Bestselling authors, Monique Roffey and Sarah Winman, together with a local author, Karla Neblett helped ensure that the recent ‘Reflections’ Showcase evening event at Bridgwater Library was a great success.
The Reflections project, which was funded by Libraries Connected, BBC Arts and Arts Council England as part of the ‘Novels That Shaped Our World’ initiative, gave Somerset people the invitation to share their reflections through art and film in a series of creative workshops and events in libraries, and in a Somerset Care Home.
The Showcase, the finale of the project, saw all the authors entertaining the audience with some fascinating insights and some of their own reflections on how the Lockdown experience has affected them.
A opens in a new windowfilm on YouTube produced by Kevin Redpath was also premiered at the event and a community artwork installation was unveiled, produced by Tina Salvidge. Further details can be viewed on the opens in a new windowSomerset Libraries website.
The ‘Reflections’ film and the artwork captures the Somerset Lockdown experience and also highlights the role that Somerset Libraries has played in supporting the community during the pandemic.
John Carter, Senior Development Officer at Somerset Libraries, commented: “It was wonderful to once again be able to invite Somerset people to a large event in one of our libraries – we had some very positive feedback from everyone who attended and some people mentioned it was the first time they’d had an evening out for 18 months.”
Over 160 people came along to the events and the artwork and film will be donated to South West Heritage Trust as an important legacy which highlights how people have been affected by Lockdown, and how Somerset Libraries has helped thousands of people throughout the county.
Councillor David Hall, Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for libraries, said: “This project showcases how the library has been a constant and vital line of support during the current pandemic.
“It has allowed the people in Somerset to take their place in history. As a result of this collaboration, the difficulties and challenges of the last sixteen months will never be forgotten.”