Future Archeology of Ebbsfleet

Alison Cooke has distributed 100 balls of clay from the Thames Estuary to locals for a project to make Future Archaeology.

The earth around Ebbsfleet and Swanscombe is famous for its archaeological finds. With this in mind, the people of Ebbsfleet have been asked to make an object with the clay, something that could show future generations a glimpse of the way we live now. Their creations will be fired and displayed on the estuary foreshore at Greenhithe, adjacent to the site the clay was dug. The makers can collect their pieces or contribute their work to Future Archaeology, by returning their ceramics to the mud for future archaeologists to find.

This project stems from Alison’s current research into the parallels between the past and present of the area, where histories repeat, overlap or come full circle.

The clay objects will be fired, and displayed on Greenhithe’s waterfront on Saturday 12 June at 13:00-17:00.

At 17:00 participants can choose either to take home their piece of ceramic or contribute to Future Archaeology, in which the remaining pieces will be placed in the estuary mud to be covered by the tide.

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.