ArtsGroupie bids farewell to 2023 with immense gratitude for the unforgettable moments, milestones, and incredible partnerships that made this our most phenomenal year yet!

Kicking off the year in style, ArtsGroupie led Lunar New Year celebrations with community workshops, setting the tone for a year of creativity and collaboration.

Our music artist, rapper M!key Garland, took centre stage with their powerful new one-person show at Hope Street Theatre, sharing a deeply personal journey of homelessness. The production later graced Shakespeare North Playhouse, leaving a lasting impact. More about the show.

Mikey Garland performed at Eurovision Xtra at Museum of Liverpool. The launch of "TERF WARS" marked a milestone, gaining 2.2k monthly listeners on Spotify, a testament to the resonance of Garland's artistry.

ArtsGroupie pioneered the highly successful World Theatre History Trail detailing Liverpool's rich theatre heritage.

We engaged children across the Liverpool City Region with drama and shadow puppetry workshops, including the impactful "Stop the Loan Shark" series.

Our critically acclaimed play reached London's legendary King's Head Theatre and we embarked on a successful tour, captivating audiences at various venues, including The Reader Mansion, and the cockpit theatre at Shakespeare North Playhouse.

Rebranding our heritage walking tours as MerseyTrails, we introduced two brilliant walks: "Liverpool Music History Walking Tour" and "A Beginner's Guide to Liverpool."

Invited by The Reading Agency, ArtsGroupie led the Eurovision Reading Hut, promoting outdoor reading and music-related books giveaways as part of the Official Eurovision Song Contest celebrations.

In collaboration with Liverpool Irish Festival, ArtsGroupie led a dedicated team for the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail project, building international connections and making a poignant visit to Strokes Town in Ireland.

Participating in the Culture Knowsley Elizabethan Fayre on behalf of Shakespeare North Playhouse, ArtsGroupie brought Elizabethan flair with workshops and heritage walking tours. We also collaborated with Incredible Edible Knowsley for "Eat Your Words" at Court Hey Park.

Grandma Bailey, a beloved character from "The Liver Bird," charmed audiences at Make Fest, Shakespeare North Playhouse, and embarked on a Liverpool city region library tour for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Library Services with "Storytime with Grandma Bailey."

We debuted our brand new historical play "A Portrait of William Roscoe" which toured at The Reader at Calderstones, Shakespeare North Playhouse, and The Liverpool Athenaeum to resounding success. We then went straight in to our next production, an adaptation of Charles Dickens' "The Signalman" which toured the North West at Metal Liverpool in Edge Hill Station, The Reader at Calderstones, The Storey in Lancaster, The Kings Arms in Salford, and The Liverpool Athenaeum.

From writing workshops with Heart of Glass for "PARK LIFE" to Irish writing workshops for The Royal Society of Literature (Literature Matters), ArtsGroupie remained committed to literary initiatives and community engagement.

We celebrated five years of ArtsGroupie with a spectacular birthday party at Studio 3 in Arts Bar Hope Street, surrounded by our cherished friends and partners.

We teamed up with Friends of Everton Park for another history walking tour around the park with live historical characters, and we joined the Being Human Festival for community activities with LJMU in the Palm House Sefton Park, celebrating Edward Lear.

To finish the year we celebrated Victorian Christmas at The Liverpool Athenaeum with Christmas readings and songs to get us in the festive spirit, and we brought back our highly popular "Ghost Stories for Christmas". We were joined again for the second year by one of the world's most celebrated horror writers, Ramsey Campbell, and were joined for the first time by prolific comic writer, and author, John Reppion. And to cap off a wonderfully spooky Christmas season, we were delighted to be featured in The New York Times.

Thank you to everyone who joined us on this incredible journey!

A huge thank you to ALL of our many partners, and to our funders The Royal Society of Literature, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and Arts Council England.

And all of our love to our talented family of freelancers at ArtsGroupie: Margaret Connell, Samantha Alton, Jill Smith, David Griffiths - Author & Director, Liz Barker, Zoran Blackie, Tom Browning, Sally Britton, Ruta Staseviciute, Gina Ware, Hannah Spencer-Brown, Andrew AB Photography

Here's to more art, creativity, and community in the years to come! 🌈🎨🎭 #artsgroupie #YearInReview #CheersToArtfulAdventures