The Let’s Create Jubilee Fund will ensure that thousands of people from communities all across England will have the opportunity to take part in exciting creative events – all in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee. From puppetry and story creation, through to making crowns, carnival and art trails, there will be a huge range of exciting activities for people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in.
Cambridge Junction is delighted to announce that it has been awarded funding by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation and Arts Council England for a tasty and poetic new Jubilee Community project. A Recipe for a Queen will be led by writer, poet and theatre maker Hannah Jane Walker and filmmaker Peter Harmer, and co-created with residents of Heathlands House Care Home, local primary school children and community groups in Queen Edith and Cherry Hinton.
The project will explore people’s reminiscences of the Queen and her seventy-year reign, the ingredients, qualities and values that make a great queen, the recipes we might bake if the Queen were to come to tea, and the most fantastical parties we can imagine to celebrate the anniversary of Her Majesty’s coronation. The resulting poems and film will be shared at a garden party for participants, families and friends over the long Jubilee weekend at the beginning of June.
Made possible thanks to National Lottery players and administered by UK Community Foundations on behalf of the Arts Council, the Let’s Create Jubilee Fund will support a huge range of projects throughout England. 44 community foundations have been awarding grants across the country.
Cambridge Junction’s Artistic Director, Matt Burman said: “We’re hugely grateful to Cambridgeshire Community Foundation and Arts Council England for this award of funding for our Jubilee Community project, A Recipe for a Queen. We’re really looking forward to working with fantastic artists, Heathlands House residents, local school children and community groups in Cherry Hinton and Queen Edith wards, on a lovely celebration of Her Majesty, her incredible service for the country and all the qualities and values she stands for.”
Darren Henley, Chief Executive at Arts Council England, said: “The Let’s Create Jubilee Fund is a wonderful example of our ambition to give everyone the opportunity to participate in and experience the arts, culture and creativity – made possible thanks to National Lottery players. This June, we’ll see communities across England coming together to celebrate a historic milestone for this country. I’m excited to see these projects brought to life in villages, towns and cities across the country as our wonderfully creative communities celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.”
Rosemary Macdonald, CEO, UK Community Foundations, said: “For community foundations, people and places are the priority and the Queen's Platinum Jubilee is a unique opportunity for people to get together and celebrate in their communities. We are proud to have connected Arts Council England with local organisations whose imaginative and exciting projects and collaborations with professional artists will bring communities together to enjoy marking this milestone moment in our history.”
HM The Queen Elizabeth II is the first monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, having overtaken Queen Victoria as the longest reigning monarch in 2015. Her reign has been marked by a commitment to public service, reflected by her extensive programme of engagements at home and abroad, and support for over 600 cultural organisations, charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organisations.