Artists needed for Norfolk project looking at immigration over the past 2,000 years

Norfolk 2000 Project Manager, Emma Reeve with an Anglo-Saxon object from the Norfolk Museums Service collection. Courtesy of Norfolk Museums Service. Photo: Emma Reeve. (Image: submitted)

Norfolk 2000 aims to explore the effects of immigration to Norfolk since Roman times. The project will include a series of workshops looking at the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons and The Strangers, and this will be followed by a touring art exhibition in May and June 2015.

The artists selected, along with members of the public, will be invited to attend a series of workshops featuring archaeological objects from the collections of Norfolk Museums Service.

The workshops will take place at museums in Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn and Norwich, and they will offer a rare chance to handle historical objects which help to tell the story of Norfolk's past.

Emma Reeve, the project manager, said: 'Immigration can be a contentious issue for some; this project will hopefully show many how beneficial it has been for Norfolk, and continues to be.

'Whether it was Flemish people – known as The Strangers – who settled here, or people from Eastern Europe, who call Norfolk home today, the positives about immigration can sometimes be overlooked.'

The free exhibition will take place later this year at Great Yarmouth Community Library, King's Lynn Arts Centre, and The Forum in Norwich.

Norfolk 2000 is supported by Arts Council England and Norfolk County Council. It has received funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and Norfolk Arts Project Fund, as well as support from Norfolk Museums Service and The Forum.

For more information about the Norfolk 2000 project, and for details of how artists can apply to take part, visit www.norfolk2000.co.uk/news/

The deadline for artists to apply is this Friday at 12pm.

• Do you have a heritage arts story? Email arts correspondent Emma Knights at emma.knights@archant.co.uk

Members of the public can also sign up to take part in Norfolk 2000 workshops:

1. Fix Up Look Sharp: Looking good in Roman Norfolk – Friday, February 20, 2-4pm, at Time and Tide Museum, in Great Yarmouth.

2. Trading Identities: Trade in Anglo-Saxon King's Lynn – Friday, February 27, 2-4pm, at Lynn Museum, in King's Lynn.

3. Connecting the Continents: Anglo-Saxon Runes in Norfolk – Friday, March 6, 2-4pm, at Norwich Castle Study Centre, Norwich.

4. Here to stay? – Strangers settling in Sixteenth Century Norwich – Friday, March 13, 2-4pm, Strangers' Hall, Norwich.

Each workshop costs £2 (payable on the day in cash). To book, email info@norfolk2000.co.uk and include your full name and which workshop you wish to book for in the email subject. You will receive an email confirmation within 24 hours.