More New Town Pioneers

As part of the ACE Creative People and Place, Made in Corby taster events Barb Jungr, Head of Snakes, Gareth Fuller and the Deep Roots Tall Trees Choir went on a mini tour of community venues in Corby. It was a wonderful week of singing and bonding, sharing music together so by the Saturday we were feeling much more tight and together. However there is still much work to do, Choir Master Gareth Fuller will be stripping our parts in all the songs right back and rebuilding our sound, working on blend, breathing and phrasing. In the coming months there are more exciting plans afoot for the project. Some of the choir have started working with Barb to develop a new song for the new sequence, which is proving to be a fabulous new journey into an unknown land for me! The further we go on the more I realise how little I know, how much there is to learn and what a joy singing is proving to be.

Photo - Kate Dyer

"What a brilliant 4 days in Corby with lovely people, musicians, singers, writers and friends alike - am just home through the winds and thinking - how fabulous that was. Thank you all for your care, time and thoughtfulness. The Deep Roots Tall Trees project is life changing." Barb Jungr

You can see a film about the Deep Roots Tall Trees Project here

You can see a wonderful film about Barb Jungr's the inspiration behind and the making of her new work Hard Rain here. 

There will be a chance to see the show at The Core, Corby

FRIDAY 16 MAY 7.30pm

Barb Jungr

An evening to celebrate Barb Jungr's new album Hard Rain, featuring the music of icons Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Songs include, A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall, A Thousand Kisses Deep, Chimes Of Freedom, Its Alright Ma I'm Only Bleeding, First We Take Manhattan and more.

"BARB IS POSSIBLY OUR GREATEST INTERPRETER OF DYLAN'S SONGS" BILLY BRAGG

To book tickets ring box office on 01536 470470

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

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

Creating the Origami Fleet

For our second Transported Art public engagement day Phiona Richards and I were Eloquently Folding in a walkway in the Springfields Shopping Centre. This was a challenging venue as many people were from outside of Lincolnshire and were set on shopping and it took all our inventiveness to encourage the passing public to engage with us! 

Before arriving we decided we need eye-catching head gear so Phiona bedecked a straw hat with flowers and I made a very loud, very large floral band. To draw people in further we sat on the Transported deck chairs or stood folding origami boats, gradually building a small flotilla in front of out stand. As the day progressed people became intrigued rather than alarmed by our colourful presence.

Whilst folding our researchers were able to ask

"How would you like to be Transported?"

Participants with their hinking caps on!

This was a difficult pitch but as you can see, by the end of the day we were 

swapping hats and stories, creating boats, sharing laughter and ideas. 

Phiona demonstrated just how skilful her paper folding is 

with these delightful, tiny paper boats!

We wanted to create a fleet of origami boats, which would hark back to ships, sailing, export, import, exploration and adventure, all elements we associated with the history of the area. 

The boats were installed on a reflective surface the Transported Pop-up Shop in Boston. Participants had a range of delightful materials to work with, many of which had had another life or purpose. 

We included maps and stamps in order to draw out memories and reflections of travel, place of origin, destinations and dreams, all of which we saw as being at the heart of Transported.

There are times when we all feel stuck but access to the arts offers people the opportunity to take the imaginative journeys, which can transform lives, enriching our interaction with the world and each other. The boats are a symbol of the journeys Transported Art hope to create and that the community can join with.

You can see Flickr sets from this activity here and here 

Wish You Were Here

Wish you Were Here! was a Postcard Making Public Engagement Activity for Transported Art by The Eloquent Fold - Phiona Richards and I at Gedney Hill Community Centre, July 2013. Transported is a community focused arts engagement programme for the people of Boston Borough and South Holland. 

Phiona and I normally work individually as freelance artists or in other collaborative pairings but wanted to work collaboratively during the consultation stage of Transported. For our engagement activities we worked together as The Eloquent Fold. We were drawn together by a love of text, books, maps, fabric, history, journeys, exploration, photography, making and doing. Phiona contacted me one Sunday morning just as I was about to look at the Transported call out for artists to see if we might work together on a proposal. We decided it would be wise to go to the preliminary drop-in session in  Boston to find out more and to introduce ourselves. Phiona took on the role as scribe whilst I asked the questions we felt we needed to ask and already it became apparent we were a great team! During our 

Transported formally launched on Sunday 5 May in Holbeach, beginning a community consultation phase which will inform the programme proper that is delivered from September 2013 onwards.

Whilst making their postcards the participants were interviewed by the Transported Researchers who had a range of structured questions, my favourite being "If you had £1000 to spend on an arts event or activity in your area what would you choose?". 

The answers will shape the Transported Art program over the next three years and should give the community greater access to the arts.

With the decline of the letter writing 

we are always thrilled to receive something 

through the post other than a bill or junk mail.

The postcard will be a reminder to the participants of the creative times to come and by communicating their expectations we can all raise awareness about the value of the arts in strengthening and enriching community life, giving pleasure, building confidence and raising aspirations.

You can see Flickr sets from this workshop here and here