IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK
2019
If These Walls Could Talks was a guerrilla creative intervention in Horden, where residents woke up one morning to find their street filled with a series of installations, turning bus shelters into all manner of scenes.
On the 14th May 2019, Sunderland Road in Horden seemed as normal as ever, until sleepy commuters realised that it had been transformed in the middle of the night by a pop-up one day arts event by No More Nowt (formerly East Durham Creates) in partnership with Horden Parish Council.
Photo credit: Horden Residents by Richard Kenworthy, 2019
Photo credit: Horden Resident by Richard Kenworthy, 2019
The residents were confronted with a series of unique art installations that turned bus shelters into a variety of rooms, ranging from a social club to a colliery kitchen, led by artists Sally Southern and Nicola Lynch.
Since September 2018 they had been working across East Durham, primarily with people aged 55 and over, to capture the magic of everyday life by exploring people’s stories to bring them to life, sharing with the entire community.
The artists worked with groups and individuals across East Durham delivering visual art workshops to local residents, many of whom had never previously engaged with the arts before.
If These Walls Could Talk worked with local people in a broad range of settings including care homes and community centres and involved bringing together various local hobbyist groups ranging from Tai Chi to Rag Rugging.
Hundreds of older people from across East Durham were involved during the workshop process and the participants contributed in a number of ways such as telling their stories, making Clippy Mats and allowing their homes to be photographed to making art that was displayed in the final exhibition.
“Superb day full of wonderful and moving stories and beautiful artwork.”
“It was cool because nothing else happens around here.”
“A piece of magic today.”
“Fabulous, well prepared event. Loved the idea that it just appeared one morning.”
Photo credit: Horden Resident by Richard Kenworthy, 2019
The process: Working closely with Horden residents, artists Sally Southern and Nicola Lynch helped local participants to explore and create a mixture of text, audio and imagery inspired by the stories collected from across this former mining community and included original pieces of furniture and crafts created by the locals involved.
The warmth of the participants’ stories and their enthusiasm to be a part of the project resulted in artwork that was touching, personal and often humorous.
Extra workshops were developed to the request of the participants who found their experiences very rewarding and touching. Celia Bryce worked with residents from Langley House care group to create original songs that were performed on the day. Annette Poulson worked with both The Ark community centre and Horden Hub House community centre to create ceramic tea-sets and plates that were inspired by participants passions and favourite foods, hobbies, local history and stories, which were exhibited in The Ark’s window.
The artist’s transformed the various participants’ artwork into installations that represented rooms where the local participant’s works are based and were installed overnight into five bus shelters in the surprise pop-up on event day. The installations in the five bus shelters represented elements that were important aspects of the participant’s everyday lives;
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Inspired by the bingo and singers at the ‘Afternoon Out’ workshops at Acre Rigg Social Club, the bus shelter was transformed into a social club – for many participants’ they stated that this space was the social heart of the community. Throughout the day there was impromptu performances of local ‘turns’ and even a game of bingo!
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This installation was developed from the participants’ joy of traditional crafts that you do in your home and in community groups. It took the traditional cross stitch sampler and played with scale and the participants made their own super sized tapestry.
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This bus shelter was transformed into the traditional home kitchen. Ceramic plates and objects were specially made by local people and the images depicted on them showcased the tales and stories that are often shared around the kitchen table.
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The If These Walls Could Talk project looked at the habits, routines and everyday life of the participants involved. A giant clock was made that used the words of local people to describe their day to day routines. There were objects within the shelter that were either photographed or given by local people that held a special meaning to them.
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Installed in the bus shelter were working lampshades. These were all designed and created by local people. Each lampshade told a unique, personal story and reflects the personality of its creator. Some reflect major events in life, some reflect on childhood, some are based on hobbies and some just portray humorous situations!
Precious Things by Maxy Bianco
A celebration event was held at Horden Welfare Centre as a ‘thank you’ to local people we produced this project with and for.
The day included a special screening of ‘Precious Thinks’ by filmmaker Maxy Bianco, a specifically commissioned short film documenting the lives of older people specific to the area. Maxy worked with Sally Southern and Nicola Lynch to create the film with the project participants, intending to give further insight into the lives of local older people.
Over 120 people directly involved in the project attended the events, with many more witnessing as they passed through the installations on their daily commutes.
“As well as a physical landscape East Durham has a psychic landscape within its own archaeological layers of memories, a palimpsest of jumbled histories and resonances that echo through time. Precious Things is a voyage of discovery finding things as we move, everyday ephemera, history, geography. personal memory and a lyrical response to the spirit of place, creating a subtle, poetic, multi-layered ‘deep map’ of this magical, marginal place on the edge of England.
From the debris of mining that washes up on the shores of Horden every day, we follow to take in the bingo at the afternoon out club. This ageing population shares with us the items their memories are bound up in. An old Tai-Chi master teaches what it is to love.”
Project partners:
— Commissioned by No More Nowt, as part of the ‘This Place We Call Home’ three-cycle commissioning process 2018-2020
— All of the local participants, primarily aged 55 and over
— Horden Hub House community centre
— The Ark community centre
— Langley House care group
— Artists, Sally Southern and Nicola Lynch
— Filmmaker, Maxy Bianco
— Celia Bryce
— Horden Parish Council
— Horden Welfare Centre
