Edgelands Panel Talk: Nancy Campbell, Emma Edmondson & Sarah Christie
£12.00
Date: Saturday 26th April
Time: 1:00-3:30pm
34 in stock
The Panel Talk will take place in our gallery at:Â Â County Hall Pottery, Belvedere Road, Waterloo, SE1 7PB.
To accompany ‘Edgelands’, we invite you to an afternoon of discussion, richly exploring and extending the themes of the exhibition. We are joined by acclaimed writer Nancy Campbell, and artist Emma Edmondson, and facilitated by artist, writer and educator Sarah Christie.
1pm–2pm Emma Edmondson will discuss her public work ‘Made from this Land’ in Southend-on-Sea. After discovering a covenant in the deeds of many local houses, stating residents are not allowed to make bricks of tiles from the clay underneath their feet, Emma dug up local clay and made over 500 hand-made bricks with the community to create a sculptural walk formed of the clay-rich land it sits on. Nominated for the PSSA Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture, ‘Made from this Land’ is a response to the rich brickfield history of the area, connecting closely with local people. We will hear how and why she embarked on the project, the many hoops she had to jump through to make it happen, and the collaborative approach that led to its realization.
2pm–2.30pm Break
2.30pm–3.30pm Nancy Campbell will share her experiences of life in a caravan on a strip of neglected woodland between canal and railway, a true edgeland. Her recent memoir Thunderstone is a compelling account of finding her way through precarity and upheaval, and discovering how to flourish. As she clears the ground of nettles and industrial waste to make her own dwelling place, Nancy rebuilds her life on the edgeland while never losing sight of the wider world. She forges friendships with neighbours moored off-grid and finds and finds moments of freedom amid the threat of collapse. We will discuss the objects, places, and moments of wild beauty that guide the way.
NANCY CAMPBELL’s latest book, Thunderstone, is a memoir of post-lockdown housing precarity on the margins of Oxford, which received the TLS Ackerley Prize 2023. Nancy served for two-years as the UK’s Canal Laureate writing poems for installation along the waterways; these texts could be seen projected on wharves at night, stencilled on towpaths, or engraved into fish gates. Nancy received the Royal Geographical Society Ness Award for environmental writing for a decade-long response to the culture and climate of the polar regions across several works of non-fiction, poetry and artist’s books. Her words have been commissioned by the Royal Academy, the BBC and the British Library, and she has been fortunate to collaborate with extraordinary artists and musicians. She has held numerous international research residencies, most recently as Visiting Professor of Literature at the Free University of Berlin.
SARAH CHRISTIE is a London-based artist, writer and educator. Her embodied practice uses clay as a primary, material for sensing, thinking, moving and making with. She invites correspondence and collaboration with other people, places, forms and materials, to create work that may be impermanent, interdisciplinary, slow-growing and cyclical. This ‘call-and-response’ approach welcomes uncertainty and creates space for unexpected outcomes to emerge. Sarah has exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in the UK and internationally, including at London’s Southwark Cathedral, OVADA in Oxford, British Ceramics Biennial, and Industry City, Brooklyn, New York. Her writing has been published in the Journal of Australian Ceramics, online zine ‘What About Clay?’ and in exhibition catalogues. She teaches at Central Saint Martins, UAL, and is a visiting artist at Imperial College London and King’s College. Â
EMMA EDMONDSON (b. 1984) lives and works in Southend on Sea. Studying and graduating during the 2008 financial crash alternative economies and utopian community are at the centre of her practice. Through sculpture, print, sound and text, she explores the power of people coming together through creative projects to change systems and rules. Recently she has been processing raw clay dug from the ground and exploring local land rights to create sculptures that sit on the ground they were made from. Through this she wants to start conversations about agency, land ownership and our connections as humans to the land we live on. She has shown her work in spaces around the UK including Victoria & Albert Museum and Barbican, most recently with a solo show at Arcade/Campfa in Cardiff. She has been awarded commissions from Focal Point Gallery, AHRC and Artquest. She teaches art in community spaces, schools, college, arts organisations and universities to support her practice, often on precarious contracts. In 2016 Edmondson founded TOMA (The Other MA), a postgraduate level art programme outside of the traditional institutional model. Designed to fit the everyday lives of 21st century artists, the programme is shaped by its participants, and was created in response to the hierarchies surrounding access to higher education. Emma sees TOMA and her teaching work as part of her creative practice. Emma also runs Dog Ear with Lu Williams, producing dog toy sculptures and texts for humans and hounds.
