The chalkboard at the entrance of the conference (Image credit_Becky Demmen)
On Saturday 22nd May we had our Conference and we thought this would be a great opportunity to look at how each part of our project has informed and enhanced the other.
The Walks -> The Exhibition -> Conference
As you have seen from our previous blogs about the project so far, the idea of connecting creativity and wellbeing has been a constant through-line. Alongside that, has also been the theme of noticing nature in less obvious places. This was first demonstrated through our initial Artist-led community walks programme.
Whether we were writing, drawing, or having a conversation, it was all about looking at our links with the landscape and appreciating what we have around us. These initial walks are reflected in the expanded exhibition event programme (details below). These upcoming public events encourage enjoying nature through different lenses and reacting creatively. And these events are led, just as our community walks were, by exciting Artists with a unique perspective on our project’s themes.
Nurturing connections
The project’s themes and ideas were also carried through to our conference and you could see this in the Artist/speakers who were involved, the displays and the conversations had on the day.
Jason Evans
Photographer Jason Evans spoke about working with the community-led The Garden Gate Project in Thanet in east Kent. He shared his approach to picture-making, building a tool shed darkroom, the joy of learning from working with neurodiverse creativity and working with photographer Brendan Barry.
James Aldridge
The Artist behind Queer River spoke about walks along rivers with others to create and document emergent responses in writing, making & drawing.
Bill Vine
He introduced his acousmatic composition designed for loudspeakers and not performance, his approach to the creation of northsong. Whilst sharing his practice of soundwalks, listening to environmental sounds, the sense of belonging, and the place and time it provides.
Jacques Nimki
How can you make images of what a garden might be without having a garden? Jaques Nimki described the moment he realised that it was always there, it’s about asking the right questions. Well expressed by his 56 elusive works installed around the exhibition space. (See if you can spot them all!)
Genevieve speaking during the Artist Q&A. (Image credit_Becky Demmen)
Those that came to the conference were then invited to ask these Artists along with Kaavous Clayton of originalprojects; and Genevieve about their work and approaches.
We then split into two breakout rooms.
One led by Genevieve looking at what Community arts and participatory engagement means in the current climate, and one with writer, professor and musician George McKay looking at Eco-politics. It felt wonderfully open and although no large conclusions were bought to the sharing session afterwards, there was certainly a lot of important and interesting ground covered.
The day ended with an invitation to share contact details with each other to perhaps continue this sharing and learning to give this space we created, room to grow.
The days work was well supported by the display from Company Drinks (and their delicious forages cordials which were available to rehydrate us all) and the information panels provided by Climate Museum UK that gave a wider context to our discussions.
And all of this happened with the backdrop of the artwork and pamphlet created by our community group during that initial walks programme. It was great to feel a connection to those walks throughout the conference day and in the exhibition itself. The sessions they enjoyed together fuel the thinking and sharing we can do now and the visual reminders of the work they did on display keep that connection present.
George McKay leading a discussion on Eco-politics (Image credit_Becky Demmen)
Genevieve Rudd offers a reflection on the day itself:
“It was a pleasure to hear how the artists each found a deeper connection to places and communities by adopting a slower way of noticing the natural world using multi-disciplinary creative perspectives. Thank you to everyone who was part of making the Conference day!”
Videos of all of the Artist Presentations will be released soon so keep an eye out if you want to watch those. If you want to read all of the live updates that were shared on twitter then head over to there. It’s a really interesting account of the day.
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!
The Yarmouth Springs Eternal exhibition is now open! Our Yarmouth Springs Eternal community group came up with lots of creative ideas for Kaavous Clayton from originalprojects; (our project partner) to curate into an inspiring exhibition celebrating connecting with the natural world. Some of the group have also been putting in extra time in to support with the installing, painting and constructing in the venue to help the show come to life, which is hugely appreciated!
