Dartford town centre will welcome four artists who have been invited to create artwork and organise activities for residents and visitors during the summer including performances, film screenings, walks, textiles and much more.
The four artists, all of whom live or work in Dartford, have been drawn together by Dartford Creative – an arts initiative set up by Dartford Council and funded by Arts Council England. Icon Theatre will facilitate a number of projects to work with local communities that live in and currently use the town centre from June to August.
The summer activity aims to help artists get more involved with local people and open up opportunities for residents of all ages to take part in arts and cultural activity in the town. This phase of Dartford Creative builds on the success of the pilot project delivered in 2014‑15.
Public art consultants FrancisKnight are working closely with the Dartford Creative team and the selected artists:
•Clare McEwan from Dartford is a textile artist and designer who explores material, shape and texture, often printing onto surfaces such as fabric, wood and paper.
•Nadia Perrota from Dartford works mostly with film, installation and creative writing, choosing community involvement for the creation of collective works of art.
•Sidonie Carey-Green is a freelance artist working in Dartford. Her work brings together dance, movement and film to capture people’s interaction with popular local places
•Annie Ho-Cooper is a fine artist who works in Dartford. Working with worn textiles and linens, her work seeks to capture memories of local people and open chances for town centre visitors to get involved in art.
Jeremy Kite, Leader of Dartford Borough Council, said, “This project offers a really interesting opportunity for artists connected with Dartford to develop new work and encourage the local community to get involved in a number of activities. There is so much artistic talent in Dartford – everything from painting, sculpture and dance through to creative writing – and the aim of this summer is to encourage local people to get involved and be inspired. I think people sometimes feel that artistic activity fails to connect with local people so Dartford Creative is all about practicality, involvement and inspiration. I’m grateful to Arts Council England for the funding and to all the professionals and artists who are helping us deliver it. I hope these art projects will help residents and visitors record their memories of the town and inspire them to take up an activity that they’ve always wanted to do.”