2021 Programme

Estuary 2021 Programme

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Out to Dry

An installation by Andy Freeman and Samantha Penn revealing the hidden life cycle of our clothes, and how microplastics make their way into waterways via washing machines.

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Thames Estuary Trail: an illustrated map

Created by the renowned artist and cartographer, Adam Dant, thisThames Estuary Trail map beautifully illustrates the great stories, histories, pubs and  landmarks to be found on the epic 107 mile walk around the Thames Estuary coastline from Shoeburyness to Margate.

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Thames Estuary Trail

A second, special limited edition of the first and to date the only book that decribes the Thames Estuary as one epic 107 mile trail. With new chapters, an extended walk and artworks to discover along the way.

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Watermark - Shoeburyness Hotel

A series of eight artworks to mark the route of the 107 mile walk described in Tom King's book, Thames Estuary Trail, chronicling artist Maria Amidu's enjoyment in discovering both the book and the place.

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Vanishing Point

By US artist Mary Mattingly in partnership with Focal Point Gallery, an ambitious two-part installation, comprising of a learning centre located on Southend Pier, and a floating sculpture moored in nearby waters.

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Watermark - Chalkwell Beach

A series of eight artworks to mark the route of the 107 mile walk described in Tom King's book, Thames Estuary Trail, chronicling artist Maria Amidu's enjoyment in discovering both the book and the place.

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Watermark - Thameside Nature Reserve

A series of eight artworks to mark the route of the 107 mile walk described in Tom King's book, Thames Estuary Trail, chronicling artist Maria Amidu's enjoyment in discovering both the book and the place.

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The Water Replies - Journals

Beautiful, poetic and moving creative journals kept over the last year by people of all ages, chronicling life by along the Thames Estuary - to be shared through films, posters, murals and window displays.

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In The End Is The Beginning. Towards The Thames Estuary

Dark Line - The Thames Estuary series is a personal reflection on the landscape of the River Thames at its point of connection with the sea.

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HELLO RETREAT

HELLO and RETREAT by Katrina Palmer is a partnership between Estuary 2021 and Waterfronts (England’s Creative Coast).

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Tremor at the Edge of Vision

Tremor at the Edge of Vision: a site-specific walking exploration of The Peregrine is an experimental work that takes its starting point from the masterpiece of nature writing by J.A. Baker.

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Watermark - Tilbury Ferry Bus Terminus

A series of eight artworks to mark the route of the 107 mile walk described in Tom King's book, Thames Estuary Trail, chronicling artist Maria Amidu's enjoyment in discovering both the book and the place.

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Waiting for Climate Change

An installation in the tideline at Chalkwell Beach by Issac Cordal. Small figures passively observe the horizon as water rises.

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The Water Replies - Poetry

Alongside creative journals created by the estuary community, project lead poets, Selina Nwulu and Caroline Bird also created a beautiful book for use in schools - The Water Replies: Notes on Teaching Contemporary Poetry.

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REBEL

Artist-activists Ackroyd & Harvey bring the spirit of rebellion to Wat Tyler Country Park in respect of the place that seeded a peasant revolt over six hundred years ago.

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Watermark - Three Daws Gravesend

A series of eight artworks to mark the route of the 107 mile walk described in Tom King's book, Thames Estuary Trail, chronicling artist Maria Amidu's enjoyment in discovering both the book and the place.

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An Unknown Earth

The well-known quote from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness takes on new meaning as four artist/curators, living in the Thames Estuary invite artists, performers and activists to join them in our online Opening Weekend programme

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An English Garden

An English Garden is the Estuary 2021 iteration of How to Make a Bomb, the durational gardening project by artist Gabriella Hirst.

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Ness

Writer Robert Macfarlane, theatre-maker Zoë Svendsen and sound designer Carolyn Downing are collaborating to stage a re-imagining of Robert’s book, Ness.

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Data Tree

A conceptual way marker placed at a point where paths diverge, created by artist Jonathan Wright in conversation with park visitors and communities.

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The People of 1381 Outdoor Exhibition

The People of 1381 Outdoor Exhibition is a comprehensive illustrated overview of one the largest rebellions in the middle ages, with the estuary at its epicentre.

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Resistance Sustenance Protection

A year of drawings - a pandemic record, an archive, a call for change. Outdoor exhibition and workshop coincide with an online event to launch Rachael House's new book.

