Sidmouth School of Art, working with Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub invites the community to get creative and join in with two projects that bring a visual focus to the hopes and challenges of protecting the environment now and for the future.
Confluence – The River Sid and Its Tributaries is a public participation project which is inspiring, engaging and connecting children, young people and adults with nature. Working with the River Sid Catchment Group the project is helping to engage everyone to look after the Sid. Confluence brings nature, art, people, ideas, knowledge and action together to protect, conserve and enhance the river and its tributaries.
A series of Discovery Workshops have so far worked with over 200 children and older people through art workshops and river walks with Sidmouth and Sidbury Primary Schools and Sid Valley Memory Café, during Sidmouth Science Festival’s Super Science Saturday and at the recent “Life on the Hedge” event by the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group.
Confluence is exploring the biodiversity of the river and its challenges as well as the cultural heritage of the river Sid and it’s five tributaries Lincombe Stream, Shodbrook, Woolbrook, Roncombe Stream and Burscombe Brook.
Creatively the project is mapping stories, memories and awareness of the heritage, biodiversity and special place the river occupies in our community as part of the ecology of Sidmouth. The artwork co-created through the project, will be presented at the Riverside Art Space in the Sensory Garden in November.
Sidmouth School of Art’s Artistic Director Coco Hodgkinson said
“It has been such a delight to work with the primary schools and to create an opportunity for outdoor learning and connection with nature and to take the workshops to the Memory Cafe to discover how people enjoy the river.”
This new project designed to promote and encourage the whole community and visitors to our coastal community, to conserve and preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the River Sid and its tributaries – the life blood of the Sid Valley.
More info via our website Confluence - the River Sid and Art in the Environment for the Environment Its Tributaries | Sidmouth School Of Art
A second project is running in parallel and the community are also invited to take part through a series of COP 30 focused ink poster workshops.
The COP 30 project is gearing up to present Sidmouth’s visual response to local and global environmental concerns.
16 local and two Brazilian artists are involved in the project which was the brainchild of Lucia Cooper. Lucia who lives in Sidmouth and is from Brazil, where COP 30 will take place 11-21 November, approached Sidmouth School of Art with the idea for the project. A new artwork that expresses the land and seascapes, plants and animals that people love, has been made which also expresses concern to protect it for future generations.
The artwork will soon feature on Sidmouth’s unique outdoor public billboard gallery by the Ham - Sidmouth Wallspace. Additional COP 30 community artwork created through public art workshops will also feature in a new exhibition by the Ham.
The community - all ages, no booking needed, are invited to drop in for an hour to join in with the project and take part in free COP 30 ink poster workshops also at Dissenter of Sidmouth:
10am to 1pm Saturday 8th November
10am to 1pm Saturday 15th November
Louise Cole, Sidmouth School of Art said “This is an exciting opportunity through art, to respond to what happens at COP 30. It’s about expressing the care people here have for our environment and it is important that this ‘voice’ comes from communities. COP 30 organisers are hopeful that this year there will be a strong “Global Mobilisation” to add pressure to policy making internationally, but also to motivate everyone to responsibly look after the environment.”
More info via our website COP 30 | Sidmouth School Of Art
Supporting Art and Culture in the community…
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Donations to support Sidmouth School of Arts work can be made via SSA’s website Donate | Sidmouth School Of Art (sidmouthart.org).
Sidmouth School of Art is about creativity and wellbeing through art and culture. Co-founder David Shrigley, OBE: “Art is about discovering what something means to you and expressing what you think and feel.”
Encouraging and engaging with art and our creative selves is a path to wellbeing and happiness.