All classes will take place in our pottery studio at:Â Â County Hall Pottery, Belvedere Road, Waterloo, SE1 7PB.
A welcome email with further instructions about what to expect before your class is sent around a week before your class commences. This email will be sent to the email provided at booking.
Your instructor will meet you in the foyer of the main entrance to County Hall Pottery on Belvedere Road – you’ll know you’re in the right place if you’re standing on the beautiful mosaic floor! They will take you through to our studio space. If you are running late, please call the studio phone when you arrive as you will need to be escorted.Â
Please feel free to bring a sketchbook or notepad along to make notes during your workshop.
We really hope that you enjoy your workshop with us! Â
If you have any questions, please see our frequently asked questions page here or contact us at gallery@countyhallpottery.com.linux136.unoeuro-server.com.
Collection of Artwork
Your work will usually be ready for collection within 6 weeks, but times may vary depending on firing schedules. You will be notified by email when your pieces are ready for you to pick up from our gallery. You can arrange for your artwork to be delivered to you (for an additional fee) within one month of the original pick up email being sent out. If your pieces have not been collected or sent within this time-frame, then we regret that we will have to give them away to our local community, as we are limited on shelf space.
Clay Allocation
A set amount of clay is included in the courses. Two kilograms of clay is included in a 3-hour class. Ten kilograms of dry clay work is included in a 6-week course. Additional clay is available to purchase at a cost of £2.50 per 500g of dry work. Work is weighed before the first firing.Â
Rescheduling, Cancellation And Refund Policy
* For one-day courses, when given 10 or more days’ notice we can either reschedule, refund or generate a gift code for rebooking your class.
* For one-day courses, when given 9 days or less notice for a cancellation for any reason, we regrettably are unable to reschedule or provide a refund. There are no exemptions. However, you can transfer your place to another individual. Please send us their name in advance.
* For courses longer than one-day, we regret we will not be able to replace or rearrange missed sessions. Please do not ask us to make exceptions.
* We can only accept one named individual to attend sessions for the duration of a course, individuals cannot transfer their place for any of their sessions.
* Gift Cards are non-refundable
* When an instructor is unable to teach a one-day class, for example due to illness, we will do our best to find an alternative. If that is not possible, you will receive a full refund. Notice of this will be given as soon as possible.
* If a teacher is unable to cover a session on a 6-week course, the session will be covered by an alternative and the class will continue as usual. Notice of this will be given as soon as possible.
Health And Safety Policy
* Pottery is a messy business, so it is advised that you wear clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty. We provide aprons but you are welcome to bring your own.
* Please don’t wear loose clothing or jewellery that might catch and tie up long hair.
* Closed-toe shoes are preferable
* There is no eating inside the studio. Drinking is only permitted from a closed-top vessel. There is a kitchenette that adjoins the studio where eating and drinking are allowed.
* Please let us know if you have any allergies, health or accessibility requirements in good time before the class, by emailing gallery@countyhallpottery.com.linux136.unoeuro-server.com
* We aim to educate and inspire through fun workshops. In order for all participants to enjoy our classes, we retain the right to ask individuals to leave if their conduct is deemed unsafe or offensive.Â
Arrival And LatenessÂ
* Due to our studio’s location in an historic building, please get in touch before the day of your class if you have any accessibility requirements at gallery@countyhallpottery.com.linux136.unoeuro-server.com
* You will need to meet your instructor at the main entrance of County Hall on Belvedere Road as the journey through the building to our studio is not straightforward! The class will gather in the foyer – you’ll know you’re in the right place if you’re standing on a beautiful mosaic floor! – and you will then be shown to our studio.
* If you are running late and the class has already left the foyer, a member of security will escort you to the studio. This may take some time – so please arrive early. You can enjoy our Gallery space while you wait!Â
Facilities
* Drinking water is provided in the studio, however if you require more sustenance throughout the class please feel free to bring items along.
* Our studio has a small kitchenette you can make use of and there is an array of cafes, restaurants and shops both within County Hall and the surrounding streets.
* Our gallery has a courtyard with tables and chairs that are free to use within gallery opening hours
* Toilets are available for use and adjoin the studio space
