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ABOUT LIVING WORDS
Living Words is an arts and literature organisation created by Susanna Howard.
We live by our values of integrity, social benefit, equity & inclusion. Since 2007 our artists have been applying our unique Listen Out Loud methodology to co-create individual books of words with project members on their lived experience. With their involvement and within an ethical framework, we craft these into anthologies, films and performances to enable these voices to be heard in the world to challenge associated societal stigma and promote inclusion.
We want to see a world in which all our sounds and words are given space to be heard; for speakers to be validated and take power through their vocal expression, listeners to get in sync, and our artists affirmed in their art and progression of their skills.
Following a pivot in delivery due to Covid-19 & subsequent reframing of our work, this is now applied in two distinct strands.
LIVING EXPERIENCE involves residencies in care homes, community settings, day centres and hospitals, working one-to-one with people
experiencing dementia and their carers & families. Staff workshops and sharings embed the use of people’s Living Words books & enhance wellbeing through deeper connection.
LIVING WARRIORS uses the same method to work with people experiencing ongoing mental health concerns. Projects take place in our specially build library hub, with artists working one-to-one with people and in small groups.
FACTS & FIGURES
Places our work has appeared, includes:
Local
BBC Radio Kent, Folkestone Libraries, Folkestone Living Advent Calendar, Folkestone Fringe events, KCC, County Hall Maidstone, Normal? Festival of the Brain, Folkestone Quarterhouse, Folkestone Foghorn, Profound Sound Festival, Silver Screen Cinema
National
Alzheimer’s Society, BBC Ideas, BBC News Homepage, BBC Radio 3, Times Radio
British Library, Guardian, Independent, Journal of Dementia Care, Paul Hamec, Leeds Playhouse - ‘Every Third Minute’ festival of theatre, dementia & hope, Central School, of Speech and Drama, Central St. Martins, Cockpit Theatre, Free Word Centre, Normal? Festival of the Brain, Gallery @OXO South Bank, Middlesex University - Improbable’s 'Global Improvisation Initiative', National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, National Theatre of Taiwan (NTCH), NHS AGMs, Norwich Theatre, Norwich Theatre Royal, The Dukes theatre, Lancaster, Nottingham University, Queen Elizabeth Hall (South Bank Centre), Royal Academy of Music, Royal Society of Public Health Royal Academy of Music, Salford University, Stratford Literary Festival, Tabernacle Toynbee, UK Dementia Congress, Wellcome Collection, Roundhouse, Westminster Council House, Salford Institue for Dementia and Ageing, Children and Young People’s Conference led by the Self-harm and Suicide Prevention Innovation Partnership, At ‘For Every Corner’ Network with Southbank Centre and NAPA, Our, Screen Heritage, Future Learn - UCL
International
British Council, Taiwan, National Theatre of Taiwan (NTCH), Applied Improvisation Network at Alan Alda’s Centre for Communicating Science, New York
World Health Organisation ‘Health For All’ Film Festival
Our partners and funders have included:
Local
Alzheimer's Society Ashford, Creative Folkestone, Folkestone Fringe, Folkestone Libraries, FHCLCT, Folkestone Town Council, Folkestone & Hythe District Council, Hythe Dementia Awareness Forum, Kent County Council, Kent Community Foundation, KMPT NHS, Medway Council, Martello Fund, Profound Sound Festival, Walker Construction, Future Foundry, Gulbenkian, Ideas Test, RDHCT, Screen South
National
BBC, Arts Council, Arts 4 Dementia, Created Out of Mind - UCL Dementia Research Centre/Wellcome, Danuta Lipinska, English PEN, FHCLCT, Mandy Barnet Associates, Resonate Arts, The Sick of The Fringe (now Something To Aim For), Wellcome, Westminster Memory Service, The Sick of The Fringe (now Something To Aim For), National Alzheimer's Society, Arts 4 Dementia, London Contemporary Voices, National Lottery Community Grants, Southbank Centre
International
British Council, East Side Institute (New York), Living Whispers (Taiwan)
700+ Living Words Books
People who work one-to-one with one of our Living Words writers will co-create and receive a copy of their own Living Words book. Staff and family also receive a copy, and we are able to share the book with family and friends. Plus we have so far published 5 anthologies - 'The Things Between Us', 'Living Warriors: Covid', ‘Bringing The Inside Out’, and ‘Flux: Living Warriors.’
50+ Productions, Films, Songs...
Helping our participants’ words reach a wider audience, we take their words and place them centre stage in our productions in theatre, performance, film, radio, installation, song, and podcast. Check out our BBC Ideas commission starring individuals from our Flux: Living Warriors project - ‘Overcoming self-harm.’
300+ Live Events
We have delivered ‘Normal? Festival of the Brain’ since 2015, a festival which brings science and the arts together to explore, question and connect around the festival themes. We always put on events - digitally and physically - for the projects we do, from everything to intimate and large-scale sharings, film screenings and theatre shows, to pop-up happenings, fundraisers, and interactive workshops.
About us
Living Words is an Arts and Literature charity transforming lives and relationships since 2007.
Call us: +44 (0)7967 502 506
Email: info@livingwords.org.uk
