Church Army’s Valley of Hope gets X Factor treatment
A world-class touring opera company has chosen Church Army's Valley of Hope project to be featured in their new songwriting initiative. The Welsh National Opera (WNO) has commissioned award winning journalist Davina Payne to capture the story of the Valley of Hope project run by Church Army Evangelist Ralph Upton, which provides transitional housing and life coaching for ex offenders and substance misusers, enabling them to rebuild their lives.
A 30-minute documentary will tell the stories of the people that use Valley of Hope services.Artists from WNO will provide a series of workshops in song writing, music making and visual arts for Valley of Hope individuals throughout October and November 2008. Some of these workshops will take place in the front rooms of peoples' houses; others in community spaces, or venues where participants already have strong connections.The stories which come out of these workshops will alsobe translated into a number of mediums, each representing a different dimension of the opera experience, be it performance or design. There are plans for a special performance on Valleys trains in December 2008, and an on-board visual art exhibition.
"This is a great opportunity for our clients who have had little opportunity in life to be involved with one of the world's leading companies. It speaks volumes for how highly this project is regarded", says Ralph Upton, project manager at Valley of Hope which operates from an office in Aberdare in the Valleys of South Wales.
Since October 2002, the project has helped transform the lives of different individuals on the margins of society such as John, who fell into depression when his wife and children suddenly left him. In poor health and suffering from panic attacks, John rarely gets outside but says the Valley of Hope have been a great support to him. He says, "I didn't know if I could go on and by meeting them they picked me up and showed me that there's a bit more to life than how I felt at the time. Since then things have progressed for the better since Valley of Hope have been involved in my life."
Several artists from WNO such as playwright Patrick Jones, musician and composer Stacey Blythe and textiles artist Rosy Prue will be part of the project.
The initiative will kick off this Friday 24th October 2008.For more information on Ralph Upton or the Valley of Hope project, watch our short film on the project here.
