Pop-up Shop, Transported Art, Holbeach

This was one of The Eloquent Fold's favourite venues

the space had been transformed by artist / co-ordinator Carol Parker

and a team of local artists and we were delighted to see more work by Angela Daymond who runs Fenland Textile Studio and had been introducing local people to the delights of dying with woad. We had had the pleasure of working with Angela during our day at Crowland Garden Centre.

During the course of the day we learnt just how 

much this venue and the summer of creative activities 

had meant to the local community.

When asked many of the adults said they would 

love to volunteer to help run the space in the future

saying that "this has been a life saver, we wouldn't have got through the summer with Carol, the other artists and the Pop-up Shop!". Children in the area are lively, creative, bustling but the town centre seems quiet, with many shops that have closed. Sadly both Pop-up Shops connected with the Transported Art Engagement Program were only ever envisaged as temporary. 

This shop in Holbeach was a rare gem of a space, a beating heart, a place that drew the community to it in a profound and meaningful way. You can get a flavour of this magical space and how the Eloquent Fold engaged with the community in this Flickr set 

However the redoubtable Carol Parker and fellow artist Amylee Handmade have transformed a new space, unconnected with Transported Art, in Spalding. If you are in the area check out for Art On the High Street, 24 The Crescent, Town Centre, Spalding PE11 1AF which will be open for three months from 14th October.

Transported Art Pop-up Shop, Boston

Market Day in Boston

The Eloquent Fold were back in Transported Art Pop-up Shop

It was a hub of fun and activity

as participants were invited to draw and paint

on unwanted book papers

Phiona and I were also delighted to have the 

opportunity to meet Dan Thompson

the founder of the Empty Shops Network

We shared stories, we investigated wishes and dreams for the arts in Boston and South Holland, we had fun and hopefully encouraged local people to make their mark!

You can see images from the day here

Summer

I have been spending much of the summer 

working on a mosaic way marker project 

for Back To Books, if you'd like to follow the 

progress of this project you can find all the links here

Deep Roots, Tall Trees - A Race Against the Rain

It was a race against the rain in Coronation Park on Saturday evening, as we all came together on stage the clouds gathered amongst the deep roots and tall trees. After some safety advice in case of rain, Barb Jungr guided Corby Community Choir  fearlessly through our songs. Rumour has it that you could hear us in the town centre. The children playing and dancing, friends, family and community members who came to see us made it a very special evening. We had to start a little early so some of the audience missed the set but the atmosphere was wonderful and our celebrations later that evening showed once again that people in Corby just know how to have the best time!

Barb Jungr and Gareth Fuller

Mark Brennan

Eddie Askew and Annette Driver

Kate Dyer and Barb getting us organised!

Paul Balmer

Photograph byTerrence Driver

"We had a ball at Coronation Park - the weather - frankly - sucked - but we sang and played and triumphed. Thank you Gareth Fuller, Kate Dyer, Rosalind Stoddart, Mark Brennan, Nick Finn, all the choir and Head of Snakes." Barb Jungr

You can catch the full magic of Barb Jungr performing Form Stockport to Memphis, a selection of songs including those of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Northern Soul and much more at the Queen's Hall, Edinborough, August 21st. We were lucky enough to see this at The Core earlier this year, it's a treat for the ears and a tonic for the heart!

Photograph by Andrew Rushton

The choir is guided by Gareth Fuller who has done much work to improve our breathing, blend and confidence since our first performance last year. It is a wonderful way to spend time with a great group of people doing something that really boosts wellbeing and happiness! The choir is taking a break until September but will be rehearsing back at the Core on Friday evenings after that, if you would like to join us please contact Kate Dyer at Corby Community Arts for more details. 

Barb Jungr Presents Deep Roots Tall Trees - Free Concert in Coronation Park July 27th

Come and see the fabulous, inspirational Barb Jungr, the mighty Head of Snakes, the awesome Gareth Fuller and the very excited Corby Community Choir who will be performing in Coronation Park on Saturday!

Sewing the Seeds

Phiona Richards and I took this activity to two venues Spalding Library and Crowland Garden Centre. We were originally due to work on a stall in Spalding Market but on the day of our visit the weather took a massive turn for the worse, wind, rain, leaden skies. 

Before we set out we made frantic calls to Nicola our Transported Art Coordinator to see what could be done. Thankfully Spalding Library were delighted to offer us a space in the entrance so there would be no escaping us!

Participants were invited create seed packets and flowers

 from maps / recycled papers, personal memorabilia, local ephemera,

found papers and were able to choose how much layering and complexity would be involved in their design.

The a seed packets were filled with bee friendly British wild flower seeds which they could take away and plant. The planting aspect is both a symbolic and practical transformative activity. Through this activity we hope to show people that they have the power to transform lives and neglected spaces. 

We were situated in the Restaurant at Crowland Garden Centre and were further challenged as the venue had been cut off from the main traffic by the relatively new by-pass. It's hard to bounce up to people and interupt their lunch and their social time but by taking a basket of seed packets to the tables we were able to overcome many barriers and met some wonderful people. 

You can set Flickr sets from this activity here and here

Pin A Petal

For this Transported Art engagement activity Phiona Richards and I found ourselves in Wyberon Parish Hall, once the sat-nav managed to make sense of the lay of the land! We were in a great community space which, in many ways, was tucked away from the community. There was a team of Social Workers having a training day in another room, so tantalising to have so many people in the building but unfortunately they didn't have a spare moment to join us. We did meet some wonderful local family members who spent a very happy and productive afternoon folding and shaping paper with us.

Participants created abstract flower corsages  

from maps / recycled or fabric papers, personal memorabilia,

 local ephemera, found papers, button and brads.

We have been living in a throwaway society, 

through this activity we hoped to show people 

that they have the power to transform unwanted papers

into something beautiful.

You can see the Flickr set from this activity here