Junction Arts | Limestone Journeys Year 1

Junction Arts is one of the nine partners in Limestone Journeys, an exciting Heritage Lottery Funded project.(HLF)

Limestone Journeys Year 1

Junction Arts is one of the nine partners in Limestone Journeys, an exciting Heritage Lottery Funded (HLF) project. This Landscape Partnership grant brings £2.9 million into the scheme area. Junction Arts has been a major contributor in this bid.

Year 1 Limestone Journeys

Junction Arts Project Co-ordinator: Val Carman

The first year of The Derbyshire Magnesian Limestone Landscape project Limestone Journeys has been successfully completed with Junction Arts running 9 projects between April and December 2011. Our creative projects are designed to bring new skills and individuality to our participants, taking place in schools, colleges, local communities and with the general public. There are also commissioned artworks designed for site-specific installation and performance.

Here is a brief synopsis of the projects delivered by Junction Arts in Year 1:

First Light: Students from Frederick Gent School and Shirebrook Academy in Derbyshire worked with artists Val Carman and Tim Haynes to produce the logo for the Limestone Journeys five-year programme.  An exhibition was held at Creswell Crags and T-shirts and postcards were produced to support the final work.

(See pictures of the students work exhibited at Creswell Crags below.)

The Way: Film: Commissioned work produced by participants, associated artists, and artistic director Caroline Bagnall from First Movement in Rowsley. Adults with learning disabilities were engaged in the making of a film and related music based on research visits to Creswell Crags and the surrounding site. The film was shown at The Festival of the Environment on October 23 2011 at Creswell Crags.

Drawing the Way: Maps: An introduction into how maps provide information from the past to the present. A particular emphasis was placed on how we use maps to understand the evolution and changing state of the landscape and its contours. Research will include visits to specific sites so as to provide physical references. This project was delivered by artist Adrian Riley with pupils from Whaley Thorns Junior School. Their work was exhibited at The Festival of the Environment on October 23 2011 at Creswell Crags.

Resonance: Sound: This project was designed to bring an element of theatre to The Festival of the Environment celebratory event day. Working with the naturally occurring sounds of the area, participants developed a different understanding of their environment and surroundings. By observing and recording these sounds, the children built a new relationship with the natural beauty of the area, and were encouraged to make contemporary instruments and recordings.  This project was delivered by Mitch Oldham and Angus Mcleod and supported at the event by Buxton Samba Band.

The Listening: Voices: This project will now take place in Year 2 2012. People from a local community will be invited to form a choir, and with the expertise of a composer/choir leader will engage in a series of workshops to create a new song celebrating the area. The materials will reference the delicate nature of the land and how intervention, if not managed carefully, will make it a more fragile place.

The Whispering Gallery: Visitors: A participatory event for The Festival of the Environment celebration day in October, which brought visitors closer to the Limestone Journeys project. Participants and visitors were invited to record their experiences and journeys. This work was developed by sound artist Simon Tew to produce a CD of all related sounds from this and other projects.

Meeting Place: Willow artist Rachel Carter was commissioned as an artist in residence at Creswell Crags, creating public artworks that were temporarily installed at Creswell Crags during Autumn/Winter 2011. Working onsite, members of the local community and the general public were able to get involved at all stages of the process and learn how an artist prepares, designs and installs such work.

Strands: Industrial Revolution: A celebration of one of the forgotten industries of the areas. Artist Jan Flamank created a project showcasing how a basic craft can transfer skills and creativity through researching into the past workers of the Vyella company based at Pleasley Mills. This project offered an opportunity for local people to become community leaders and develop groups for local skill sharing. The work produced formed part of a touring exhibition in 2012, displayed in Mansfield Woodhouse Library from Feb 16th-March 29th, and then at Ladybrook library until April 19^th 2012.

Traces: Communication. Antony Bek school worked with professional writer/artist Andy Messer on an ‘Ice Age’ radio broadcasting service. Designed for rural schools both locally and in other related areas to investigate their local landscape and its history, in Year 1 the project included working with Cassop School in Durham who are situated in a similar Magnesian Limestone landscape. This brought an exciting new dimension to the project of relationship building with organisations in other parts of the UK and beyond.

In Year 2 Junction Arts will have the opportunity to deliver 11 projects, some of which are to be progressed from Year 1.

See pictures here of the students work exhibited at Creswell Crags