Poppies With Purpose is our very special fringe exhibition for Penistone Arts Week, taking place at St John the Baptist Church, Shrewsbury Road, Penistone.
First and foremost, Poppies With Purpose is a charitable exhibition supporting two incredibly important causes:
- The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, in thanks and remembrance of veterans, animals and all those who serve, or have served, to help keep Britain safe.
- St John the Baptist Church, the much-loved heart of our community, who are generously hosting the event whilst also fundraising to repair the 16th century tower & clock.
Remembrance season is about far more than looking backwards. It is also about unity, compassion, peace and community moving forwards together. Following the incredible success of Penistone Arts Week this past March — with 77 events across 10 days — it feels like the perfect opportunity for our wonderfully creative community to come together once again and interpret remembrance in imaginative, thoughtful and deeply personal ways.
We would love this exhibition to be filled with creativity in all its forms. Whether your response is traditional or contemporary, subtle or bold, joyful or reflective — all creative interpretations are welcome. Red, white or purple poppies, themes of peace, resilience, nature, sacrifice, community, healing, hope or remembrance itself — this is an opportunity to create something meaningful, heartfelt and thought provoking in your own unique voice.
The exhibition will run from Monday 2nd until Saturday 14th November, transforming St John’s Church into a vibrant and immersive creative space filled with colour, texture, music and art.
A part of this unique event is PENISTONE PROMS FOR POPPIES – a musical evening on Friday 6th November with a fabulous line up of entertainers with all ticket sales going to the two causes.
At just £12.50 a ticket, we are limited to just 90 tickets for this amazing performance, so get your tickets fast. Thirty will be available in St John’s Church from Monday 7th September or you can purchase tickets online via Eventbrite.
Visitors to the exhibition will also have the opportunity to purchase artwork and handmade pieces throughout the exhibition and during the Proms evening.
As this is a charitable event, we are inviting creatives to either:
- Fully donate a piece or pieces of work (no minimum or maximum within reason), or
- Donate a minimum of 30% of any sales made during the exhibition in support of the two causes.
We are also very keen to involve community groups, schools, children’s groups, crochet, knitting and craft groups, and anyone who may be able to help us creatively “dress” the church with handmade poppies, installations and collaborative displays, so please spread the word.
In fact we have two great knitting patterns ideal for everyone (if you’re more than a novice, please feel free to create your own or embellish in any way) and we’d love people to create as many as possible so we can adorn the church arch with poppies – choose your colour – red for remembrance, white for hope & peace or purple for the animals, depending on preference.
If this exhibition is something you feel inspired to be part of, we would absolutely love to hear from you. This truly feels like something very special and we want everyone to be involved.
Contact us at penistoneartsweek@gmail.com or use our contact form.