Throughout Spring 2022 we worked with Puppets with Guts to deliver an exciting participatory and immersive theatrical experience that connected audiences with the Darent Valley landscape and the artwork of Samuel Palmer.
This journey began with Gnomus, the keeper of landscapes and caretaker of the Darent Valley. The story is that ‘Gnomus used to walk with Samuel Palmer to help him choose which landscapes to paint’…
Beginning in Autumn 2021, communities and schools in the Darent Valley were invited to explore, reveal and celebrate stories of the valley landscape from Dartford to Sevenoaks. In total the project engaged over 4,500 local residents and school children.
In 2021 Puppets with Guts worked with Key Stage 2 school children in the valley to creatively and collaboratively think about their immediate landscape, green spaces and their relationship to nature.
Collaborating with Puppets with Guts, in 2022 communities were invited to discover their local landscape’s colour palette in free workshops. Both adult and inter-generational groups learnt from professional artists how to ReFRAME their environment and create their very own Darent Valley picture frames.
The project culminated in two celebration events, comprising art workshops and Gnomus puppetry performances, at Otford Village Fete on Saturday May 28th and at Dartford Borough Council’s Great Big Platinum Jubilee Party (for kids) on Saturday May 29th 2022. Have a look at the photo gallery below.
- Community and schools engagement through art workshops 2021-22
- Puppetry and performance project with celebratory performances Spring 2022
To find out more about this project you can read Puppets with Guts Final Animated Landscapes Report.
This is the second in a series of Inspired Palmer Landscapes project. Phase one, saw a series of silk painting, creative writing and story gathering workshops which engaged over 300 local residents and school children. These were led by creative arts organisation, Kinetika, using these specific art forms to explore individual connections to the landscape and generate stories and themes to inform phase 2 of the project. Have a look through the gallery below to see Kinetika’s workshops in action.
If you would like more information on the Animated Landscapes project or you, your organisation or school may wish to be involved in workshops, please contact darent.valley@kentdowns.org.uk
