Projects

I get involved in all sorts of projects too.  Did you go to the Ambient Picnic Festival this July (link)?  Remember the Big Top Marquee?  That was me!    Both myself and the Play Development Officer (link) co-ordinated the Arts & Play Zone which gave children of all ages (that includes us grown ups too) to try out circus skills as well as poi-making and rocket launching.   Lots of clown shows and dance performances too.  (pictures)

I am also involved in a summer scheme called FISH which gives 10-16 year olds a chance to try out sports, arts and play activities.      Among the arty things to try are comedy, graffiti, Djing, cartooning, hip-hop and street dance, henna art, drama and scriptwriting… (pictures)

The Wey We Were	(got nice piccies to go with this)
A reminiscence theatre project celebrating the lives of those who lived and worked around the River Wey.
The Wey We Were is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Guildford and Waverley Borough Councils and the National Trust, and is shaping up to be an exciting celebration of the River Wey.  Professional actors are working alongside groups of local young people to search out the stories of people's lives and bring them to life as small pieces of theatre, which will then be performed in and around the Guildford and Waverley areas	Dapdune Wharf in Guildford has been home to some rather unusual residents recently and visitors to the site may well have found themselves chatting to a group of young actors who have been busy discovering the funny, sad and romantic stories of the River Wey and its community
The project is growing every week but the group is still on the look out for more and more people to get involved.     o         Are you interested in acting and are aged between 14-25? o         Are you a musician of any age? o         Do you have memories and stories to tell of your life on or around the River Wey?  Do you have an event or festival that you would like the group to come and perform at? (indoors or out!)
If you are interested in getting involved in any way, we would love to hear from you.  Please give George Longland a ring on 01483 444767 or email [email protected]

Red Tents’ - A landscape light installation for The Mount, Guildford.
As part of Guildford’s International Women's Week celebrations in March 2003, local artist Mary Branson came up with a unique outdoor art event to catch the eye of the town centre visitors. Twenty-eight hand made ridge tents sited on The Mount overlooking the high street, and illuminated from dusk until dawn for three days and nights. Commissioned by Guildford Borough Council, and supported by a number of local businesses and individuals, the piece represented a first for contemporary art in Guildford.		Mary’s inspiration for the work came in part from a novel - ‘The Red Tent’ by American author Anita Diamant.  It is a story is set in Syria around 1500BC, and gives a vivid portrayal of the wholeness and consistency of women’s culture at that time.  In some ancient cultures, the women of the village who were menstruating would stop work, separate themselves from the group, and move together into huts or tents away from the centre, where they would meet and celebrate the power of their femininity over a number of days.
Mary Branson is a graduate of Surrey Institute of Art and Design, and is currently studying an M.A. in ‘Art and Space’ at Kingston University.  There is another opportunity to see The Red Tents, as well as other works by Branson at the Surrey Hills Arts Group exhibition ‘The Right Space’ which runs from the 20th September 2003.
The Red Tents is partly a representation of this rite.  In making the tents a visual pleasure, the aim was to convey an aesthetic beauty, which could be taken purely on that level, but for those who wished to look deeper, a sense of a women’s celebration as well as provoking discussion on the nature of public art itself.