You can now visit the show at PRIMEYARC in Market Gates Shopping Centre, Great Yarmouth. It’s free to visit daily from Mondays-Saturday 12pm to 5:30pm and Sundays 12pm to 4pm up until Sunday 20th June. Please note: this Saturday 22nd May is only open to our Conference ticket holders, apologies for any inconvenience.
The show includes a sound piece by Bill Vine, originally commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival’s Creative Individual Norfolk fund. You can also catch Bill and I, and the other NNF funding awardees, talking about our projects at the live streamed event on Thursday. Jacques Nimki invisible plant drawings are growing organically around the space to hunt and find like a nature walk. You can join both Bill and Jacques on a bookable walk around town in June, exploring local sound and plants respectively.
Company Drinks (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
If all that walking has built up a thirst, Company Drinks have an honesty fridge of foraged community-made drinks from their East London based social enterprise. Great Yarmouth is a town surrounded by liquid of another kind – rivers, seas and broads – so it felt fitting to invite James Aldridge to showcase a piece from his Queer River project that explores the link between identity and blue spaces.
To close the show at the Summer Solstice weekend, Jason Evans will be hosting a series of Photowalks on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th June, whilst displaying some facilitated photography in the exhibition from The Garden Gate Project in Margate.
Alongside these artists, you can find informative displays from Climate Museum UK, sharing the impacts of the climate crisis and what we can do to reverse the damage. There will be growing, living and evolving displays. Audiences are invited to bring along a small bunch of locally (and responsibly!) picked flowers, as part of the Theatre of Posies display. When you bring your posie along, you’ll be asked to pop them in a decorated jar of water and we’ll then arrange them in the space.
James Aldridge (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
As well as things to see, there are also a series of arts & nature events coming up in June. You can find all of these events listed in our latest newsletter and below, along with how you can take part.
We hope to see you there!
Arts & Nature Events
Yarmouth Springs Eternal Conference
LIMITED AVAILABILITY
The Yarmouth Springs Eternal conference will explore relationships, perceptions and experiences of connecting with the natural world through the arts. It’ll feature presentations from the featured exhibition artists and a Q&A. During the conference, we’ll also explore establishing a network of artists working with nature and parts of the day will be live-streamed online.
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!
Yarmouth Springs Eternal community pamphlet made from a workshop with Red Herring Press (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
Theatre of Posies (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
Exhibition space cyanotype prints from a community walk_workshop with Genevieve Rudd, and Company Drinks (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
All events are taking place at PRIMEYARC, Market Gates Shopping Centre, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 2BG and are planned to follow and adhere to COVID-19 guidelines. Information on accessibility guidance is available on the event links
Kaavous Clayton of originalprojects;, who are a partner on the Yarmouth Springs Eternal project and will be hosting the exhibition at PRIMEYARC, a space they manage for creative communal collaborations in the former Debenhams in Market gates Shopping Centre, shares some of his thoughts about Yarmouth Springs Eternal and the curation of the exhibition.
Optimistic Antidote
Kaavous Clayton at a Yarmouth Springs Eternal session (image credit_Becky Demmen)
After a year of not being able to do what we do, Yarmouth Springs Eternal has felt like an optimistic antidote to being shut away from people and not being to collaborate in any way that has felt meaningful (online experiences just don’t quite do it for me). It has been so nice to see the group that Genevieve has been working with come into PRIMEYARC to work with artists in the landscape of Great Yarmouth.
In the back of my mind thoughts have been swirling about the exhibition. Genevieve and I started talking about possible artists at some point last year, thinking about people who work to connect nature with communities, bringing them together to create something that speaks of both, and also creates something new. We’ve had conversation with some of those artists about the physical things they might show, and also had some thoughts about other things that might be relevant to show alongside them – things like wormeries, dried flowers, a theatre of posies, some pickling and fermentation (Jules, who I live, love and work with, makes some great analogies around the cultures that grow while fermenting and the culture we live in).
We’ve also had thoughts about what the exhibition might look like and how it might work – we’ve had conversations about how a ‘village hall’ aesthetic might make it feel more relaxed and informal, and recently ideas around garden design and the labels used in nurseries for plants have been discussed.
