News/February 2016
Grasses photographed in Buffalo

With the support of Grants for the Arts from Arts Council England, we are collaborating with author Tony White and three groups of young people to create A Place Free of Judgement.

This work is a teenage takeover of libraries, aiming to re-frame and re-engage young people’s relationship to words, literature and libraries. We will all work together to write a book and then present it in the autumn at three different libraries on the same night. It may take the form of a reading, a performance, a walk, a meal or something else entirely.

As well as the event, the project includes 18 workshops with young people, a publication and a website. We will engage with a wider community of young people, working with Universities, other libraries and online communities.


This project is a partnership between Blast Theory, Tony White, the young people and Arts Connect Bridge Organisation for the West Midlands, the team at ASCEL – Association of Senior Children’s and Education Librarians, Southwater One LibraryTelford and Wrekin Council Library Service, Dudley Library – Dudley Library Service. Chelmsley Wood Library – Solihull Library Service, Market Drayton Library – Shropshire Library ServiceStaffordshire Library Service and Worcestershire Libraries and Learning Service.