WordPlay Community Arts uses creative writing, heritage and storytelling to support attachment between individuals and their families, communities, memories and their sense of place. We believe in the power of the written and spoken word to make emotional connections that bind people together.
We deliver workshops, projects and events in partnership with communities and are passionate about supporting people from marginalised backgrounds to tell their stories. We seek to engage through the literary arts in the broadest sense including digital storytelling, book art and oral history interviews.
WordPlay is interested in the potential for our creative activity to lead to improved health and well-being, progression into other learning environments, and meaningful community cohesion.
Who we are
Harriet Morgan-Shami, Creative Director
Harriet has worked in engagement and participation for over 20 years in a variety of contexts including community arts organisations, cultural venues, charities, city councils, education and academia. She is an experienced creative producer particularly interested in developing projects that use literature and heritage as a starting point to engage people in high quality arts and cultural experiences. She often uses oral history as a way to encourage people to tell their own stories. She established and managed the award-winning Writing Lives community creative writing programme in East Salford, which ran for six years with the support of the University of Salford and has driven other Wordplay projects such as Women’s Words.
Michelle Green, Creative Director
Michelle is a multi-disciplinary artist specialising in poetry, short fiction, performance, and participatory arts. With a background and training in theatre, she’s worked across the UK with a variety of groups in education, arts, community, and prison settings. She has particular experience working with adults with refugee backgrounds, LGBT groups, and survivors of mental distress. She designed and delivered the Writing Lives community creative writing programme in East Salford in collaboration with other writers and artists, and has a special interest in creative maps and sculptural literature.
Suzanne Smith, Associate Artist
Suzanne is an interdisciplinary, ideas-based artist exploring notions of the politics of the everyday, boundaries and playfulness. She frequently uses text in various media including found objects and film. She is particularly interested in gender politics. Alongside her own practice she develops and delivers art workshops with a variety of community groups.
