The Old Caretakers House, Turnbridge Mills, Quay Street Huddersfield West Yorkshire HD1 6QT
t 01484 301 805 e lisa@blinkmedia.org