Over 100 people from the Bishop Line community joined together to celebrate the importance of connection. On 22nd June participants young and old came together at Locomotion, Shildon to share their experiences of participating in the Our Line Connections Project.
The project celebrates shared connections in the community and involves artists and groups who co-created a songbook of original songs and art by people who live along the route of the Bishop Line.
Over the past four months Visual Artist Michelle Tripp, Songwriter Em Whitfield Brooks and Digital Artist Humira Imtiaz have been visiting schools and community groups across Darlington, Newton Aycliffe and Bishop Auckland to explore what connection means to them and develop art and music which reconnects the community.
Our Line Connections builds on the earlier project ‘Our Line’, which was an audio play broadcast online during the pandemic in 2020. Set on a train from Darlington to Bishop Auckland, this play was written to last as long as the train journey (just over 30 minutes) and featured a range of real and imagined stories. The original play, songs and artwork can be accessed at www.our-line.net.
Our Line & Our Line Connections are projects by Luxi in collaboration with the Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership & Northern, supported by Arts Council England, CrossCountry Trains, County Durham Community Foundation, Durham County Council, Greenfield Arts, Locomotion & the National Lottery Jubilee Community Fund.