A programme of live events presented aboard recently restored Thames Sailing Barge Raybel nurturing critical discussions about maritime trade.
“When you only have 10p in your pocket during a time of crisis, who would you call? More importantly, who would call you back?” Touring art installation that super-sizes the iconic phone booth from the 1990s.
“When you only have 10p in your pocket during a time of crisis, who would you call? More importantly, who would call you back?” Touring art installation that super-sizes the iconic phone booth from the 1990s.
Canvey Island - The politics behind the myth. A guided walk and 3D sound experience in three parts to take you on a mythic journey connecting to the Estuary through a form of film soundtrack ‘score’.
Tilbury - The myth. A guided walk and 3D sound experience in three parts to take you on a mythic journey connecting to the Estuary through a form of film soundtrack ‘score’.
Gravesend - The explanation of the myth. A guided walk and 3D sound experience in three parts to take you on a mythic journey connecting to the Estuary through a form of film soundtrack ‘score’.
Reimagining our relationship with wind energy through live choral performances, sailing on the Estuary, film and publication. How would it be if we came to possess the wind farms? If we felt that they were ‘our’ wind farms? Just as it is ‘Our NHS’.
The project explores historical and contemporary ideas of rewilding in the Thames Estuary and the neocolonial relations of Essex. Join the artists' collective Breakwater for immersive experience of the hydrosphere, ghostly conversations, an overlaid cartographic mess, intimate reading, a walking ritual, and a site-specific installation. A sound walk is also available for the duration of the festival.
A new, site-specific participatory work exploring ideas around community and islands, both real and imaginary. Audience members will be transported by boat on the river Medway to Fort Darnet, a nineteenth-century military installation on a small island.
Exploring how both the Estuary landscape and vessel metaphor can hold memory, transformation, and possibility. Supported by Southeastern & Railway 200.
Exploring how both the Estuary landscape and vessel metaphor can hold memory, transformation, and possibility. Supported by Southeastern & Railway 200.
Marking the 200th anniversary of the RNLI, and inspired by the profound legacy of their life-saving work. Film screenings with live music, performances and a workshop in a unique, custom-made tent on the seafront.
Rooted in the interconnectedness of the natural and built environments – this project invites reflection on the hidden stories within waste. It celebrates the resilience of materials and communities alike.
Register to use the free digital tool and discover a generative AI that translates our sleeping dream descriptions into visual animations. Feed your dreams into a collective dream cloud.
Bringing the good times back to interrogate the once dominant nightclub culture of the Estuary, including a book launch, video installation, talk and nightclub reunion at the pub!
Download our Castle Point Guide for family-friendly activities in the Borough, designed by artist Lu Williams and created in consultation with local community organisations.
Outdoor photographic exhibition exploring women’s experiences of landscape and nature as places of solace and health, but also places of risk, danger and threat, both real and symbolic.
“When you only have 10p in your pocket during a time of crisis, who would you call? More importantly, who would call you back?” Touring art installation that super-sizes the iconic phone booth from the 1990s.
A Collective project to dream up a sculpture to become a versatile outdoor shelter for learning, making, resting and appreciating the estuary. Workshops will welcome a multitude of voices to inspire, shape and inform the final designs.
Tune in with the different rhythms and the ever-changing patterns of the intertidal zone. This guided walk will safely take you along the mudflats at low tide and experience the different textures of the ground and engage with the landscape through different activities.
A programme of live events presented aboard recently restored Thames Sailing Barge Raybel nurturing critical discussions about maritime trade.
“When you only have 10p in your pocket during a time of crisis, who would you call? More importantly, who would call you back?” Touring art installation that super-sizes the iconic phone booth from the 1990s.
“When you only have 10p in your pocket during a time of crisis, who would you call? More importantly, who would call you back?” Touring art installation that super-sizes the iconic phone booth from the 1990s.
Outdoor photographic exhibition exploring women’s experiences of landscape and nature as places of solace and health, but also places of risk, danger and threat, both real and symbolic.
New climate-responsive performance from Arbonauts, created for and performed in the water of a tidal pool on Canvey Island, by a dynamic, intergenerational group of over 20 performers including local open-water swimmers.
“When you only have 10p in your pocket during a time of crisis, who would you call? More importantly, who would call you back?” Touring art installation that super-sizes the iconic phone booth from the 1990s.
“When you only have 10p in your pocket during a time of crisis, who would you call? More importantly, who would call you back?” Touring art installation that super-sizes the iconic phone booth from the 1990s.
This project will restage the sound of the chimney stack once accidentally demolished one day early on 17 September 1997, on its original site (now within Canvey Wick nature reserve).
An act of remembrance for bodies reinterred from Bedlam Burial Ground (active 1569-1738) to Canvey Island. Listen to donated heartbeats, under-grave sounds, and talks with invited artists, historians and art psychotherapists.
Experience a spectacular, site-responsive, aerial dance performance by Scarabeus Dance Theatre, performed at sunset aboard Light Vessel 21. Sit back to view the performance from ashore, and get ready for an immersive experience!
