The Cockermouth Community Musical, developed through Kirkgate Arts and Heritage as part of the Our Freedom: Then and Now project, is part of a national photography exhibition launched recently in London to a host of organisation representatives.
Our Freedom: Then and Now was a UK-wide, locally-led arts and creative programme reflecting on what ‘Our Freedom’ means to local people and their communities, following the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
Kirkgate Arts and Heritage worked with two local artists, storyteller Jessie McMeekin and musician JP Worsfold to create Cockermouth Community Musical. It was performed live at the Cockermouth 2025 Christmas lights switch on in November and at the town’s Kirkgate Centre in December 2025.
Collaborating with Cumbrian Dave Camlin to arrange songs, the team led singing workshops to create a ‘scratch’ choir of local people to perform, while storyteller Jessie weaved in the powerful stories of children evacuated to Cockermouth from the North-East to escape the air raids, and refugees housed at Moota YMCA.
Kirkgate Arts and Heritage’s Chief Executive Emma Heys explained: “Jessie, JP and Dave created the community musical, inspired by stories from Cockermouth at the end of the Second World War and the post-war period. They researched the Cockermouth Heritage Collection, alongside reflections from people living in the town today on what freedom means to them.”
The Our Freedom: Then and Now project has culminated in a national exhibition launched at the Southbank Centre, London, on Wednesday 25 March 2026. Twenty-two photographers from the Socially Engaged Photography Network have been capturing moments from some of the powerful and diverse stories that emerged from the Our Freedom programme across the UK during 2025. Developed by Future Arts Centres and Open Eye Gallery, the exhibition brings together images drawn from 60 locally-led projects.
The Photography exhibition for the Our Freedom: Then and Now project can be visited at the Southbank Centre, London until April 25th. It is then touring around the UK until October across 18 including Hartlepool, Stockton on Tees, Liverpool, Leeds and Lancaster.
Emma adds “We were delighted to see our piece of the jigsaw as part of the overall project exhibition in London and hope it will be viewed at the host of venues across the country during the coming months”.
Cockermouth’s Kirkgate Arts and Heritage was chosen as the sole project from Cumberland to participate in the £2 million national creative programme, which was supported by the UK Government through Arts Council England, the Future Arts Centres and Libraries Connected initiative and saw 60 arts centres and libraries across Britain present community-led projects exploring the legacy of VE Day and VJ Day.
For more information on the project, contact Kirkgate Community Projects Officer Helen Johnston on 01900 829966 or helen@thekirkgate.com
Details about the Our Freedom: Then and Now exhibition can be found here: https://ourfreedom.org.uk/
Details on all Kirkgate Centre activities can be found here: https://kirkgateartsandheritage.org.uk/whats-on/
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Future Arts Centres (FAC) is a national network of over 170 arts centres across the UK. FAC champions the role of arts centres as vital public spaces that foster creativity, community, and cultural expression. In 2023, FAC became a registered company and an Arts Council England IPSO, providing sector support and leadership.
“Our Freedom: Then and Now”, is part of a £2 million national creative programme marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Supported by the UK Government through Arts Council England, the Future Arts Centres and Libraries Connected initiative will see 60 arts centres and libraries across Britain present
community-led projects exploring the legacy of VE Day and VJ Day. It empowers artists, veterans and residents to explore themes of past and present freedoms through 60 creative projects, including exhibitions, performances and installations running during 2025.
Kirkgate is a charity based in Cockermouth, Cumbria. It operates an arts and heritage centre as well as working with towns and villages in West Cumbria to encourage a diverse programme of arts, culture and entertainment. Its vision is to ensure that creative talent is valued, developed and supported with opportunities for all to engage actively with, and enjoy, the arts, local heritage and community life.
The Kirkgate Centre brings the best cultural, theatrical and entertainment events to Cumbria. From the best feature and documentary films to live streaming of top London shows, to local talent, heritage exhibitions, music, theatre, comedy and more, there is something for everyone.
In the historic Kirkgate Quarter of the Gem Town of Cockermouth, sitting on the edge of the Lake District National Park, the Kirkgate Centre is the perfect venue for special occasions, conferences, meetings, courses, exhibitions or private film screenings.
Kirkgate manages Arts Out West which stages performances in community venues from Furness to the Solway, ranging from nationally-recognised theatre companies to international musicians with events that are as much a social occasion as a performance. It is a member of the National Rural Touring Forum supported by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation.
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For more information:
Emma Heys 01900 829966
enquiries@thekirkgate.com
www.kirkgateartsandheritage.org.uk
The Kirkgate Centre, Kirkgate, Cockermouth, CA13 9PJ