New Stourbridge arts event gives local performers a platform

A new monthly arts event in Stourbridge is giving local performers the chance to share their work in front of a live audience.

The People’s Platform welcomed a strong audience to its August event at Stourbridge Social, with special guests including the Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Pete Lowe, and Worcestershire Poet Laureate Jay Rose Ana.

The event was created as an open and welcoming space for people of all backgrounds and levels of experience to take to the stage, with poetry, spoken word, music, storytelling and comedy among the performances.

Rather than being a competition, the event focuses on participation and bringing people together, with established artists appearing alongside performers taking to the stage for the first time.

Founder Katie Victoria said she wanted to create a space where people could share their creativity and feel their voices were valued.

"Seeing the room full of people supporting one another and having guests such as the Mayor of Dudley and the Worcestershire Poet Laureate there was incredibly encouraging," she said.

"It showed there is a real appetite for events like this in Stourbridge."

The People’s Platform is held monthly, with organisers hoping future events will showcase an increasingly wide range of creative talent from Stourbridge, Dudley and the wider Black Country.

Katie said the event was intended to be accessible to anyone with something to share.

"The goal is not to create an exclusive arts club. It is the opposite," she said.

"If you have something to say, something to perform or something you have made, there should be somewhere locally where you can stand up and share it. The People’s Platform is that space."