Fig, and other plants, growing around a drainpipe (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
The Yarmouth Springs Eternal project centres on the celebration of everyday experiences of the natural world, from the overhanging garden hedges trailing blossom in the street to patches of greenery hidden down alleyways. We have been walking and exploring the streets of Great Yarmouth since April, noticing Spring unfold together, and discovering some surprising delights.
THE PUBLIC EVENTS PROGRAMME
Most recently, in our public programme that launched after our Conference in May, we have had a stimulating series of walks, workshops and events, and there is still more to come during our final Summer Solstice weekend!
Last week, Bill Vine led two sound walks exploring Great Yarmouth through meditative tuning in. We compared the jangled sounds of the amusements to the relatively calm swooshing of machinery from industrial units. The experience encouraged reflective thoughts how much our brain was filtering subconsciously and the heightened experience of close noticing.
Walking with Jacques Nimki (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
During Jacques Nimki’s two walks, we discovered surprising plantlife, such as a miniature fig plant growing from a drainpipe, and a sweet smelling patch of Matricaria discoidea aka ‘pineappleweed’ growing behind some restaurant bins. It’s amazing how connecting closely with the senses can make and trigger memories, as Jacques’ said, “pineapples will no longer conjure up visions of tropical islands, but a car park in the back streets of Yarmouth for everyone that came along.”
On Saturday at our #MyJam Culture Sharing Lab event, organised by Jules Devonshire of orignalprojects;, we were joined by Sean Roy Parker aka Fermental Health alongside Holly Sandiford’s kimchi and kombucha photography and Tiah-Paige Burrell’s natural dye rune art. The event was a great success for its experimental sharing through tastings, demos, conversation and learning about the culture of cultured goods.
This week, I’m leading a cyanotype workshop, exploring a technique that kicked off the initial Yarmouth Springs Eternal community walks/workshops series back in April. We’ll be working on location around town and gathering found materials for our sunprints.
Sean Roy Parker aka Fermental Health giving a demo at #MyJam Culture Sharing Lab (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
There is still time to see and experience the work of Bill Vine, Company Drinks, Jacques Nimki, James Aldridge and Jason Evans, plus Climate Museum UK, a plant and fermented goods swap/share table. The exhibition is open daily until Sunday 20th June from 12pm-5:30pm (closing at 4pm on Sunday) at PRIMEYARC, Market Gates Shopping Centre.
The overall ethos is about nurturing a personal connection to nature through sensory experiential experiences – walking, talking, sharing, touching, seeing, smelling and, with thanks to Company Drinks’ contribution to the exhibition, tasting some delicious community-made cordials on offer during the show!
To bring the project to a close, we are delighted that our exhibition artist Jason Evans will be hosting a weekend of Photowalks around Great Yarmouth. He’ll be sharing some of his own creative approaches to photography in these informal walks around town. The groups are small to encourage conversation and sharing, please book your place via Eventbrite:
SUMMER SOLSTICE PHOTOGRAPHY WALK WITH JASON EVANS
Flower Power, 2018 by Jason Evans and The Garden Gate Project
These fun, informal sessions are designed to expand your experience of photography ideas and techniques, responding to project exhibition.
Walking and looking with a medium format film camera, participants will create a record of unexpected nature and organic surprises in Great Yarmouth over the Summer Solstice weekend.
Participants can bring their own photography kit (camera or camera phone). No previous experience is necessary to take part.
And finally, to bring the creativity of the artists and participants from the initial April to May community walks/workshops programme back round again, we’ll be launching our Yarmouth Springs Eternal Play Book on the Summer Solstice weekend. It features creative arts and nature activities to do on a walk or at home from Georgie Manly, Ligia Macedo aka Gia, Mark Cator, Kaavous Clayton and me. These were the ideas we first explored together back in early Spring and encourage simple and playful ways to connect with the natural world found around town. It’ll be available in print and online.
The activities, events, artist commissions and behind the scenes work for Yarmouth Springs Eternal has been led by me, Genevieve Rudd, in partnership with originalprojects;. The marketing and print has been supported by Norwici Print, Red Herring Press and Supporting Your Art. Supported with funding from Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Arts Council England, East Anglia Art Fund, Norfolk County Council and Better Together Norfolk
Our exhibition is full of things to explore and find. This project is all about exploring overlooked and everyday interactions with the natural world. Read on to get another peek at the exhibition and look ahead to what we will be sharing soon.
