Sharing Ask
Sam and the team is keen that the work reflects Leigh, Atherton & Tyldesley, but that it comes from you and your lived experience. We do not want to create a piece of work that is merely concerned with ‘coal, cotton and canals’ (as important as they are), but that instead speaks to us and from us.
With that in mind she has asked everyone to send us a personal story as a written or audio file, no more than 1.5 pages or 3 minutes long.
This should be a personal story that:
• you feel is important or fun to share
• relates to you, your family or your friends
• is connected to Leigh, Atherton or Tyldesley
•is about people or a person
• is something that has happened to you, someone close to you, or that affected you or someone close to you
• ideally happened within the last 1 to 50 years
Some prompts that might be helpful to help you think about, and share, your story:
• Is there a story you know of a grandparent/parent/sibling/cousin/friend/partner that happened in or is related to Leigh, Atherton or Tyldesley?
• Is the story funny/sad/poignant/important/life affirming/urgent?
• Does anyone have a personal story that takes place within the context of working environments related to Leigh, Atherton or Tyldesley in the last 50 years?
• Is it something that happened to you or someone close to you at school, on a bus, a conversation that happened in Leigh, Atherton or Tyldesley?
• What is the world within Leigh, Atherton or Tyldesley in which your individual story takes place: by a stream/woodland/kitchen/inside a workplace/factory/shop/office?
• Is it a family incident, something about school/education, growing up, losing or gaining a friend or companion, that happened in or is related to Leigh, Atherton or Tyldesley?
Please send your personal stories, written or audio, to neil.eskins@royalexchange.co.uk by 10am on Monday 8th January 2024.