To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Lichfield Festival, the textual artist Stephen Raw was asked to work with a poem that was specially commissioned from the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. The poem is entitled ‘A Lichfield History’.
The people of Lichfield were then invited to paint large, individual letters in workshops organised by Stephen and Festival staff. From these contributions Stephen created a collage to form the first verse of the poem. The result was a glorious, seven metre high banner which hung in the Cathedral throughout the Festival.
Every one of the contibutors – of all ages and abilities – who participated in the project, can be seen proudly showing their works of art on the Festival Banner website: www.lichfieldfestivallp.wordpress.com
Photo inside Lichfield Cathedral by Mark Zacarria