Starting the year on a new page: Creative journalling workshops coming to Berwick
The Berwick Literary Festival has announced that a new series of creative workshops will take place fortnightly at the new Jackal Art Space in the town from January 21.
Grounded in the rich tradition of journalling and reflective practice, the six inviting workshops – all under the heading of The Present Page – will be led by experienced artists and writers.
Participants will explore creative ways of engaging with words, story, movement, drawing and sound, with all sessions designed for accessibility, flexibility and a low-pressure approach. No previous experience is required.
It is part of the festival’s year-round creative programme, supported by the Create Berwick Creatively Healthy fund, and all sessions are free to Berwick residents thanks to the support from Create Berwick.
Journalling has long played a role in the creative process of many writers and thinkers.
Virginia Woolf described her diary as a place for unfiltered thought that nourished her reflective writing practice, helping her access deep creative insights. Woolf and other notable diarists kept personal journals that reveal how recording thoughts, experiences and ideas can be both illuminating and foundational to creative work.
Anna Chapman Parker, Berwick-based artist and The Present Page programme lead, said: “This is an opportunity to explore what daily creative activity can look like across many forms – from scribbling in a notebook to thinking about the stories in our heads, the song lyrics drifting past the windscreen or the way we coax our bodies out the door.
“Thanks to funding from Create Berwick, we are delighted to offer six workshops looking at low-key, everyday creativity that anyone can fold into their day, whether you have five minutes or 50, and whether you see this as something to share or part of a more private reflective practice.”
The workshops – From writing into drawing; Drawing with mind and body; Storytelling and personal narrative; Journalling and the book; Letting your ears wander and Writing and movement, all starting at 7pm – will take place at Jackal, the newest independent arts venue in Berwick’s creative quarter on Hide Hill.
Booking is available for the whole series or individual workshops at www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/berwick-literary-festival-111064822411