CALLOUT FOR CREATURES,
FOLKLORE, MYTHS & LEGENDS OF CO. DURHAM
YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE PART OF A DIGITAL ART PROJECT
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YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE PART OF A DIGITAL ART PROJECT —
BE A FUN PART OF A MAJOR DIGITAL ART RESIDENCY BY INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS DAVID BLANDY & PETRA SZEMÁN.
From the Lambton Worm, to giant boars, shape-shifting hares, ghosts, witches, monsters and local legends, tell us your stories and unexplained phenomena from where you live.
Artists Petra Szemán (left) and David Blandy (right) in virtual form.
SUBMIT YOUR LOCAL TALES OF CREATURES, MYTHS, LEGENDS & UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENA:
*Submission note: All data, images or information submitted via this form are treated with confidentially and handled in line with our data protection policy. If your content is used in any project research you will be specifically credited (unless you want to remain anonymous). A list of all contributors will be credited as part of this project.
The artist’s approach
David Blandy & Petra Szemán who have exhibited and produced work internationally are now joining forces to work collaboratively on a symbiotic programme across County Durham.
We’ll be sharing updates as their work progresses, but for now here’s an introduction to where the compass is pointing.
Q: “What defines “digital” as a place and how does that relate to our physical place of County Durham, in the wider context of the world?”
► David Blandy (he/him)
“Working in collaboration with Petra, I want to bring together a digital community around a shared quest, to create an online encyclopedic map of an alternative future County Durham. I want to encourage disparate and often left behind communities to think about the places around them, to question the normal and to listen to diverse stories - to highlight the fact that we all inhabit different internal worlds even though we might live in the same physical space.”
► Petra Szemàn (they/them)
“A real-life place can take on a virtual quality in multiple ways. One may see the place in a film, or know of local legends and mythologies tied to it, or a place may simply evoke a dream, or a memory of a different time. I envision these versions of “place”, different layers of multiple parallel realities, twisting and merging together, becoming a sprawling archival output. This shared quest aims for establishing an alternative future County Durham.”
EVERY PART OF CO. DURHAM HAS DIFFERENT FOLKLORE, MYTHS AND STRANGE STORIES STRETCHING BACK GENERATIONS.
These tales feature strange creatures, weird phenomena or unexplained encounters in woods, near water (rivers, ponds, wells, even puddles), in old buildings and across the different geographies of our county — and we want to hear about yours! Via the form on this page 🧌
County Durham has a history of weird and wonderful folklore - but have you experienced anything first-hand that is hard to explain - or had local stories passed down from generation to generation?
Then we want to hear about it! Tell us about it below - write, share links, upload photos, drawings or videos. You can be anonymous or leave your name and contact email - whichever makes you most comfortable. You’ll be contributing to the development of works by David Blandy and Petra Szemán spanning playable online games, zines, animation and more as part of their Digital Residency.
Project partners:
— Commissioned by No More Nowt and funded by Arts Council England.
— Part funded in partnership with Into the Light
— [Digital] Place Lab
— OGRE Studio
— David Blandy
— Petra Szamán
— Thanks to Castle Dene Shopping Centre, Peterlee