Created to bolster and celebrate the creative community of Ashton Under Lyne, RE: LOAD - which has been implemented by Tameside Council - is a project that includes four artistic disciplines; poetry, street art, dance and film.

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Olivia Peers of Born and Bred Dance Theatre has taken on the RE:LOAD challenge, working with young people from Ashton Sixth Form College to make a creative film, a live dance performance and an art installation which celebrates the town of Ashton. The installation and dance can be viewed and enjoyed this Saturday, 7th October at Ashton Library.

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RE: LOAD has been fully funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for Communities and Place for Tameside Council around the Ashton Creative Improvement District.

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Olivia tells us more about the project: “My challenge was to work with young people to celebrate Ashton and look for positivity within the town” she said. “Celebrating where I live is something I am passionate about. I’ve celebrated my home town of Mossley a lot, but Ashton, the place I used to study, meet friends, shop, swim, skate, and still work in, I haven’t celebrated yet. So I felt it was about time!

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Partnering with the Sixth Form College

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“For this project I took a multi-disciplinary approach so that we could gather as many voices and opinions from our young people as possible.  Our project partner is the amazing Ashton Sixth Form College. We have worked with students from its English, Dance & Performing Arts, Film and Art Courses over four intensive weeks.

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“First up was poetry, working with professional poet Louise Fazackerly from Wigan. Louise  has worked with students to write a poem celebrating Ashton and this poem forms the backbone of the project.

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“Our dance students took up the creative mantle next; they took the poem and created a movement inspired by it! They worked with Helen Le Roux, a dance artist from Oldham. At the same time, art students worked with Simon Mound (originally from Droylsden) to take lines of poetry and turn them into stencils. The stencils will be used to create a graffiti art installation outside of Ashton Library.

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“And finally, it will be the turn of our film students who will be capturing Ashton in all its glory with the help of Josh Hawkins from Manchester. Alongside shots of the town, you will hear the poetry and see the dance, installed in everyday places that make Ashton, well, Ashton!

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Looking at Ashton in a new light

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Olivia added: “RE: LOAD is about re-coding our minds and looking at Ashton in a new light, a positive light. So let us rewrite, re-frame and re-code your brain.

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To help celebrate Ashton as it enters a new era, join Olivia and team on Saturday 7th October at Ashton Library. The Street Art will be installed from 10:30am - 1:30pm and the dance performance, Ashton: Reloaded, will be performed at 2pm.