Thursday 20th May 2021 to
Saturday 22nd May 2021
MESS ROOM is collaborating with Ebb & Flow and partners to create street decorations for the Old High Street Intra as part of the Estuary Festival 2021 celebratory weekend of events 21 - 23 May 2021.
Wendy Daws, from the MESS ROOM, uses shadows and silhouettes to create Shadowplay narratives that take shape as murals, banners, placards and memory blankets.
MESS ROOM invited people to strike a pose in April and donate their shadow, to be immortalised as a silhouette and feature on a series of banners for colourful street gallery, “Shadow Tales - Gallery of You!”, which will be displayed along the Old High Street Intra.
About the organisation
MESS ROOM, established by artists Wendy Daws and Christopher Sacre in 2017 is a creative, inclusive space for accessible and innovative artistic workshops. MESS ROOM’s open and collaborative approach promotes independence and community-led peer support, where all who work and play there strive to break down barriers and reduce social isolation.
With over 30 years of combined experience working with diverse groups, MESS ROOM specialises in supporting deaf and people with hearing loss and blind and visually impaired people to express themselves in new and exciting ways, using a combination of inclusive activities and communication methods, including British Sign Language (BSL) and tactile materials.
Instagram @MessRoomMedway
Twitter @MessRoomMedway
Facebook @MessRoomMedway
Image credit: Mess Room, Shadow Tales - Gallery of You
Using your smart phones GPS technology, the new Dizzy O’Dare Audio Trails app will guide you on walks around Chatham Intra, triggering stories, poems, history and art based activities from local artists at specific locations, to inspire you, as you explore the area.
Young people’s stories, which imagine the historic Chatham Intra in 100 years’ time, will be seen and heard along the high street. What are their hopes, fears and dreams for the area in 2121?
Medway Dance Network will be exploring gender identity and the benefit of women cross-dressing to gain financial and employment privileges afforded to men during the 1920’s.
After recreating an aerial photo of Chatham Intra from 1920, writer and photographer Neil Thorne will present the two images together in a triptych with an account of his experience, exhibited in a High Street window.
Nicola Flower's favourite shop in the whole of Medway is Zee Fashions & Fabrics. She's going to draw the women working in the shop and their customers and make a fanzine of their story.
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Learn about the very first photographers in the Old High Street Intra area, their studios and images, and who occupies the same addresses today.
Salt Sweet - listen as submerged stories drawn from the Five Bells & Bath Hard Lanes area of Chatham Intra are layered with river sounds in a sonic rhythm that suggests the washing back and forth of the tides.
Taking inspiration from the rich history of Old High Street Intra, Shadow Tales will create silhouettes that tell a story and make for intriguing displays in windows and shop fronts.
Capturing the atmosphere of the Ebb & Flow Festival, to report a celebratory and specific moment in time through a series of drawings.
This commission explores the origins of the street names along the Chatham Intra, from the bottom of Star Hill to Sun Pier, through a series of black and white photographs.
Through the Porthole will give people the opportunity to decorate their own boat porthole, these are the round windows you find on boats!
