We are absolutely delighted to be approved partners for Celebrating Shakespeare 2016, an initiative championed by libraries and supported by Arts Council England.
Celebrating Shakespeare 2016 will mark the bardʼs 400th anniversary with library events and activities over several months. It will build on last yearʼs successful pilot project – ʻShakespeare Week – Celebrate in Librariesʼ and is funded, to the tune of £95,500, by Arts Council England (ACE). The grant means English library services will be able to commission (centrally approved) artists, writers and performers to work on their Shakespeare celebrations.
The Society of Chief Librarians is working with a number of high-profile partners to ensure maximum reach and impact: the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Association of Children’s and Education Librarians, The Reading Agency, Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, BBC Learning, Booksellers’ Association, British Library and Royal Shakespeare Company.
Our aims for exploring and tackling Shakespeare really match the intentions of Celebrating Shakespeare 2016, with a focus on introducing younger children to Shakespeare in a fun way, getting teenagers interested in a playwright who was arguably the rapper of his day, and encouraging adults to revisit his works with a fresh eye. Celebrating Shakespeare 2016 wants to challenge and change any perceptions of Shakespeare as stuffy, schooly or boring – and we couldn’t agree more!
You can find out more about Celebrating Shakespeare 2016 on the Society of Chief Librarians website, including a great blog by Ayub Khan MBE. https://goscl.com/bigging-up-the-bard/
We’ll be updating the website with the Shakespeare work we’re doing across the year and the libraries who commission our workshops, Play in a Days and projects. We can’t wait to get started!
