Poetry in the Making: Education in a Cost-of-Living Crisis

What does education feel like during a cost-of-living crisis?

Drop in to this creative, participatory event and explore that question through conversation, poetry and illustration. Families, students, friends and individuals are invited to share their experiences and turn their words into a poem for a growing public exhibition. 

An exhibition shaped by you:
The day begins with poems created through three research projects about education. Alongside them will be open spaces waiting for new contributions. As you talk, write and draw, these spaces will fill with poems, creating an evolving exhibition that celebrates the complexity, contradictions, differences and shared threads in our experiences of education.

What will you do?
Join a facilitated conversation about education and the cost-of-living crisis. No previous writing experience is needed, and you may take part on your own or with others.

• Share words, memories and experiences in an informal conversation.
• Highlight the ideas that spark your curiosity and arrange them into an idea.
• Choose a poetic form and create a poem using your selected words.
• Work with an illustrator to bring out your key message, then add your finished piece to the exhibition.

Why your voice matters:
Public experiences are a valuable form of expert knowledge. By making poetry together, we can challenge deficit-based accounts of families and students, bring under-represented experiences into view, and communicate both the practical and emotional effects of the cost-of-living crisis on education.

The poems created will help researchers share insights with educators and policymakers while revealing solidarity across different experiences.

Karen Healey, Lecturer in Education at the University of Manchester

Open to all

Families with children experiencing education, students, people who work in education.

Drop in at any time between 10am and 3.30pm and stay for as long as you like.