Help to shape culture and heritage activities in town

Visitors to Lynn Museum on Thursday, August 8 will also be able to take part in a free families workshop during their visit and help to create a collaborative pop-up artwork of the town.The session, from 11am-3pm, is being hosted by artist Nicola Marray-Woods and arts and culture consultancy Art Reach who are working to develop a new strategy that will maximise the culture and heritage offer in the town.The event, suitable for all ages, will see participants help to make a pop-up drawing which maps out people’s favourite arts events, their creative ambitions for Lynn, and ideas to bring the town’s heritage to life.

The event is part of a programme of community engagement being carried out by Art Reach who are developing a culture and heritage strategy on behalf of West Norfolk Council.The Art Reach team will also have a pop-up market stall outside Boots on the High Street between 11am and 3pm on Wednesday, August 28 where people can share their thoughts and ideas to shape the strategy.Previous engagement by Art Reach also saw two workshops taking place in July to get the views of people who work or volunteer in the creative, heritage and cultural sectors. Jo Dacombe, head of consultancy at Art Reach explained why it’s important to get creative with this process, she said: “There’s a number of ways people can input their ideas for the cultural strategy but for us it’s really important to use creativity as part of this process.“Working with an artist or working creatively can help people imagine new ideas. A new cultural strategy really must involve as many people as possible, not everyone likes a big group meeting or a survey. Working creatively we can still draw all your marvellous ambitions and ideas together but in a more fun way.” Councillor Simon Ring, deputy leader and cabinet member for business and culture said: “In our buildings and in our stories, King’s Lynn has a rich heritage of which we can all be proud.“Coupled with this, our arts and culture scene provides diverse opportunities for engagement, with events, exhibitions, and shows programmed throughout the year.“We want to build on our impressive heritage and existing arts and culture offer and create more opportunities for people of all ages to engage with King’s Lynn’s heritage and culture, facilitated by the new strategy that is being created.”