Lighting up Medway’s Hopes & Dreams at The Pentagon Centre

Ideas Test and Chatham-based artist Xtina Lamb are helping Medway bring the light of Hopes & Dreams to The Pentagon Centre this holiday season. In a year that has seen many changes and challenges, local arts organisation Ideas Test wants to team up with ordinary - and extraordinary - people in Medway to create lanterns that will light Chatham High Street’s Shopping Centre throughout the holiday season. Rather than the traditional tinsel and baubles, The Pentagon Centre will start to be lit up with your creations throughout December 2020 and January 2021. The theme of the lanterns is ‘Hopes & Dreams’, so you might want your panel to look towards your hopes for 2021, or to dream about the future. Or you can make a colourful creative pattern. Families can take part safely and get creative from their homes. All you’ll need is some plastic shopping bags, a glue stick and your imagination. You can take part by;
Ideas Test’s Director, Lucy Medhurst said. “We’re delighted to be working with Medway Council and the Chatham Town Centre Forum to bring Hopes & Dreams to the Pentagon Centre. This year a lot of our community has felt isolated and are missing loved ones. We want Hopes & Dreams to inspire people through this festive season to a better year to come” Xtina Lamb, who runs Intra Arts in Chatham said “I'm trying to cut out single-use plastics wherever possible in my life, but I've increasingly been gathering and re-using them for art. They can be beautiful, as well as carrying a message about the environment. I hope that this project will help people to look twice at materials they would normally consider as waste."
A limited number of activity packs, including everything you need, will be distributed to any isolated people over 55 and to families via local care networks. If you or someone you know would like one email contact@ideastest.co.uk The ‘How-To’ sheet will also be available with Nucleus Arts’ magazine.
Pentagon Centre Manager Charlene Malone said "We’re very excited to be hosting the Hopes and Dreams project in the centre over the next few months. We think it’s an amazing idea and will certainly resonate with local people right now. We could all do with a good dose of optimism and these installations will be a great way for the local groups and individuals to share their creativity with the community.”
The lanterns will start to go up from December 2020 and will be in The Pentagon Centre until February 15th 2021. Ideas Test would like to thank Medway Council, Chatham Town Centre Forum, The Pentagon Shopping Centre and Nucleus Arts for all their help and support.

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