Same but Different

From 19-23 July we made the city and streets of Worcester just that little bit different - creating fun and playful moments throughout the week.

Installation by Designs in Air - © Ravi Lakhani Photography

Image Description: : Photo taken at night from the roof of a building where large green inflatable tentacles are lit up and are reaching out in different directions. Below you can see the high street shops lit by street lights.

19-23 July 2021

}

All day

Free entry

Image description: In the image there is a large glass globe, like a snow globe but much bigger, with a woman inside dressed as sea nymph. Her skin is blue, she has a scaly tail like a mermaid, and she is surrounded by seaweed and other ornaments you might find in the sea. Outside the globe a young girl wearing a blue T-shirt and yellow hat stands next to an older woman. The young girl has her arms outstretched and is touching the bubbles that are surrounding the globe. Bubbles fill the air and seem to be coming from the globe. On the globe itself we can see a yellow sticker with a QR code and yellow text that reads 'Same But Different. There is also a big red button just underneath the globe. In the background we can see shops and buildings indicating we are on a high street.

Image description: On the high street we can see an orange traffic cone with a black sticker with text that says 'Same But Different. People are stood around the cone with some adult taking photos and some children standing close by watching the cone closely. young girl in the foreground has her hand reaching out towards the cone as though she is trying to grab it.

Same But Different brought playful moments to the city, surprising Worcester each day with something completely different. We took the streets you know and turned them into something fantastic with giant inflatable tentacles and a huge beanstalk - that appeared overnight! The streets were the same, but a little bit different with a large scale poetry installation comprising the thoughts of 10 local poets, brilliant and exciting walkabouts from magical globes to mischievous cones, illuminated poetry and of course let’s not forget Robot Selfie - the huge canvas in Cathedral Square that became a mural of Worcester’s faces! Read below for more details and highlights from this incredible week!

The City Speaks

Overnight the City Speaks project took the words of 10 local poets and painted them onto the pavements in two City locations: South Quay Riverside and St Martins Quarter.

Their words were there all week touching the hearts of the people that stopped to enjoy them.

Read our blog post and watch our video to find out more about this largescale poetry installation!

Photo By Ravi Lakhani Photography

More details this way

Robot Selfie

What happens when you give an unpredictable robot a massive canvas, a can of spray paint and a bunch of selfies? Well during Same But Different we found out!

Kaleider‘s Robot Selfie came to Cathedral Square and people watched as faces were drawn onto the canvas through out the week. Robot Selfie took some of the best selfies submitted by the public and spray painted them onto a huge canvas, creating an original and modern piece of art with the faces of Worcester!

We loved watching as the public spotted their selfies on the canvas, and with over 300 submissions it was great to see so many people having fun and getting involved!

Robot Selfie is a Kaleider production supported by Without Walls and commissioned by Brighton Festival and Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

Photo By Ravi Lakhani Photography

Image description: Set in a square

Recovery Poems

This inspiring light poem was created by artists Robert Montgomery and Deanna Rodger, by talking and listening to communities about the past 18 months, and how they felt heading out of lockdown.

We took the Recovery Poems to several city and community locations around Worcester to give people a chance to reflect on their own thoughts and to respond. Check out our video and read our blog post to see the amazing ways in which the community responded to the poems.

Video By James Silvanus Films

More details this way

Look At Me

In the middle of the week, Same But Different took over Worcester’s empty shop windows for the day!

We brought the windows to life with fantastic performances of dancing forest creatures from 2Faced Dance, hula hoop artistry from Angie Mack, Lampshade ladies and udderly pink women from Kitsch N Sync and even a Crisp Sandwich Cafe from Matthew Rawcliffe!

It was a great day where we filled empty spaces with all kinds of weird, wonderful and wacky things bringing delight and surprise to Worcester!

Photo by Ravi Lakhani Photography

More details this way
Image description: A woman stands inside a shop window looking out, she is wearing a pink wig that covers part of her face and wears a body suit entirely covered with inflated pink hand gloves. There is a vinyl on the window that says ‘SAME BUT DIFFERENT’ in black text.]

Heavy Beat Brass Band

We finished Same But Different with the Worcester World Reunion Tour and the incredible Heavy Beat Brass Band!

These young professional jazz musicians brought their New Orleans style to a number of spots around Worcester! The band stopped at the Pumphouse, Worcester Woods Country Park, Cathedral Square, Crowngate Shopping Centre, Foregate Street Station and stopped for a very special performance at Latimer Court Care Home.

Watch our video to see how they brought the funk to Worcester!

Video by James Silvanus Films

Same But Different has been supported by The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust.

Volunteering opportunity

We are always looking for enthusiastic and approachable volunteers to help us stage unforgettable events. No experience is necessary, applicants just need to be over 18, energetic and enjoy meeting and helping others.

Find Out More

FAQs

Do you have disabled parking?

There is no event specific disabled parking. Please use regular City Centre disabled parking as usual. More information can be found on Worcester City Council website.

How much is the event?

There is no cost to attend the festival.

Will there be photographers?

We have an official festival media team taking videos and photographs across the event to use for our publicity purposes as well as for the project evaluation.

Where are the nearest car parks?

There is no event specific parking, please use City Centre car parks as usual. More information can be found on Worcester City Council website.