Explore the tales of iconic shipwrecks through this exhibition of intricate, large-scale LEGO® models, designed by Certified Professional Ryan “The Brickman” McNaught.
Shot against the backdrop of a muddy foreshore of the Thames Estuary, A Smile For Her is a short film exploring themes of grief and loss, family and facing life uncertainty.
Exhibition celebrating the tenth anniversary of the creation of The Thames Group of Artists
A project around artist Fiona Spirals' collages and paintings on the endangered, rich biodiversity of the North Kent Marshes. It includes an exhibition accompanied by a dedicated soundscape, a workshop, a talk and the opportunity to meet and greet the artist-in-residence.
Discover the artefacts of the project Tidings, in the location that inspired their creation. This is the first of a series of events that mark several stages of the project, a collaboration between photgrapher Daniel Benson, photographer, writer and researcher Matthew Crowley and designer/critical practitioner Liam Morrow.
An opportunity to see the collaborative, long-term work of 6 artists - a subtle and detailed silk patchwork made of plant rubbings and additional stitch and beadwork, depicting many of the familiar weeds of a specific area of Kent.
Created by writer Jeremy Scott and sound artist Anna Braithwaite, this sound walk along a stretch of the Thames in Kent offers stories, poems, songs and music about the Thames Barges. It includes contributions from primary school students, members of a local choir, and people from the local Thames Barge community.
Experience an outdoor installation of paper sails flying on either side of the Thames.
Join two film screenings in Basildon and Chalkwell of Estuary Dreams – a community experimental storytelling project led by neurodivergent Basildon filmmaker and artist Aaron Shrimpton. This edition of Estuary Dreams features around 20 participants, including emerging artists, recent graduates, or creatives outside traditional paths.
A collection of poems available to read online, culminating in the publication of a zine at the end of the summer by poet and writer Rachel Gambling. The author asks questions about her identity and position as a third-generation South African immigrant, bisexual, and from Coloured heritage.
This is a collaboration between photographer Maria Hickey and poet Pablo Giles. Pablo and Maria will be showing some new videography work at Basildon Festival Leisure Park.
You’re invited to join one of James’ story walks in the Castle Point area, taking place in Canvey Wick Nature Reserve and Hadleigh Country Park.
A solo exhibition by Gabi Mind with painting, collage and cyanotype which maps a lifelong migration down the estuary, from London to Whitstable. The artist is also offering two children' and young people's workshops around ideas of climate change.
An exhibition of contemporary mixed media art, with evocative and strong links to themes of memory, nature and the Estuary. Presented at HOFS, a vibrant arts centre at the heart of the community, located in the iconic former fire station at the gateway to the town of Hadleigh, Essex.
Join 'The People of 1381' for an artist-led, one-day workshop to discover their innovative research project on the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. Workshops participants will record their own messages about the river and its vessels for broadcast via a sound installation.
Meet Stephen Turner in his studio at Chatham Dockyards, for two exclusive events that run through some key moments of his life and work. You will find out about his practice of living alone in odd abandoned places for long periods; see photographs and artworks on paper; handle of objects found in the river, including Roman pottery.
Discover the work of two artists who have been working for a decade on the transformative power of female ageing. Join them for a walk which includes scripted interludes, adding your own unique image of a mythical creature to a large map of the Island, and making props and costumes before joining the procession.
Medway Superstars premieres 10 striking filmed portraits highlighting the creative talents of artists based in Medway, Kent. Directed by 51zero Artistic Director, Margherita Gramegna and funded by Arts Council England, the Medway Superstars films capture the region’s artistic energy.
Follow artist Annie Strachan on her bike while they fetch discarded waste material and make impermanent sculptures along the Thames path. Find the sculptures' locations through an interactive online map.
A preview screening of the final film about a community project centred around the UK’s largest concrete garden ornament manufacturer, Whelans Garden Ornaments, and their contribution to the living heritage of the Estuary.
Join writers Lucia Dove, Jessica Taggart Rose, Gareth Evans, Daniel Kramb and many more to be announced for the launch of 'the poetry bench'. The stacked timber structure of the bench has a selection of Daniel Kramb’s 'Little Estuaries' engraved by wood-burning artist Fawn Brinkley.
The project explores the variety of colours and textures comprising of different soil types currently being unearthed during an extensive field study of Essex. Through the artist's individual research and actions, and public workshops with sphere making using locally source soil.
Get your little ones ready for a children-led session in the tidal pool at Shoeburyness. Through a range of activities and games, they will learn to value their local environment. They will also learn about ecological sustainability with links to the curriculum.
A poetic field walk through Two Tree Island down to Borrowdyke in South Essex, England.
A series of performance workshops by artist Erena Dellaporta where children and adults are encouraged to work collaboratively with the artist around the idea of 'den'. Through play, you will explore the idea of a safe place at home, but also the value of outdoor spaces, including beaches, for children to play.
Join our pirate captain as she sails along the estuary; braving the waves and following the clues to uncover a long-lost treasure! Will she find it on Canvey?!
© 2024 Estuary Festival CIC