Working through exhibition materials (image credit_Becky Demmen)
And I find myself starting to have a clear picture of what the exhibition could look like and how I’d arrange it, but I keep having to check myself, because this project is about working with people, and whilst we all have our own ideas, it’s what happens to those ideas when they’re put out into the world for other people to respond to, and to come back with their thoughts, so it’s going to develop through a sharing of these ideas with the Yarmouth Springs Eternal group, and seeing what ideas they come up with in response.
Analogies from the natural word are hard to resist whilst thinking about this project, and here’s one in relation to creating collaboratively. Regardless of however many systems we try to put in place to restrict peoples organic ways of thinking and living, we always find a way to go round them, or under them, or over them, in the same way that nature always finds a way to overcome our manmade obstructions, which is hardly surprising, as we are nature after all.
Using pieces created as part of the community artist-led community walks/workshops to create a display for the exhibition (image_credit Becky Demmen)
EVENTS COMING SOON!
Find out details of our upcoming events below. If you would like to stay informed of all of the latest information about these events, then you can sign up to our newsletter. You can see our first newsletter here, it’s the best way to get an over view of all of the events below.
EXHIBITION – WEDNESDAY 19TH MAY TO SUNDAY 20TH JUNE 2021
PRIMEYARC, Market Gates Shopping Centre, Great Yarmouth, NR30 2BG | Open daily: Monday-Saturday 12pm to 5:30pm + Sunday 12pm-4:30pm
Ligia Macedo talking to the group at Great Yarmouth’s medieval flint wall (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
Collecting words
In our fourth session, Ligia Macedo guided us through some gentle creative writing exercises to support the group to express their thoughts, feelings and ideas through words. We begun with a couple of socially distanced warm-up exercises, spread across the PRIMEYARC venue space, before heading out on our local walk.
First, the group read and responded to nature writing and images; pinned to the walls were texts from Maya Angelou, Emily Dickenson, Tu Pac and William Wordsworth, amongst others, alongside images of paradise beaches, chips stalls, buildings and rivers from around the world. The group was invited to jot down their immediate responses anonymously on Post It notes, as a way to start tapping into expressing ideas through words. Then, Ligia invited us to think about the sensory experience of our own morning so far, from the moment we woke up to when we arrived at the space. We soon started to build up a collection of words connected to the senses and nature.
Ligia has a great approach that recognises that often people can freeze up when they are asked to take part in “creative writing”, so the warm-ups were a good way to get us thinking.
Noticing Hidden Histories
Looking up at Great Yarmouth’s medieval flint wall (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
We set out on our walk mid-morning, from our base at Market Gates to the Medieval flint town wall. As with most of our walks to date, they’re slow, gentle and meandering, with lots of stopping points to share some local knowledge, take a photo or admire a building or plant. We noticed architectural features, self-seeded plants growing in the doorways, crumbling brickwork and spotted the same pink flowered hedge that we’d seen on a previous walk through Cobholm.
During our journey, we each had a series of coloured card sheets asking us to document different aspects of the locations, not just the things we could see but also the things we could hear, smell and touch. So, naturally, there was some brickwork-stroking, tree-sniffing and tree-hugging along the way!
The flint wall is visually stunning and enjoyable to touch, and it is also seeped in deep history. Ligia and the group swapped knowledge of the wall between each other. The group also thought more about the people involved in the construction, and we put ourselves in the shoes of the local communities building the wall for over 100 years. We wondered about the brickwork and structure, and how different generations would’ve brought different skills and attitudes to the project.
The group found a spot along Blackfriars Road, under a large candelabra-like tree beside the wall, to reflect on the sensory experiences of our walk so far. One of our group members shared that she felt anxious when walking through town as it was busy – which others in the group agreed with – but sitting under the tree, she felt calmer. As a final activity, before heading back for lunch, Ligia gifted us 5 minutes of silence simply touching, smelling, looking at and hearing the world around us.
