Environmentalist in Residence
The purpose of the environmental residency is to use creativity as an instrument to increase public awareness of conservation and environmental issues.
Our current Environmentalist in Residence is Martin Scaiff. During his residency Martin will be working on the development of a project called Seconds of Sound (S.O.S), inviting the public to take part in weekly sound and listening walks that connect all 45 of our branches, plus some of our local prison libraries too!
Through his six-month residency, Martin hopes to share his love of listening with the public and his fascination with the natural world.
Martin is Suffolk Libraries second Environmentalist in Residence. Our first Environmentalist in Residence was Clare Sams. Clare is a textiles arts practitioner, lecturer, and arts educator. Clare has a master’s degree in Academic Practice for Art Design and Communication and holds a Guinness World Record for the largest crochet hook!
Storyteller in Residence
The purpose of our Storyteller In Residence is to highlight the power of storytelling and connect people to a diverse range of stories in non-conventional ways.
Our first Storyteller In Residence was Kirsty Tallent. Kirsty is a multi-sensory theatre maker and facilitator born and bred in Ipswich. Kirsty specialises in making work for young people with disabilities and additional needs.
Hear more about Kirsty’s residency (click here)
Artist LABs
Our Artist LABs invite a handful of mixed-media artists to explore, share and collaborate with one another across one week in one of our library venues. Previous Artist LABs have taken place at Ipswich County Library, Hadleigh Library and Lowestoft Library.
Hear more about our Artist LABs (Click here)
Past residences
Libraries in a Year
Libraries in a Year invited artist Sandy Horsley to observe libraries one day a month over a year. During her residency Sandy produce a piece of artwork capturing each library inspired by her time spent in our spaces.
Listen to Sandy speak about her residency
Around Suffolk In 40 Stories
In 2021, Suffolk Libraries partnered with BBC Radio Suffolk to launch a new ‘human library’ of 40 personal stories from across the County. In collaboration with award-winning storyteller Glenys Newton, Around Suffolk in 40 Stories aimed to promote intercultural understanding, empathy, listening and relatability, welcoming difference and encouraging dialogue between people from all walks of life in Suffolk.
Listen to all 40 stories here. Watch our YouTube video introducing the audio project →
