Free family-friendly workshops in October
What stories are hidden in the Darent Valley? Do the ancient buildings have fascinating histories? Are there mysteries and legends in the woods? Does a favourite walk pass through land rich in tales and characters? The Darent Valley Landscape Partnership Scheme and outdoor arts company Kinetika need help from local people to find these stories.
Victorian artist Samuel Palmer was inspired by the landscape of the Darent Valley, calling it his ‘Valley of Vision’. Now artists are looking at the Valley again to draw from it the stories of its places and people, its history and myths.
Local people are invited to join artists from Kinetika to share and capture their stories, memories and personal connections to the Darent Valley landscape through a series of free family-friendly informal creative workshops. No previous artistic experience or skill is necessary, just a willingness to share your own stories and links to the landscape.
Internationally renowned outdoor arts company Kinetika, working with the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership Scheme, is running creative workshops as part of the Inspired Palmer Landscapes project. This is phase 1 of the project inspired by Samuel Palmer’s paintings to explore, reveal and celebrate the stories of individual places and local landscapes of the Darent Valley. The Inspired Palmer Landscape project will lead to a celebration in 2021 to share the stories gathered with the wider community, for them to enjoy and learn about the Darent Valley’s heritage and celebrate their own personal connections to the landscape.
The workshops take place on:
6th October at Lullingstone Country Park
13th October at Westerham Hall
19th October at Temple Hill Community Centre
20th October at Otford Memorial Hall – morning session only
Two workshops run on each of these days and people are welcome to attend either or both. Morning sessions are in Creative Writing and Drawing. Participants are asked to bring along a postcard, photo or painting of a local landscape for inspiration so stories about these places can be gathered and shared. Examples of Samuel Palmer’s Darent Valley paintings will also be on hand for inspiration.
The afternoon sessions offer the opportunity to work closely with Kinetika artists in a hands-on batik silk painting workshop. Kinetika has established a world-wide reputation for its beautiful designs and silk flags; and this is the first time the company has offered workshops in Kent. Using drawings from the morning session or postcards, photos or paintings of a local landscape, the workshop will demonstrate how to scale up a drawing and transfer it on to silk using wax and colourful silk dyes.
The workshops are free and open to all. Please book places via the events page on the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership Scheme website.
Kinetika is also offering to run tailored workshops for groups in the Darent Valley. For more information about this or for any queries relating to the workshops, please call Jo Beal on 07966 431467 or email jo@kinetika.co.uk
For more information on Kinetika, please go to www.kinetikaonline.co.uk. For more details on the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership Scheme, please go to www.darent-valley.org.uk