Collective writing
Sharing words and phrases from the day with Ligia Macedo (image credit Genevieve Rudd)
After lunch (which tapped into our 5th sense – taste!), we brought all the ideas together from the day on a long sheet of paper, writing down our favourite lines or words from the nature writing examples, our morning sensory experiences and the sights, sounds and smells from our walk. From this, the group created a collaborative community poem, called ‘Uma escritor (a writer)’. I won’t share it here, you’ll have to visit the exhibition to read it!
It was brilliant to spend the day tuning into our sensory experiences. I was especially inspired to think about how the everyday locations – from the busy town centre to Great Yarmouth’s old wall, and the buildings and houses in between – are so rich with hidden stories. And how, with just a few simple accessible activities, an inspiring creative writing can blossom. Our group shared some thoughtful anonymous reflections at the end of the day:
“Today’s session was relaxed, creative and a good reminder of what we have to appreciate”
“Muito interessante, criativa, por causa da troca de ideias” / Really interesting, creative, because of the exchange of ideas”
“Every session has thus far been good. I have felt my creative side coming out more and am inspired after every group”
Events coming sooN!
Find out details of our upcoming events below. If you would like to stay informed of all of the latest information about these events, then you can sign up to our newsletter. Our first update will be going out this Friday!
EXHIBITION – WEDNESDAY 19TH MAY TO SUNDAY 20TH JUNE 2021
PRIMEYARC, Market Gates Shopping Centre, Great Yarmouth, NR30 2BG | Open daily: Monday-Saturday 12pm to 5:30pm + Sunday 12pm-4:30pm
Under Breydon Bridge (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
We were led by photographer Mark Cator for our third artist-led walk/workshop session. He began his session with a photography presentation of Great Yarmouth, with a focus on the life and culture around Breydon Water since the 1800s. Mark is an expert on the photographer P H Emerson, having grown up around the Norfolk Broads, so much of the presentation explored this historic work alongside Mark’s own photography. It was fascinating to track the changes based on local landmarks, such as the Town Hall and river, which gave us a good starting point before heading out on our walk, picking up the start of the Angles Way walking route.
Links to Landscape
Angles Way walking route (image credit_Genevieve Rudd)
One of our group members had a strong personal link to the area, having grown up and lived on the edge of Breydon Water for many years, which enriched the day with lots of insider local knowledge. Mark had some of his own photography from the area taken around the 1990s, that we used to compare and contrast on location. Even when the group didn’t have a personal connection to the landscape we were walking within, it triggered early memories. One of our participants had spent time in Alaska when he was younger and remembered eating Fiddlehead Ferns, a memory sparked during a conversation about the abundant edible Alexanders around us. Another participant had grown up in South Africa and remembered childhoods exploring vast landscapes. We spoke about how, in the context of Norfolk, Breydon Water looks vast but even here, we’re still not far from houses, shops, trains and roads.
We were blessed with bright sunshine and blue skies, so it felt like the perfect day to relax by the water, talking and sharing stories, sitting low to the ground to keep away from the cool wind once we reached Breydon Water. Mark 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. After basking in the sun, chatting and taking some photos, we walked back into town for lunch.
Reviewing & recording
Screening of Sara reading P H Emerson (image credit Genevieve Rudd)
In the afternoon, we had a screening of the group’s reading Mark had recorded on location, which audiences will be able to see at our exhibition in May and June Thanks to our project assistant Moyses Gomes for translating extracts of the text into Portuguese too. Once we’d all been embarrassed by seeing ourselves on the big screen (!) Mark had a final activity to bring our conversations, walking and experiences from the day together. We thought about the lines found at Breydon Water – horizon, jetty, posts, clouds – and created a long collaborative monochrome drawing. The page was populated with words extracted from the P H Emerson text, some of which are now lost in history. Some of our multilingual group members also translated selected words to add into the drawing, alongside line drawings in graphite and charcoal.
