Marking the 100 years since the end of World War One, residents and visitors will see ‘Listening Stations’ popping up around the town as part of the Cheltenham Remembers project. https://thelisteningstationcheltenham.tumblr.com.
A year-long arts programme of community engagement is focusing on the significance of World War One. As part of this the ‘Listening Stations’ are being created throughout June and July and are situated at locations including The Wilson, Leisure Centre, Cheltenham Library, The Town Hall and Hester’s Way Community Centre.
Created by Gloucestershire based lead artist Robyn Woolston the stations are designed to ask questions, share World War One Wilson archive content and generate responses from the public. Photos from the Listening Stations research journey and workshops can be viewed at https://thelisteningstationcheltenham.tumblr.com. This site will be updated as the project develops and will culminate in an installation at the Wilson in September.
Robyn Woolston lead artist said: “’I’ve been working in the archives at The Wilson for five months now and the objects, items and stories I’ve uncovered are truly touching. I’ve also been stretching-out into the community, sharing my research and creating artworks with a wide variety of people.
“The next step of the project involved setting up ‘Listening Stations’ across Cheltenham that will allow people to ‘listen-in’ to some of the stories from the archive by reading and reflecting as well as contributing to the project and its blog. I like to think that we are listening-in to long-lost historical narratives that began their journey over 100 years ago during World War One.”
At each station there’s a book for visitors to leave their comments and as a thank you, the public are invited to take a set of cards inspired by The Wilson archives and designed by Robyn Woolston.
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