Age UK Oxfordshire’s Creative Team have been awarded £9,972.00 from the Arts Council’s Let’s Create Jubilee Fund by Oxfordshire Community Foundation

Age UK Oxfordshire (AUKO) has been awarded £9,972.00 from the Arts Council’s Let’s Create Jubilee Fund by Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) to work in partnership with the Mill Arts Centre in Banbury to deliver the Creative Windows for the Jubilee Project, ensuring that creativity plays an important role in local community celebrations in Banbury and across Oxfordshire for Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The Let’s Create Jubilee Fund will ensure that thousands of people from communities across England will have the opportunity to take part in exciting creative events – all in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee. From puppetry and story creation, through to making crowns, carnival and art trails, there will be a huge range of exciting activities for people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in. We are very pleased to have support for celebrations across Oxfordshire.

The Creative Windows for the Jubilee project is inspired by the ‘rainbows in windows’ displays, which spread a message of hope during the pandemic. The Creative Windows for the Jubilee project will encourage Oxfordshire communities to create window artwork inspired by the Platinum Jubilee. The project will focus on the Cherwell area, but communities across Oxfordshire will be able to take part and digital and printed materials will be made available. Project participants will be encouraged create artworks and display them in the windows of their homes, schools and community spaces to brighten up the streets of Oxfordshire for the 2 weeks leading up to the Platinum Jubilee weekend, which takes place from the 2nd to the 5th June 2022. 

 Age UK Oxfordshire’s Creative Ambassadors (a group of local older people who support us and co-design our creative projects) have worked with us to co-produce a Creative Pack to provide inspiration for people who wish to take part in the project .Working in partnership with the Mill Arts Centre in Banbury we will distribute the Creative Packs in the community and deliver a series of creative workshops both online and in person to inspire creativity and engagement with the project. The Creative Windows for the Jubilee project will culminate with a creative celebration event at the Mill Arts Centre on 4th June 2022 to bring the local community together to celebrate the Jubilee and the success of the project. The project is open to people of all age groups across Oxfordshire. 

Age UK Oxfordshire (AUKO) is an independent local charity, working within communities, supporting older people to stay independent and live later life to the full. We work with all older people but focus most resource on tackling inequality and reaching out to people who face a struggle, whether through low income, poor health or loneliness.

The Mill Arts Centre is well-established cultural hub in Banbury and the only dedicated arts provision in the area. The Mill has a vision is to inspire creativity and enrich the lives of local communities by providing a high quality, varied artistic, education and participatory programme.

Made possible thanks to National Lottery players and administered by UK Community Foundations on behalf of the Arts Council, the Let’s Create Jubilee Fund will support a huge range of projects throughout England. 44 community foundations have been awarding grants across the country.

Penny Thewlis, Chief Executive Officer at Age UK said:

“We are delighted to be awarded funding to support communities across Oxfordshire to share Creative Windows for the Jubilee. 

We know the positive impact creativity can have on wellbeing and we all witnessed how everyday creativity, produced by people of all ages and abilities, brought communities together in very difficult times. We hope this project will enable everyone to reconnect and celebrate the Platinum Jubilee together, in person, online or by post.

Darren Henley, Chief Executive at Arts Council England said:

 “The Let’s Create Jubilee Fund is a wonderful example of our ambition to give everyone the opportunity to participate in and experience the arts, culture and creativity – made possible thanks to National Lottery players. This June, we’ll see communities across England coming together to celebrate a historic milestone for this country. I’m excited to see these projects brought to life in villages, towns and cities across the country as our wonderfully creative communities celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.”

Rosemary Macdonald, CEO, UK Community Foundations, said:

“For community foundations, people and places are the priority and the Queen's Platinum Jubilee is a unique opportunity for people to get together and celebrate in their communities. We are proud to have connected Arts Council England with local organisations whose imaginative and exciting projects and collaborations with professional artists will bring communities together to enjoy marking this milestone moment in our history.”

HM The Queen Elizabeth II is the first monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, having overtaken Queen Victoria as the longest reigning monarch in 2015.  Her reign has been marked by a commitment to public service, reflected by her extensive programme of engagements at home and abroad, and support for over 600 cultural organisations, charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organisations.

For more information please contact:

Helen Fountain, Age Friendly Creative Coordinator Age UK Oxfordshire Tel: 0788 7882960 Email: helenfountain@ageukoxfordshire.org.uk