The Iron Man exhibition will open with a special preview next Monday, September 23, from 4pm to 6pm at Todmorden Library.
At the preview Ursula Holden-Gill, one of the practitioners who worked on the programme with the children, will give a 15 minute storytelling extract from The Iron Man at 4.30 pm.
The exhibition, which closes on Wednesday, October 2, at Todmorden Library’s regular closing time, has been a project run in conjunction with local schools.
Todmorden primary schools St Joseph’s, Todmorden C of E, Walsden St Peter’s, Ferney Lee, Shade, Castle Hill and Cornholme all interpreted Mytholmroyd-born Poet Laureate Ted Hughes’s children’s story The Iron Man.
On Saturday, September 28, there will also be: at 11am a 20-minute story telling session by Ursula Holden-Gill; from 11.30am to 12.30pm, a cartoon drawing session for children with local artist Louise Crosby; and from 1.30pm to 2.30pm, a second cartoon drawing session will be held.
St Joseph’s School pupils write:
After reading Ted Hughes’s Iron Man and Iron Woman, sculptor Mick Kirkby-Geddes worked with children from two classes to make the food for an Iron Man Feast.
All the food was made out of recycled materials and looked scrumptious - if you were an iron man that is!
One mixed-aged group of children spent a Sunday at Lumb Bank, the Ted Hughes Arvon Centre in Heptonstall where Ted Hughes lived.
They spent the day working with performance poet Terry Caffrey. They listened to, wrote and performed poetry all day. Terry Caffrey then visited the school for two days.
He began by delivering a hilarious poetry assembly for all ages before working alongside children for poetry workshops. Masses of poems were written.
The final stages of the project saw different classes visiting the Hippodrome Theatre and Todmorden Library to watch an animated film, The Iron Giant, not exactly the film of the book but enjoyable nevertheless.
We are all looking forward to exhibiting our work along with the other Todmorden primary schools. We are very grateful to Todmorden Council for their support for the whole programme; it wouldn’t have happened without them.