We’re working with Puppets with Guts to deliver an exciting participatory theatrical experience that connects audiences with the Darent Valley landscape and the artwork of Samuel Palmer.
This journey begins with Gnomus, the keeper of landscapes and caretaker of the Darent Valley. The story goes 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 have been invited to explore, reveal and celebrate stories of the valley landscape from Dartford to Sevenoaks.
Collaborating with Puppets with Guts, audiences are being invited to attend workshops where they will create a series of animated living landscape scenes based loosely on Samuel Palmer’s paintings and explore their own connections to the local landscape.
The project culminated in two celebration events 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 photo gallery below.
- Puppetry and performance project
- Community engagement through art and craft workshops
- Celebratory performances Spring 2022
This is the second phase of the 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 the workshops, please contact darent.valley@kentdowns.org.uk
