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A Weekend of Walkshops – The Collective Wye
April 6 – April 7
Saturday 6th April & Sunday 7th April 2024 We invite you to be inspired by the earth beneath our feet on a creative weekend of meandering, lingering and connection. Over the course of two days we will be guided through a series of activities, discussions and walkshops that will support our exploration of the environment in creative ways. As part of the Wye Valley River Festival, this weekend will allow us to collectively unearth thoughts, ideas, responses, and materials that we can develop and shape into a piece of work that will feature at the festival itself in May. This playful collaboration between people and land is open to anyone over the age of 18 who is interested in engaging with the environment in creative ways, regardless of background or experience. The weekend will involve being outside and moving for a large portion of the weekend. Please contact us if you have access needs that need additional support in order for you to attend. Practical Info: Both days are interconnected and we recommend that to gain the best experience you attend the whole weekend. The event is free to attend. Refreshments will be provided at the start of each day. You will be required to bring your own packed lunch and water. Saturday 6th April: 10am-8pm Most of this day will be outside and a large proportion of the day will be walking. At the start of the day we will meet at 10am St Saviour’s Church in Redbrook where we will start our journey learning about the wonders of soil through Nicola Goff’s co-created ‘earthen cloth’ printed using earth pigments. From here we will set off walking along the river and into the woods with discussion and prompts along the way. On entering the woods we will embark on a walkshop led by Sian Jones in which we will use theatre techniques and games to connect with our bodies, each other and the forest around us. We will explore, play and learn from natural wisdom. We will break for lunch and then continue our journey in a walkshop led by Ella Davies in which we will connect with the earth through gathering local clays and working in response to the material to sculpt a series of forest creatures. We will learn to respond intuitively with clay through listening, collaborating and walking through the stunning Wye Valley, AONB. Our forest spirits will be given as offerings to the waterfalls of Redbrook, where the clay will return to the earth. We will end this walkshop looping back down into the village and we will end the day with a fire, food and reflection starting at approximately 6.30pm. We aim for the day to be finished around 8pm. During this day you will also be given a sketchbook to record the experience in multiple ways. Sunday 7th April: 10.30am-2.30pm We will meet at 10.30am at St Saviour’s Church in Redbrook and from here take a short walk to a space where we will spend the morning connecting with the earth through spoken word and language on a walkshop that will guide us in creating both individual and collective poems for and from the earth. Parts of these poems will be incorporated into the earthen cloth at a later date. There will also be a period of reflection and sharing as part of this day and we will be using the sketchbooks from the previous day as part of this. We aim to finish this day at 2.30pm. From here everyone is welcome to join us at the Boat Inn for a purely social (non compulsory) late lunch and/or drink. The collective Wye wants you to feel comfortable in the knowledge that all footage is captured sensitively, by a professional film-maker and photographer, who respect your rights and privacy. The workshop will be filmed and participants will be invited to contribute and direct the process of filming as part of the event. A copy of the film and any photographs taken can be made available to you. However, all rights to the images are owned by the photographer. Registration and attendance implies acceptance of this information. Please direct any questions to thecollectivewye@gmail.com
