Lawrence Batley Theatre announces a new community-led project Our Freedom, as part of Future Arts Centres’ national campaign, Our Freedom: Then and Now.

The project sees the theatre partner with community groups Sikh Soldiers, Ukrainian Friendship Group, IASK (Immigration and Asylum Support Kirklees) and 6 Million+ to create art and performances representing what freedom means to us today, 80 years after the end of the Second World War.

Each community group has been collaborating with a local artist, and they have been inspired by a specially commissioned poem by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, entitled Freedom Road, to use different art forms to create their own responses to the theme of freedom.

The project will culminate in a free celebration event on Sun 19 October at the theatre which will see all the groups and artists come together to share their art and performances with our local community.

Our Freedom is one of 60 community-led commissions across the UK forming part of Our Freedom: Then and Now, a national programme supported by Arts Council England. The campaign commemorates the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day by inviting communities to reflect on the past and reimagine the future through creativity.

t Lawrence Batley Theatre, we believe the arts have the power to bring people together, spark conversation and celebrate different voices. Working with sanctuary seekers, local community groups, and South Asian communities here in Kirklees allows us to explore what freedom means today through shared creativity and storytelling.

Hardeep Sahota, who is an Artist/Creative Practitioner and one of Lawrence Batley Theatre’s Community Ambassadors, is working with the Sikh Soldiers group to explore their journey within the Huddersfield community. “This celebration is not only about marking key historical moments like the end of the Second World War; it's about recognising the lived experiences of those who came after — people like our grandfathers and fathers who, after serving in global conflicts, arrived in post-war Britain and built new lives in the foundries and mills of Yorkshire. Their labour and love laid the foundations for the thriving communities we are part of today”.

The celebration event on Sun 19 October will transform Lawrence Batley Theatre into a space of shared memory and imagination, to commemorate those who shaped our present and to reimagine the future through art and creativity.