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Mirrors for Princes - The White Lion

A series of traditional pub style mirrors featuring text channelling the ancient call for social equality and justice and accompanied by an edition of slogan beer mats. Hosted by pubs along the Essex coastline.

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Mirrors for Princes - Crooked Billet

A series of traditional pub style mirrors featuring text channelling the ancient call for social equality and justice and accompanied by an edition of slogan beer mats. Hosted by pubs along the Essex coastline.

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Our Land

A creative intervention in the form of walking, listening and gardening, a collaboration between four artists Jo Fong, Sonia Hughes, Lisa Mattocks and Andrew Westle

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[Export_Explode>

Short film and additions to an existing walking tour at Wat Tyler Country Park by Angela Chan, on the history and legacies of Britain’s explosives manufacturing.

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Watermark - The Sportsman, Seasalter

A series of eight artworks to mark the route of the 107 mile walk described in Tom King's book, Thames Estuary Trail, chronicling artist Maria Amidu's enjoyment in discovering both the book and the place.

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Mirrors for Princes - Barge Gladys

A series of traditional pub style mirrors featuring text channelling the ancient call for social equality and justice and accompanied by an edition of slogan beer mats. Hosted by pubs along the Essex coastline.

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Mirrors for Princes - Lobster Smack

A series of traditional pub style mirrors featuring text channelling the ancient call for social equality and justice and accompanied by an edition of slogan beer mats. Hosted by pubs along the Essex coastline.

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Mirrors for Princes - The World's End

A series of traditional pub style mirrors featuring text channelling the ancient call for social equality and justice and accompanied by an edition of slogan beer mats. Hosted by pubs along the Essex coastline.

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Family activities & tours

A packed programme of workshops and tours led by Wat Tyler Education and Estuary 2021 artists can be enjoyed throughout the festival at Wat Tyler Country Park.

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Watermark - The Coffee Pot Leysdown

A series of eight artworks to mark the route of the 107 mile walk described in Tom King's book, Thames Estuary Trail, chronicling artist Maria Amidu's enjoyment in discovering both the book and the place.

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Unbox

Soundworks and digital video by Harun Morrison colliding the poetics of emergency architecture with contemporary predictive sea-level models of the Thames Estuary.

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Watermark - Broadstairs

A series of eight artworks to mark the route of the 107 mile walk described in Tom King's book, Thames Estuary Trail, chronicling artist Maria Amidu's enjoyment in discovering both the book and the place.

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The Storm Cone

By artist Laura Daly, with music by Lucy Pankhurst, an immersive artwork for Chalkwell Park in Southend, that unearths lost bandstands and their buried past.

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From the Archive: Episode 2

From the Archive: Rachel Lichtenstein. Episode 2 - Exploring liminal landscapes - a walk with Iain Sinclair

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From the Archive: Episode 1

From the Archive: Rachel Lichtenstein. Episode 1 - Between Tide and Sea - a walk with Ken Worpole

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Shelter in Place

A new work by filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman, featuring Phlocus. Made during the summer of 2020, it will premiere at Estuary 2021.

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Lore of the Wild

An audio storywalk and map to guide you on a transformative journey around Lesnes Abbey Woods.

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PLOT: Water Laid

A new body of work by artist Shaun C. Badham exploring the history of water wells in the estuary region.

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14 Days on the North Atlantic

Simon Faithfull shares exerpts of his diary, kept during a 14-day journey across the Atlantic on a container-ship, from the end of Southend Pier.

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The Commons Way

An exhibition of new calligraphy panels relaying contemporary concepts around ecology, women, plants and land in response to The People of 1381.

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Wasted Voyages

Wasted Voyages in the Thames Estuary is a collaboration between YoHa and local people exploring the materiality, culture and history of waste.

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ROCK REPO Sinking Alloyances + Planetary Burial

Artist collective The Underground Division have created a new immersive installation for the newly transformed Eco Gallery at Wat Tyler Country Park.

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Sound Mirrors

Sound Mirrors is a trail of unique sound portraits of six locations on the Essex coast - to be discovered as part of the world's first Art GeoTour.

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The first thing I did was to kiss the ground

Jasleen Kaur's 'The first thing I did was to kiss the ground’ features a sculpture and a sound-piece sited on Gravesend’s Town Pier and pontoon.

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Crude Britannia

Platform’s project, Crude Britannia, looks at the history, present and future of energy across the expanse of the Thames Estuary.

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Unctuous between fingers

Bryony Gillard’s Unctuous between fingers is a moving image work that explores the archive of pressed seaweeds and algae held by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, collected predominantly by women in the mid-1800s.

