The Sewing Rooms Announces “Skem Life” Project

We’re thrilled to announce that our Skem Life project, a heritage inspired programme of events and collaborations across Skelmersdale, is running throughout Skelmersdale thanks to continued support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

This next stage builds on our previous successes, expanding creative opportunities for local people to connect with each other, share stories, and celebrate Skem’s past, present, and future.

In partnership with West Lancashire College’s Inclusivity Group, we’re working with young adults with additional needs to create a series of heritage-inspired podcasts.

Participants will gain hands-on experience in:

• Presenting and interviewing
• Journalism and research
• Programming and editing
• Storytelling through audio

Podcast topics will explore Skem’s heritage through stories, poetry, interviews, and debates, capturing the voices that make our town unique.

We’re teaming up with Carl Eaton, founder of Skem Men Aces FC, to run open interview sessions in the Concourse Shopping Centre and other community spaces in Skelmersdale.

Carl will share his own experiences of living with a physical disability, inspiring others to share their own life stories. These video interviews will feature on our brand-new Skem Life YouTube channel. We’ll be taking the camera to different locations across Skem so more people can get involved.

After six weeks of searching, we’ve found and restored a vintage Rice horsebox into a mobile darkroom, ready to roll across Skelmersdale. We’ll be running pop-up portrait and pinhole photography sessions where participants can:

• Use pre-loaded pinhole cameras to capture images of Skelmersdale
• Develop their photos themselves inside our mobile darkroom
• Learn about the art and history of analogue photography

Pinhole photography is a slow, mindful, and creative activity; helping people to connect with the moment, boost self-esteem, and gain a real sense of achievement when their unique image appears on paper.

We’ll be taking large-format portraits on our giant ‘Lego camera’ and working with local schools so children can experience the magic of developing their own photographs.

Paula Gamester MBE, Leader of The Sewing Rooms, emphasises the power of this hands-on traditional photography approach, “There’s something incredibly special about slowing down and creating an image this way. The magic of the darkroom, the anticipation of seeing your photo develop

“It connects us to the roots of photography and to each other. We see time and again how activities like this boost confidence, spark conversations, and give people a real sense of achievement, positively impacting wellbeing and self-esteem. It’s about capturing Skem’s spirit, one unique image at a time.”

For details on our previous Skem Life heritage projects, visit our website www.skemlife.co.uk where you can see the work from our earlier National Lottery Heritage funding.

You can also join our online forum to share your own Skem Life story, past memories, present experiences, or hopes for the future of our town.