Public Events
Baa Baa Baric Event
Date: 28 Sep 2017
Time: 9am – 2.30pm
Venue: St Helens Town Centre
Admission: Free
A series of thought provoking actions will take place in St Helens on Thursday, September 28th as part of a long-term artist residency project.
Artist Mark Storor has been leading workshops as part of Baa Baa Baric: Have You Any Pull? a twelve-year undertaking in collaboration with the people of St Helens and Heart of Glass.
Key events on Thursday, September 28th include:
- Groups of young people, named The Army of Beauty, will be giving out around 2,500 posies of flowers to people in the town centre in the morning.
- A small shed will be situated on the top floor of a car park in a rectangle of earth, through headphones a soundtrack made from the project will be heard.
- Merseyside Police Officers and Cadets will take over a chip shop in St Helens Town Centre for the afternoon to highlight poverty in the borough.
- Two mounted police horses with flowers flowing from their manes and tails will lead a precession of young people through St Helens.
- The Army of Beauty will arrive outside St Helens Town Hall. Significant members of St Helens Council and St Helens Children’s Services will approach the hall and read a legacy statement. One child will hand the statement to the leader of St Helens Council.
Artist, Mark Storor said: “Confronted by its own set of negative statistics, St Helens is a town symbolic of national inequality. In a radical act of rebellion Baa Baa Baric harnesses the powers of creativity, imagination and possibility, refuting labels and challenging the status quo.”
“An enactment, a visual manifesto and a fairy tale, Baa Baa Baric Have You Any Pull? is an artwork that recognises the mighty strength of our youngest children to take on the challenges of the world, gives older men in St Helens a voice from beyond the grave and communities a platform to share wisdom and dance to a different tune.”
St Helens Local Policing Superintendent Louise Harrison said: “We are really proud to be part of this event alongside our partners, accompanying the children as they deliver this important message.
“It is a great chance for officers to meet and engage with children of all ages, and break down any perceived barriers they might have in speaking to police.
“We all have a part to play in making our communities safer and stronger and I was heartened to hear about my officers buying food for those in need. I hope that the event and the Children’s Charter raises further awareness and ensures that our young and vulnerable people are fully supported.”