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How to press seaweeds, a video guide

Alongside the presentation of her moving image work 'Unctuous Between Fingers', Bryony Gillard has created a seaweed pressing video guide.

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Markers

In the spirit of mail art, Webb-Ellis have exchanged handwritten letters with posthuman philosopher Francesca Ferrando, artist Jade Montserrat, writer Péjú Oshin, and biologist Rupert Sheldrake, around the themes of language, the body, our present moment and possible futures.

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ZED

The ZED Zine is a new lifestyle zine written and edited by 16-20 year-olds based at The Gr@nd in Gravesham.

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GYG Talks Art with Bob and Roberta Smith

'GYG Talks Art' is a video series made by young people at The Gr@nd exploring the festival and participating artists through their eyes. In this video they talk to Bob and Roberta Smith at his 'Draw Hope' pavilion in Chatham.

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GYG Talks Art with Webb-Ellis

'GYG Talks Art' is a video series made by young people at The Gr@nd exploring the festival and participating artists through their eyes. In this video they talk to Webb-Ellis about their film 'For The First Baby Born in Space'.

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GYG Talks Art with Sadie Hennessy

'GYG Talks Art' is a video series made by young people at The Gr@nd exploring the festival and participating artists through their eyes. In this video they talk to Sadie Hennessy about her work 'Golden Years' in Gravesend.

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Our Time - Gravesend

Marcus Coates’ 'Our Time' places the songs and calls of locally threatened bird species onto 6 clock towers along the North Kent coastline.

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Deep Thames // Visit Cretaceous

Lydia Brockless' 'Deep Thames // Visit Cretaceous' looks at the materials of Ebbsfleet, and the layers of human and non-human experience contained in the ground beneath our feet.

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ELIZA

Drawing inspiration from poet Eliza Cook, artist Amy Pennington will perform a short piece to camera on the steps of Ingress Abbey where Eliza stayed, and a number of her works were written.

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The Ebbsfleet Elephant

Emily Whitebread has created a new audio-visual work for Ebbsfleet International Station, through research into the Ebbsfleet Elephant, discovered during the construction of Ebbsfleet International Station.

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No Ordinary Protest

Mikhail Karikis' 'No Ordinary Protest' is a film made with young people, asking whether sound can mobilise socio-political and physical change.

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In the Mouth of the River: Water, Empire & Rebellion

Dzifa Benson has selected seven contemporary poets, who have each recorded one of their poems, which can be heard in the cockle shell vestry at St James’ Church, Cooling.

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Our Time - Rochester

Marcus Coates’ 'Our Time' places the songs and calls of locally threatened bird species onto 6 clock towers along the North Kent coastline.

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Draw Hope

Bob and Roberta Smith's 'Draw Hope' pavilion is an outdoor gallery and art-making space sited on the green outside Chatham Library.

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Draw Hope Workshops

Come and take part in workshops with Medway artists Rosa Ainley, Lalita Bailey, Liz Bylett, Wendy Daws, Christopher Sacre, and Hannah Whittaker at the Draw Hope pavilion.

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Grain

Phil Coy's 'Grain' is a disembodied sound score for an unseen film, installed within the ‘No. 3 Covered Slip’ in Chatham’s Historic Dockyard.

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Escaping with Magwitch

Carol Donaldson and Stephen Turner, are set to escape to the North Kent Marshes in a small inflatable boat called Magwitch. For five days they will survey the wetlands and wildlife on their own doorstep, camping in remote locations.

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Lissener

Feral Practice & Esi Eshun's Lissener is a new, darkly comic audio work responding to the human and nonhuman histories of the ruined Oare Gunpowder Works.

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Our Time - Faversham

Marcus Coates’ 'Our Time' places the songs and calls of locally threatened bird species onto 6 clock towers along the North Kent coastline.

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Trolley Reef

Something & Son's 'Trolley Reef' is a long term project and artwork to create a new oyster reef in North Kent, using supermarket trolleys.

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Our Time - Herne Bay

Marcus Coates’ 'Our Time' places the songs and calls of locally threatened bird species onto 6 clock towers along the North Kent coastline.

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Our Time - Margate

Marcus Coates’ 'Our Time' places the songs and calls of locally threatened bird species onto 6 clock towers along the North Kent coastline.

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26 Days on the Southern Ocean

Simon Faithfull's '26 Days on the Southern Ocean' is a series of text panels mounted onto the railings of Margate Harbour Arm.