THINGS TO FIND
Jacques Nimki piece at Yarmouth Springs Eternal Exhibition (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
Jacques Nimki
Jacques works from and within the urban landscape, using mainly weeds and flowers to explore how we perceive others and ourselves within particular environments. Plants like people, looked at but not seen, forgotten in the backdrops of the everyday, inhabiting places that are usually neglected or unexplored. You can see where this inspiration has led him in his work generally and in the pieces displayed in our exhibition. Come and see if you can find all of his hidden pieces around the exhibition. They will seem to appear out of nowhere, just as plants can. (This image is a clue to where you can find your first weed in the PRIMEYARC gallery space, but the rest you’ll need to discover for yourself! )
Theatre of Posies
On the way to visit our exhibition, we’d like you to explore the spaces around you – your garden, the path outside your house or a local park – and gather together a small posie of flowers to be part of the exhibition. Bring your posie to the exhibition. On arrival, you’ll be invited to write a short note about where you collected them. Then, place your arrangement in the dedicated display.
Theatre of Posies(image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
This can be a great way to take a moment to notice what is right there on your doorstep (maybe literally!)
Remember to pick responsibly!
The Yarmouth Springs Eternal Pamphlet
As you will know from our previous blog, our community group was supported by local writer and printer Lotte LS from Red Herring Press to turn their ideas and thoughts into a pamphlet. This is now sitting in our exhibition ready for you to come and take one home! This is another example of how the exhibition has grown from those initial community walks and how it continues to grow now.
Video in the exhibition (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
You can also catch the film created by Supporting Your Art documenting our project so far. Becky documented two workshops and combined that footage with photos taken by project facilitators and the group themselves.
For part of his artist-led walk/workshop session Mark Cator had selected a text by P H Emerson written around 1890 on the stories from the area. We each read a short passage against the watery backdrop, recorded by Mark. You can see some of this footage in the exhibition.
There is so much to find at our exhibition (some of which we haven’t mentioned and have left for you to find) and we have loved seeing your photos and reactions on social media. Make sure you tag us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to let us know what you spotted.
COMING SOON!
Supporting Your Art was also documenting the conference day and we will be sharing the Artists talks in full, so you will be able to get the exciting insights we got on the day.
We will be posting on social media when these videos go live along with a few more updates and announcements to come! So keep an eye out to keep up to date.
Tickets are still available for our walks but they are booking up fast so make sure you get yours soon!
SONIC LANDSCAPES WITH BILL VINE
LIMITED TICKETS AVAILABLE
Listen in closer to the sonic landscape of Great Yarmouth on a sound walk led by Bill Vine. The walks will allow time for both meditative listening and an opportunity to learn more about the local environment
An opportunity to join artist Jacques Nimki for a walk around Great Yarmouth town centre. Explore the urban landscape, through an interaction with plants that are often overlooked, inhabiting places that are usually neglected or unexplored
Wed, 9 June 2021 14:00 – 15:30| Booking link(open to general public) 16:00 – 17:30 |Booking linkLIMITED AVAILABILITY (open to educators working with Primary age children)
#MYJAM: CULTURE SHARING LAB
This inclusive introductory session is intended as open-source conversation-starter to identify and explore shared interests in the radical nature of fermentation, slow living, holistic health and resourcefulness
Genevieve Rudd invites you to discover the magic of Cyanotype ‘blueprint’ photography, based on drawings and found objects in outdoor locations around town
Wed, 16 June 2021
SUMMER SOLSTICE PHOTOGRAPHY WALK WITH JASON EVANS
These fun, informal sessions are designed to expand your experience of photography ideas and techniques, responding to project exhibition.
Walking and looking with a medium format film camera, participants will create a record of unexpected nature and organic surprises in Great Yarmouth over the Summer Solstice weekend.
Participants can bring their own photography kit (camera or camera phone). No previous experience is necessary to take part.
We’d like you to explore the spaces around you – your garden, the path outside your house or a local park – and gather together a small posie of flowers to be part of the exhibition.
Bring your posie to the exhibition. On arrival, you’ll be invited to write a short note about where you collected them. Then, place your arrangement in the dedicated display.
Remember to pick responsibly!
#MYJAM: CULTURE SHARING LAB
Do you grow edibles in your garden or allotment? Into jamming, preserving or lacto-fermenting? Avid about brewing or sourdough baking? Are you an expert home composter?
We’re inviting you to bring your knowledge, tips and tricks to share with others at #MyJam. Tell us about what your jam is on our form!
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