Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown

This project captures young peoples’ creative response to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Led by artist Toni Cook, it works with young people from several organisations & explores young people’s attitudes to responsibility through poetry, portraits and statements, drama and visual art. The creative work is being celebrated at community lunches and afternoon teas with older people, along with empty shop window exhibition, and culminates with a live performance and exhibition at Ledbury Poetry Festival on 12 July, 2022

Young people involved include pupils at Aconbury Pupil Referral Unit, young people from Close House Project, The Cracked Slipper Company, Hope Support Services, Hereford City Youth Council, SENDIASS and John Masefield High School.

Heavy Is the Head that Wears the Crown is a Jubilee project funded by Arts Council Let's Create Jubilee Fund administered by Herefordshire Community Foundation, and the project is supported by Ledbury Poetry Festival and Close House.

"Young people never fail to amaze me with their incredible creativity. This project has brought together a wide range of young people who have all shone with their amazing range of talents and abilities. We have performed our work for two Jubilee community lunches at The Kindle Centre and at Tupsley Whitehouse Hub and now we have this exhibition for the next month in the city centre. The amount of people who stopped and read the young people's work as we installed it was just fantastic. I hope that people enjoy the exhibition and can celebrate the activities of young people."

— Toni Cook, Lead Artist, Heavy is the Head

“The theme of responsibility and duty is a perfect fit for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and this project makes these celebrations relevant and engaging for young people. Furthermore, Ledbury Poetry Festival is keen to make links with new groups, alongside further developing work with Toni Cook, Aconbury PRU and Close House Youth Centre. We have worked productively with these partners previously and importantly we can evidence that the work delivered has had a hugely positive impact on the young people who participated. The work will enhance those creative partnerships and benefit young people who participate. Affording them access to work that will enhance growth, self esteem and self-belief. This work will also feed into to Ledbury Poetry Festival’s long-term plan of providing open access regular arts sessions for young people in Ledbury and enabling young people to shape Ledbury Poetry Festival’s programme and creative offer. Once successful, Ledbury Poetry Festival envisages this model could be replicated in other Herefordshire market towns.”

— Chloe Garner, Director of Ledbury Poetry Festival

Exhibition, summer 2022

Young people from a number of organisations in Herefordshire have taken over shop windows in Hereford's Maylord Centre to showcase their artistic abilities. As part of a Jubilee funded project, young people from Close House, The Cracked Slipper Company, Hope Support Services, Hereford City Youth Council, The Aconbury Centre and SENDIASS have been working with artists Toni Cook, Dermot Clark, Jamie Hutton, Esther Pandeli and Levi Cooke to explore their unique responses to the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Titled "Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown" the project has given young people the opportunity to explore their ideas of responsibility through poetry, drama, visual art and photography.

Maylords have kindly supported the project by offering shop window space to turn part of the centre into a temporary gallery.  The exhibition covers the former Laura Ashley building, the Powerhouse building and number 7 Gomond Street and is on display now until mid July 2022.