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and the thing is

Maggie Harris 'and the thing is' is a poem about immigration, and questions about race, exile, and how we find identity and home.

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Our Time - Dartford

Marcus Coates’ 'Our Time' places the songs and calls of locally threatened bird species onto 6 clock towers along the North Kent coastline.

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The Telling Image

Ten short films responding to the festival’s themes of climate, imperial legacy and rebellion curated by Gareth Evans. 

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Letters to the Earth

To open and close the Estuary 2021, you are invited to write and share your 'Letter to the Earth' as part of an accumulating exhibition of your words and messages, visions and hopes for a better future.

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Golden Years

Sadie Hennessy invites Gravesham residents aged 70 and over to join her and photographer Lee Carter in creating a commemorative tea set with a royal twist.

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Golden Years

Inspired by the pop culture collections of Peter Blake, Sadie Hennessy is filling a series of shop windows in Gravesend with collections of memorabilia and ephemera.

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The Sea View Has Me Again

Patrick Wright & Shona Illingworth will broadcast a conversation recorded as they walk on Sheppey, alongside readings by local residents.

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Estuary Live Lounge

Curated by Gareth Evans, this series of conversations continue Estuary 2021's investigation into the deep and layered history of our place and its connections to current social and political concerns, both here in the UK and overseas.

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Obsessive Pursuit: Place and its Purpose

Rachel Lichtenstein joins Iain Sinclair and Gareth Evans to talk about her research connecting Jewish history from her home in the Thames Estuary, to London, Europe and the Caribbean Island of Barbados.

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Identity

'Identity' is a new film and audio work, written and produced by Cohesion Plus working with 42 South Films, examining what makes us who we are, looking at how things like race, faith, immigration, the arts and sport shape our identities.

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EWT Gunners Park Walk

Join us as we discover over 150 years of military and historical heritage associated with Gunners Park.

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The Return of the Fleet Spring Heads

Adam Chodzko's The Return of the Fleet Spring Heads is a science fiction audio walk (via headphones), in and around Northfleet.

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Scorched earth - Feeling awkward - Spinning a web.

A series of individual responses to Adam Chodzko's 'The Return of the Fleet Spring Heads' by a group of BA Fine Art students from Central Saint Martins.

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REBEL at Gunners Park

Artist-activists Ackroyd & Harvey bring the spirit of rebellion to Wat Tyler Country Park in respect of the place that seeded a peasant revolt over six hundred years ago.

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Merge

An interactive collection of works that represent narratives of The Estuary.

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Arts in Transit

Artist Lata Uphadyaya is travelling around the estuary from her home in Thurrock in the white Ford Transit van that she has transformed into a travelling art and conversation space.

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Estuary Broadcasts RTM.FM

RTM.FM presents a day of specially commissioned artworks made for online radio broadcast in response to our festival themes.

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Explore Thamesmead

A series of newly commissioned artworks in and around the iconic Lakeside Centre in Thamesmead, showing a growing creative community in the Thames Estuary Production Corridor.

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Handwriting the Constitution - Fri 4 Jun - 19:00-21:00

A unique social art project to unveil, hand-scribe, and discuss a new original document – The Universal Declaration of Climate Rights (UDCR) – which upholds the intrinsic value of landscapes, ecosystems, sentient and non-sentient species, and a greenhouse-gas-stable atmosphere.

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REBEL at Chalkwell Park

Artist-activists Ackroyd & Harvey bring the spirit of rebellion to Wat Tyler Country Park in respect of the place that seeded a peasant revolt over six hundred years ago.

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Suttons Manor

Four contemporary writers respond to the remote and inaccessible Suttons Manor, one of the oldest and most enigmatic houses of the Thames Estuary.

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The Lesnes Hundred

The Lesnes Hundred by Eric MacLennan is a socially engaged piece of art offering members of the public the opportunity to name a tree after someone important to them.

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Future Archeology of Ebbsfleet

Alison Cooke has distributed 100 balls of clay from the Thames Estuary to local people to make Future Archaeology.

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SILT

A site-specific performance conceived by Arbonauts, artists Helen Galliano and Dimitri Launder, which imagines a dystopian future of rising sea levels.

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Nattsong

'Nattsong' is an extraordinary new multi-sensory stage work in which poet–performer Caroline Bergvall takes an immersive journey into language, refuge and the night.

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Estuary Festival is supported by

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