Image credit: Kat Hall, a Plymouth College of Art observer intern
A very early start to day three of Jamboree – up and dressed for a 430am walk and talk session led by Bram Arnold: ‘From Civil Twilight To The End of Time [An adventure into the anthropocene]’. Artist-researcher Bram led us on a session that was part way between a Quaker meeting, a reconvening of the Dead Poets Society and a performance poetry ramble. A beautiful way to wake up to the Dartington site – and a small and very friendly herd of cows decided to join us for the last part of the session.
‘Construction site’ by Antigoni Pasidi
Next up for me (after coffee) was a 20:20 session. Two which stood out for me were Stuart Robinson and Antigoni Jasidi’s presentations. Stuart Robinson‘s talk looked at the use of signage and landscape within his practice, exploring the line between natural and cultural imagery of landscapes.
Antigoni Pasidi spoke about her exploration of the intersections of sculpture and performance and the staging that is inherent in both disciplines.
Image credit: Andy Ford
I then joined a communal making session led by artist and writer Mark Leahy: ‘Telling time: a speech-choir making session’. We participated in some voice games, worked in pairs and as a group to create fragments of narratives. Having built a score exploring temporality, we presented a short speech-choir performance. Mark created some beautiful participant workbooks, with a useful bibliography at the end – workshop ephemera to take away and treasure.
I was then back out into the fresh Dartington air to participate in Rosalie Schwieker’s walk and talk, ‘Terms and Conditions’. During the walk around the estate, we discussed what our individual T&Cs as artists may be, something to add into artist agreements or contracts when negotiating with arts organisations (or other artists). Rosalie gave examples ranging from not travelling by plane, to having work-free weekends. We then partnered up with an accountability buddy who we would check in on and vice versa in a year’s time.
green and owens crossing their impromptu starting line
Continuing with the walk and talks programme, I then joined green and owens in their first outing of their project ‘Walking Towards Korea’. In their words: ‘For the last year we have been working on an idea with our friend Youngshin who is in South Korea. The intention is that we walk the miles to her (in our own environment) and that she walks the miles to us (in her own environment), ‘meeting’ somehow in the middle, and reflecting on the way about friendship and distance.’ The walk prompted thoughtful discussion around our own friendships in and out of arts ecologies. It ended with a tipple of friendship whiskey – always a fine finish to a walk!
Image credit: Andy Ford
I then popped into another communal making session led by Francesca Anfossi, ‘The Clay Picnic’. Francesca gave us the opportunity to experiment with food making, and making food containers with clay, resulting in a pop
up picnic giving participants a chance to discuss the process of making, social objects and the social role of food in the outdoors.
Image credit: Kat Hall, a Plymouth College of Art observer intern
After dinner, I finally took the hi-vis off and let loose in the amazing dance party – enjoying some some spacey tunes from The Valley People followed by some disco bangers and floor fillers courtesy of Hannah and Neil Rose – Jamboree co-founder and Jamboree WAG respectively! Ended the night with this treat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcf5kzBCdy4
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