Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery has been awarded a grant of £7,665 by the National Lottery through Arts Council England for a Writer in Residence project at the museum. Support for the project has also been provided by Coventry University, and includes a digital diary, a new gallery display, live performances in Nuneaton town and creative writing workshops and talks. The project is designed to investigate and celebrate the town’s relationship with locally born author George Eliot.
Vanessa Oakes, Nuneaton playwright, is using the George Eliot collection as a foundation for her residency, which is taking place from May 2011 until January 2012. Coventry University are supporting the live performance’s production. She said about the project: “The stimulus for both this residency and the resulting play was a comment by a local person who said ‘George Eliot, yeah I should really read his books.’ It is this ambiguity of authorship which I want to explore. During the residency I want to investigate what George Eliot means today to local people and how, or even if, they feel connected to both her life story and the power of her words.”
The residence will help to explore the museum’s collection of items relating to George Eliot, and celebrate their importance both to the local area and internationally.