Thursday 3rd June 2021 to
Saturday 5th June 2021
A creative programme featuring new artworks and performances created in response to the rich heritage, forgotten stories and hidden histories of Gravesham riverfront.
FREE | Suitable for all ages
LV21 together with a crew of creative professionals and volunteers from the surrounding community have been examining the theme of SILT: “...soil that is carried along by flowing water and then dropped at a bend in a river or at a river’s opening…”
SILTings explores the Gravesend’s boundary at the edge of the River Thames, by sifting through metaphorical silt and in so doing, dredging deeper into the layered sediment of untold tales left behind by the rushing tides and strong currents passing by.
Commissioned artists and performers working with local people of all ages, embarked on a creative journey to discover, capture and bring to life the forgotten stories and histories of Gravesham that have over time, sunk deep into the riverbed.
SILTings brings back to life the memories of mudlarks digging for treasure and calls of the shrimpers returning with their hauls, the creaking timbers and flapping sails of their boats, stormy seas and tidal surges, mixed with soundscapes, projections, lights, visual displays, contemporary music and dance to create a fascinating, immersive experience showcased online here and aboard LV21 and the surrounding riverfront during Estuary 2021 festival period in early June 2021.
A series of family-friendly participatory workshops, talks and walks led by artists accompany the project.
Participating artists and new commissions include:
12 POINTS OF TIDE – Drawing inspiration from descriptors within the Beaufort scale, 12 Points of Tide is a new mini opera, written and composed by Opera Activist Tania Holland Williams, that explores the corrosive and additive qualities of tidal movement, through the eyes of Mona, Minor Goddess of the Silty Waterways.
FILAMENTS – Filaments Art Collective is a group of five north Kent based contemporary artists - Elizabeth Burman, Karen Crosby, Rosie James, Ruth Payne and Linda Simon. Using local people, places and their stories as inspiration the artists have created an immersive installation combining visual displays with light and projections aboard LV21.
SHRIMPERS & MUDLARKS – A collaboration by textile artist / illustrator Nicola Flower and dancer / choreographer Daisy Farris inspired by a photograph from ‘Fishermen from the Kentish shore,’ where a woman stands alone on Bawley Bay in Gravesend looking out to the river from the bank of the Thames.
TRAIL OF THE BLUE PORCUPINE – A collaboration by poet James M'Kay and artist Sarah Sparkes inspired by the mysterious Blue Porcupine, a prominent symbol of Gravesend featured in the Gravesham’s Coat of Arms since medieval times.
And much more...
Full details of the programme of activities and timings available on the event website from 10 May.
SILTings is one of four Creative Estuary commissioned creative cultural projects with Estuary-based producers and artists, to contribute to the Associated Programme for Estuary 2021.
About the organisation
LV21 is based aboard a historic, 40 metre steel-hulled lightship transformed into a floating art space and performance facility, currently moored on the River Thames in Gravesend.
It’s an arts, culture, education and heritage organisation that specialises in community participatory site-specific work across art-forms, working in close collaboration with creative professionals and a variety of organisations, community groups and individuals of all ages and abilities to encourage active participation and empower participants to get involved with innovative cultural projects that affect positive social change.
Photo: Gary Weston
Suitable for all ages
LV21 together with a crew of creative professionals and volunteers from the surrounding community have been examining the theme of SILT: “...soil that is carried along by flowing water and then dropped at a bend in a river or at a river’s opening…”
SILTings explores the Gravesend’s boundary at the edge of the River Thames, by sifting through metaphorical silt and in so doing, dredging deeper into the layered sediment of untold tales left behind by the rushing tides and strong currents passing by.
Commissioned artists and performers working with local people of all ages, embarked on a creative journey to discover, capture and bring to life the forgotten stories and histories of Gravesham that have over time, sunk deep into the riverbed.
SILTings brings back to life the memories of mudlarks digging for treasure and calls of the shrimpers returning with their hauls, the creaking timbers and flapping sails of their boats, stormy seas and tidal surges, mixed with soundscapes, projections, lights, visual displays, contemporary music and dance to create a fascinating, immersive experience showcased online here and aboard LV21 and the surrounding riverfront during Estuary 2021 festival period in early June 2021.
A series of family-friendly participatory workshops, talks and walks led by artists accompany the project.
Participating artists and new commissions include:
12 POINTS OF TIDE
Drawing inspiration from descriptors within the Beaufort scale, 12 Points of Tide is a new mini opera, written and composed by Opera Activist Tania Holland Williams, that explores the corrosive and additive qualities of tidal movement, through the eyes of Mona, Minor Goddess of the Silty Waterways.
FILAMENTS
Filaments Art Collective is a group of five north Kent based contemporary artists - Elizabeth Burman, Karen Crosby, Rosie James, Ruth Payne and Linda Simon. Using local people, places and their stories as inspiration the artists have created an immersive installation combining visual displays with light and projections aboard LV21.
SHRIMPERS & MUDLARKS - A collaboration by textile artist / illustrator Nicola Flower and dancer / choreographer Daisy Farris inspired by a photograph from ‘Fishermen from the Kentish shore,’ where a woman stands alone on Bawley Bay in Gravesend looking out to the river from the bank of the Thames.
TRAIL OF THE BLUE PORCUPINE
A collaboration by poet James M'Kay and artist Sarah Sparkes inspired by the mysterious Blue Porcupine, a prominent symbol of Gravesend featured in the Gravesham’s Coat of Arms since medieval times.
And much more...
Full details of the programme of activities and timings available on the event website from 10 May.
SILTings is one of four Creative Estuary commissioned creative cultural projects with Estuary-based producers and artists, to contribute to the Associated Programme for Estuary 2021.
About the organisation
LV21 is based aboard a historic, 40 metre steel-hulled lightship transformed into a floating art space and performance facility, currently moored on the River Thames in Gravesend.
It’s an arts, culture, education and heritage organisation that specialises in community participatory site-specific work across art-forms, working in close collaboration with creative professionals and a variety of organisations, community groups and individuals of all ages and abilities to encourage active participation and empower participants to get involved with innovative cultural projects that affect positive social change.
Photo: Gary Weston