It was a relaxed and sunny day, filled with conversations and images from the past and present. Our group members had lots of positive things to say about the session:
“The photos of the areas at the beginning were essential and a good opener to the walk and observation in the nature”
“Quite relaxing and pleasant I’d say. Photography is not one of my skills, but I enjoyed meeting you guys”
“I really enjoyed unexplored areas of Great Yarmouth”
Events coming sooN!
Find out details of our upcoming events below. If you would like to stay informed of all of the latest information about these events, then you can sign up to our newsletter. Our first update will be going out in a couple of weeks time.
EXHIBITION – WEDNESDAY 19TH MAY TO SUNDAY 20TH JUNE 2021
PRIMEYARC, Market Gates Shopping Centre, Great Yarmouth, NR30 2BG | Open daily: Monday-Saturday 12pm to 5:30pm + Sunday 12pm-4:30pm
Exploring the Cemetery with Georgie Manly (image credit_Moyses Gomes)
In our first session when asked where the group would visit to experience nature around town, the most popular answer was Great Yarmouth Cemetery. Therefore it made sense to make the Cemetery our walk destination for our second session guided by guest artist Georgie Manly.
EXPLORING & OBSERVING
Drawing in the Cemetery (image credit_Moyses Gomes)
We headed out from our meeting place in Market Gates Shopping Centre, through the market and towards the Minster. The walk was filled with the sound of alarms, sirens and dogs barking, so reaching the Minster and Cemetery grounds felt especially peaceful. After swapping facts about the history of the building, we explored the space individually with some prompts from Georgie. She suggested we focus on a plant to create a study with words and sketches, from observations, memories and stories or facts we already knew about it we welcomed into the mix.
After some initial sketching, we moved into the Old Cemetery, past a gathering of seagulls and pigeons fighting over bread crumbs and into the windy tree lined space. We then created a second plant study in this wilder location. Many of the group members were drawn in by the gnarled trees, pretty Spring primroses and rambling ivy vines. One of our participants shared a beautiful poem she had written in Portuguese, which she translated to the group in English. She spoke about the connection between humans and plants, and how we share so much in our life cycles, and Georgie suggested that the graveyard environment can often inspire deep reflections on life.
To round off our time at the Cemetery, we had a go at drawing with scissors, cutting shapes from coloured paper inspired by our plants studies, which we then embedded into the landscape. For me, this felt like the most magical part of the day. The group was tentative at first and we spoke about what a strange thing it was to do. However, after a little while, we had soon curated a pop-up exhibition of colourful shapes, and included papier mache recycled vessels one of our group members brought along to show us. The whole arrangement was made even more surreal by the dead rat laying face up under the tree nearby, but it was fun and lively because of its spontaneousness and playful energy in what could’ve been a solemn space if it wasn’t for the Spring plants bursting into life around us.
After carefully removing our paper shapes and making sure the location was left how we found it, we went back for a spot of lunch from the market. We reviewed our morning walk and created a new arrangement using the things we had made, drawn and found in the Cemetery. Georgie is very good at gently encouraging creative engagement and the group soon curated another arrangement, this one even more beautifully odd and eclectic than the last! We took part in large scale still-life drawing with charcoal and coloured ink to finish off our day, with some slow looking, quick 1 minute sketching and added collaged elements of our drawn shapes.
Still-life drawing and found object arrangement with Georgie Manly (image credit_Moyses Gomes)
It was brilliant to work with Georgie and see how her influence sparked fresh creativity with the Yarmouth Springs Eternal community group. I think the final charcoal collaged drawings show the free and playful energy she brought out from the group.
Look out for Georgie’s creative prompts and ideas, alongside our other guest artists, in the Yarmouth Springs Eternal creative resource booklet, which will launch at the Summer Solstice. It will be filled with ways to engage with the outdoors and natural world, inspired by the community events this Spring. You can also see all of the artwork produced by the community group in our exhibition at PRIMEYARC, Market Gates Shopping Centre in Great Yarmouth from 19th May to 20th June. You can find out more about the exhibition by visiting the Norfolk & Norwich Festival website.
Out and about
Here are some other places you can find the project:
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