A Cockermouth musical has featured in a national photography exhibition.
The Cockermouth Community Musical – developed through Kirkgate Arts and Heritage – is part of the Our Freedom: Then and Now project’s national exhibition, which is currently taking place at the Southbank Centre in London and will remain there until April 25.
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.
Storyteller Jessie then weaved in the 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 the national exhibition.
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 25. It will then tour around the UK until October across 18 locations including Hartlepool, Stockton on Tees, Liverpool, Leeds and Lancaster.
Emma added: “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.
It 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.
