Think inside the box
Liverpool school children are being asked to share their ‘treasure’ to celebrate European Capital of Culture.
Pupils across the city will be the first group to take part in Treasures – a mass participation project for 2008, which invites people to make their own personal treasure box celebrating Liverpool’s cultural identity. The project will start in schools before being rolled out city-wide in early 2008.
The Liverpool Culture Company has launched a special information pack and DVD to support the project, which will be distributed to schools this week. Although the pack includes tips on how to make a box, there is no set design template. Pupils and teachers are encouraged to create truly personal boxes filled with their own memories and mementoes of life in Liverpool – whether it’s a photo of a favourite pet, a football ticket stub, or a story about a trip to the museum.
Schools will upload photos of completed boxes to the virtual Treasures gallery at www.liverpool08.com
Treasures was inspired by a unique wooden chest, created by the late Bishop of Liverpool, David Sheppard. His wife, Lady Grace Sheppard, said: “It excites me to think that children, and others, will be letting loose their creative spirit, and engaging with the place where they live, seeing the city we love with new eyes, and showing us what they see.
“I like to think that this little box may have inspired children, their families and schools to have fun together in the Capital of Culture while learning more about Liverpool’s history. I hope it may contribute to creating a new sense of pride in the city at an early age which can be passed on down the generations.
“I am greatly looking forward to seeing a selection of the finished treasure boxes when they are presented at St George’s Hall.