First gathering for creatives

Last night we held a first gathering for creatives at St Andrew's Wickford to share our plans for a regular Arts-based event there including exhibitions, performances, lectures and services. There was the opportunity to see a small exhibition (for one night only) with work by Terry Fyffe, Maurizio Galia, Maciej Hoffman, Kelly Latimore, Zi Ling, Kim Poor, Nicola Ravenscroft, John Reilly, Bruno Salaün and Alan Stewart, our hidden painting (‘Descent from the Cross’ by David Folley), hear Blessed by Ho Wai-On (a composition inspired by the Beatitudes in a video using imagery from St Andrew’s), enjoy a short poetry reading by Tim Harrold and myself, plus a song from Simon Law.

Here in Wickford and Runwell we have responsibility for three of the oldest and most interesting buildings in the area. These are buildings with significant heritage interest, interesting works of art, and space for concerts, exhibitions, performances, workshops and other events. The buildings contain artworks by local artist Val Anthony, Victorian architect William Butterfield, Walsingham artist Enid Chadwick, local muralist Anthony Corbin, internationally exhibited artist David Folley and local woodworker David Garrard. David Folley's large 'Descent from the Cross' at St Andrew's Wickford is a major work by an artist who has exhibited widely across the UK and Europe, including at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, in London, in Sweden and Germany, and at important contemporary international art fairs in Edinburgh and Dublin. The churches already host a range of craft and writers groups including Flower Arranging, Lace making, Meet and Make, and Scribblers, among others, with scope to host other such groups.

We wish to build on this base by developing a network of artists and performers - local, regional and national - who can deliver events including concerts, exhibitions, lectures, performances, and workshops. St Andrew's Wickford offers flexible space in which to organise and hold a wide range of cultural and community events. We wish to develop St Andrew's as a cultural centre for the area supporting other spaces including St Mary's Runwell and St Catherine's Wickford. A vibrant programme of cultural events combined with the heritage interest of these buildings would hold potential for bringing considerable numbers of new visitors to Wickford in ways that would benefit the Town Centre more widely.

We began with The Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields in concert last Sunday and were encouraged to have a full church. We received an enthusiastic response and began to build up a database of contacts. People said: “Really enjoyed it, one of the songs brought me to tears, looking forward to what comes next.” “It was a pleasure to hear such wonderful voices and to see people enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon.” “It was an excellent concert, so pleased we went, thank you.” “Thoroughly enjoyed this concert and thank you St Martins in the Field choir for visiting Wickford.” “Great to have so many people in Church enjoying such wonderful music.” "Thank you to all involved in bringing the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Andrew’s church in Wickford. To have a concert of such a standard in our town is absolutely fantastic. The choir were simply superb and the music was glorious."

What happens next? We plan to develop a regular Friday night offering with a mix of performance, talks, exhibitions and services. We also plan to have a programme of temporary art and heritage exhibitions and installations that will enable the building to be open regularly and will bring schools and other visitors to the site.

The Friday night programme begins on 2 September with The Psalms Project, a unique event combining performances of new sacred music with interfaith discussion. Performed by acclaimed violinist Emma-Mare Kabanova, this interactive event features new psalm-inspired works written by an international collection of Jewish and Christian composers. Curated and produced by Deus Ex Musica. Through a combination of live performances and informal discussions, this event invites listeners to consider the ways these new compositions respond to the Biblical texts that inspired them. What insight into these ancient poems do these works provide for us today? How do they help us experience the psalms in new ways? Can they teach us anything about the spiritual dimension of Scripture? What do they tell us about contemporary sacred music’s ability to contribute to dialogues about faith in our secular society? Moderated by musician, scholar, and teacher Delvyn Case, this event is open to anyone. No religious background or musical experience is necessary. Attendees may participate in the discussion or simply enjoy the music and the conversation. More details can be found here.

On Tuesday 20 September we will also hold a day conference on Church and culture with Revd Dr Sam Wells as keynote speaker.

We are also organising an exhibition of sculptures by Nicola Ravenscroft in the autumn (2 September - 25 December) followed by 'The Blind Jesus (No one belongs here more than you)' project in the New Year running through to Easter. Nicola Ravenscroft's mudcub sculptures are earth children, earth’s little messengers for peace calling us into possibility, hope and healing, into recognising our universal inseparability, our connectedness with each other, our connectedness with the universe, and our connectedness with beloved planet Earth. As well as being shown at schools and churches, these sculptures have featured in educational research undertaken by the University of Cambridge. More information about the sculptures can be found at https://withtheheartofachild.com/cambridge-research/ and https://nicolaravenscroft.com/mudcubs/. 

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Ho Wai-On - Blessed.