The r̶a̶d̶i̶c̶a̶l fundamental act of talking and listening.
Welcoming and engaging live events acting as a catalyst for something much deeper: safe and comfortable spaces uniting each other for open and honest exchange and idea sharing, allowing chat to turn into discoveries, revelations and challenges that might just lead to better understanding of yourself, each other and the whole wide world.
'And a Vital Connection Is Made' "Walk and talk through the countryside in search of a phone signal to hear a specially created online playlist centred around the theme of loneliness. Then pay homage to the community vibe of the 90s rave scene by dancing together. 'And A Vital Connection Is Made' celebrates the power of both human and internet connection to bring us together." From the Od Fest programme. Photos by Amelia Carvell and Vickie Fear.
(or Do Lone Workers Dream Of Office Parties?) Part of Antiuniversity Festival 2019, I brought together artists, the self employed and anyone who feels as though they work alone for bonding and discussions around self help, community and financial precarity. The workshop culminated in an office party. We wore hats.
Ongoing area of study exploring independence/ loneliness. Encouraging other lone wolves to chat to me and each other so we can form a pack. Social Works?: Live, Manchester Met.
Indie whisky tastings as a means of alternative art education. "Indie bottlers have forged a solid reputation on their ability to do what the big brands often can't: experiment. By taking risks and rocking The Establishment - often by encompassing ideas seemingly unrelated to whisky/their specific area of study - they create weird and wonderful tastes interesting people from many walks of life while furthering their core cause and remaining fresh, relevant and vital."
Continuing area of study. Performed at Jamboree. Photos, Andy Ford. "By necessity and nature I’m very independent. But no matter how keen my eye or sharp my tooth, lone wolfing it can be just that: lonely. This Walk & Talk will form a pack of individuals to roam their new territory and bond through howls, discussing the reasons that have made each person so independent which although a seemingly highly prized human skill, can prove more of a curse than a blessing for your inner canis lupus."
A participatory live piece encouraging everyone to sensorially savour the present, while the increasingly tea-spoilt cardboard coasters remind us that there's no time for a tea break after you're dead.
(and some unwritten) Made from red toffee during a live performance (a sweet that my now dead nan taught me to make), each subsequent melting twist and turn mimics the seven movements those little palm-wrigglling Christmas cracker Fortune Teller Fish project on to us but do not know themselves. Each fish's path is the same as the next in theory, but no life is born of the same mould...
Whisky: The Spiritual Art Of Getting An Artist Out Of Their Head. Mind too work-focused to realise your body is freezing/starving/knackered? Then you definitely need a dram.. Uniting lone working, whisky drinking artists usually locked inside their own thoughts and studios, this sensory weekend workshop will use whisky as both medium and catalyst to renew your mind-body connection. Because an artist cannot exist as a head alone.
"Let's Talk Celebration!" Greetings cards are universally understood as a way of celebrating specific occasions. But more often than not, it’s the occasion defying co/incidental moments that are the ones worth celebrating. Participants shared their unique moments with me through an inmate 1-2-1 chat. We then collaboratively made a personal and be”spoke” card celebrating that remembered moment, the person themselves, and everything that brought us together right here and now.