ELIZA

Drawing inspiration from C19 century poet Eliza Cook, artist Amy Pennington will perform a short piece to camera on the steps of Ingress Abbey where Eliza stayed, and a number of her works were written.

Self-educated as a child, Eliza published her first poetry collection aged 17, and went on to receive worldwide recognition writing poems, social essays, and her own radical bi-weekly publication Eliza’s Journal. An important figure in queer history, Eliza spent her life campaigning for both political and sexual freedom for women, while bucking gender stereotypes herself by dating women and favouring men’s clothing. A passionate believer in social justice, Eliza became known as the 'poet of the working classes' believing that everyone had the right to an education.

With the vast and rapid development of the surrounding area, the imposing and stunning Ingress Abbey now stands - unusually - within a large housing estate, prompting questions around change both socially and geographically.

ELIZA is available to watch online through Estuary 2021.

This Must Be the Place - Ebbsfleet Garden City

This project is part of This Must Be the Place, a three year programme Cement Fields has recently launched in Ebbsfleet Garden City. Working with artists and a wide range of partners, young people aged 16-25 will co-lead the programme, exploring and shaping Ebbsfleet Garden City as it is built. Together they will consider innovative and radical placemaking ideas with partners including architects, designers, philosophers and policy makers, and share their research on what has worked locally, nationally and internationally. This process will feed into a series of new and experimental art commissions and residencies, embedded in the city and community, connecting the histories and potential futures of the social, political, geographical and civic landscapes they live in.

This Must Be the Place is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation.