Chelsea Flower Show

My practice has for some time involved flowers, plants, and green spaces, in relation to regeneration and the built environment. I was really interested then, when I first heard that our city, Stoke-on-Trent, was entering a show garden for the Chelsea Flower Show.
For years now, the only news making the headlines across the UK about Stoke is usually bad - factory closures, being voted the worst place to live, and other negative stories. This only proves to become a self-fulfilling prophesy, as people get the impression that this is not a good place to be, and don't visit or move here. What a positive change then, for the city to have something to celebrate, and to get some good press!
The Stoke-on-Trent transformation garden, seems to me to have picked up cleverly on this theme, presenting a city in metamorphosis.
The design itself celebrates the rich pottery heritage, but looks to the future, including elements of cutting edge design, high quality engineering, and forward thinking green specifications.

I have never been to the Chelsea Flower Show, and so this year seemed the year to go, but I had not bought tickets, and by the time I looked into it, they were sold out! So I was amazed when I received an email from the Council's 'Our City' magazine, letting me know that a competition to win tickets that I had entered had come through! I had my ticket.

One of the main features of the garden was a steel bottle oven. I have to admit that usually, when it comes to the ubiquitous bottle oven shape being used (as it frequently is in the city, for public art works and other representations of Stoke) I am usually not a fan - but in this case, it seemed to make sense, to let people outside the city see this architectural feature. What I love about this design, is the bone china bricks, created within the British Ceramic Biennial's studio in the old Spode Factory - which I saw being made on a recent visit. These are truly beautiful objects, and each one unique. 

What a shame that the public viewing the garden would not get to see the exquisite detail - as unfortunately, despite how it looks on the television, you can't enter the gardens, but instead observe them from the path nearby.

The growing wall was beautiful, and is something I would like to experiment with one day.

I was not able to get a close look at the one-off Moorcroft table, but it looked great, and even surface pattern students from Staffordshire University had contributed to the project, with their cushions, what a fantastic opportunity!

Well done to all involved in the fantastic project, it was truly a city partnership, letting the country know a little about the good things that are going on in Stoke-on-Trent.

Paper Thoughts

Back in the summer, while doing my residency in Japan, I was really interested to hear about the trajectory of Paper gallery in Manchester. They seemed to explode onto the North West's art scene, immediately getting a lot of attention by doing really well at Manchester Contemporary. I really like the simplicity of their idea for an artist led space, and so responded to the call that was out in the summer. Each show is called Paper: _____ the one on at the moment is Paper: Copy and includes artists working with photocopiers, to produce multiples from an original.
After I sent in my expression of interest in the summer Nicola Smith, one of the co-founders of the gallery got in touch about an exhibition that she is working on, Paper: Perform, which will look at the currency of performance art, and documentation.
I went to Manchester this weekend to meet Nicola, have a look at the gallery, and see what might be of interest in the local area to work with.
I am still thinking a lot about using flowers and ikebana to talk about space, and how it is governed and developed in cities, and so went along with that in mind.

Nicola took me around the local area, pointing out the beautiful red brick building opposite, which used to be the sorting office...post art springs to mind. We met Christine Lawley who has a studios in the building, she had grown up in the area and said that it's a fantastic part of Manchester, she said they had not realised that the sorting office was such a fantastic colour, as it had been black with pollution. She also said her school had been nearby, but that it's a car park now. She also pointed out how close we were to Strangeways.

Paper and Mirabel studios (where paper is located) are new to the area, but since they opened, a sushi bar has opened around the corner...gentrification is already beginning. I am keen to pick up on the way that this works. The Mirabel building is just off Deansgate really, so why has it taken so long for development to begin. I want to express the way that an art space affects is locality. I suddenly realised while I was there that there is a real correlation between the way that invasive weeds like buddleia find thetiny gaps and bits of overlooked fertile ground and grow there, and that this is exactly what artists do too. We operate in the forgotten places, and demonstrate value, we make something out of nothing, and slowly views change of an area.

I began to think that for Paper: Perform, I should do something that leaks out of the gallery, into the nooks and crevices of the streets outside of paper, populating the gaps, and letting people know that paper is there.
I am thinking of making a kit, so that people can make their own paper buddleia, to put on the streets outside of the gallery. I am also thinking of a walk from Manchester Piccadilly to Paper, noticing all of the evidence of weeds on the way. I would like to do something involving an ikebana demonstration, but I am not sure how it fits with the other ideas. I have also found myself buying a load of wild flower cigarette cards since getting back from Manchester, not sure why, but I am sure it will all make sense by June.

WEA Health Leaflets

Just before Christmas I had a phone call from Janet Henson from the Worker's Education Authority. The WEA was set up in 1903 to support the educational needs of working men and women, and since then has been committed to providing lifelong learning. I really support what they do, and think they provide fantastic and important opportunities for people of all ages in the UK.
I noticed that with the cuts happening across the city of Stoke-on-Trent, with quite a lot of public service buildings closing, the WEA's classes and reach had been affected.
Janet was ringing up with a query about finding an artist to work with the WEA to create leaflets for their classes, as during these times of swingeing cuts, having good attendance numbers is more important than ever. Janet said that the Bentilee group had been fundraising, and had managed to raise £160 to pay someone to make them a advertising poster, but that this would also need to pay for the printing costs. I said I would be happy to work with the learners to design their own poster, as I didn't think they would be able to afford to pay a designer and afford printing costs: and so I went along to their Christmas party to meet them, and discuss initial ideas. Then just after Christmas I went along to their class.
We started by looking at some other gym posters for ideas and then answering questions about what attracts each of them to come to the class, and what benefits they could identify from being there. They then each had to come up with possible slogans for the poster.
After that we got up and did some light exercise, as an opportunity to take some photographs of the group. Over the two meetings I got a good idea of what the group wanted, and then went away to put it all together.
Once complete the poster went back to them for feedback, and final alterations were made.
They were really pleased with it, as were the WEA.
Later Janet got back in touch to say one of the other groups had seen the poster, and one of their learners had been inspired to make their own version, based on the Bentilee group's design. Here is what Janet said:
'Hi Anna, please have a look at the attachment . One of our WEA volunteers has made a flyer, for the YMCA class,modelled on your flyer. She took her own photo's and put it together. I think she has done a wonderful job. You have inspired learners to have a go.'
Janet then asked if the design made for Bentilee could be rolled out across the 20 classes in the area - which it will be. 
I was really pleased to work with the WEA gym Bentilee on this. I don't often offer my skills for free, but for something like this I was really happy to.

AirSpace Mission

I was selected to take part in the Engage Cultural Leadership programme, Extend. This is a programme for those working in arts and education settings, who are, or have aspirations to be cultural leaders. This has involved two residentials, the first in Wakefield in June, and the second in Leeds in January.
Within that, each participant has been allocated a mentor, and also we were put into groups to work on a group project. My group found that we had a shared interest in participation, and embarked on research to explore participation in cultural projects. My particular interest has developed to be around decision making within participatory projects. The group project has been documented via a blog, but is not what I wish to talk about here, so just to give an overview.
My group includes; freelance artist, Johnny Gailey, Susan Humble from Artlink, and Emily Druiff Director of Peckham Space. Within our group project we each went and did some research and then organised our own residential (in a cottage in the Peaks) where we intended to share our findings and plan for a manifestation. Unexpectedly, we ended up posing questions for each other, which would help us to move our thinking on, in relation to the work that each of us does as artists, educators and leaders.
The three questions that I was given were:
Which direction do you want to face?

How do you make the gallery relevant to the community in which its in?

What are the connections between everything that you are doing and how do they work for you?

Originally this was meant to help move on our group project, but has a much greater reach than we thought - something which was quickly realised.

I realised that attempting to answer these questions could help greatly in planning for the coming two years at AirSpace Gallery, and if the questions could be explored with Andy and Glen (co-directors at AirSpace Gallery) we could figure out what each of us wants to do, and build this in. 

The gallery has been through a relatively difficult time over the past year or two. Previously Andy and Dave had both been there full time, and with Dave's decision to leave and explore other opportunities and avenues, I don't think any of us realised what a big hole it would leave, and how long it would take to understand the implications. Also, the gallery vision and mission was always something that Dave and Andy had set out, so with one half of that partnership now gone, it became imperative that we first understand the new context, and then work out what impact that may have on the direction of the future of the project.

We had the Stocktake Exhibition, which looked back at 6 years history of the gallery, and was quite a nice departure point for Dave. We had thought that in looking back, we would understand how to go forwards, in fact Stocktake may have just marked the end of the chapter. We now needed to start a new one.

What I realised was that though I am a named Director at AirSpace, I am not able to invest as much time as other Directors (as I work 4 days a week - and need time for my own practice as well.) For this reason, I need to make any involvement really work for me. 

I feel that with a small artist led organisation like ours, it is important to keep in mind the individual career aspirations of those involved, and ensure that time give (often voluntarily) has some kind of alternative benefit. For this reason I planned a facilitated activity to work n with Andy and Glen, in order to try to understand our individual career aspirations for the next two years, and to look at those alongside our plans for the direction of the gallery for two years, and to see how these relate to each other.

Keeping the original 3 questions very much in mind, the activity was structured like this:

Activity:

1. Each participant has 5 minutes to write down all the things they do for the gallery.

- then sort into: things you still want to do, things you would like support to do and things you no longer want to do.

Each participant then shares these, and a discussion around identifying gaps, and possible solutions for shifting roles/responsibilities takes place.

 2. Each participant has 3 minutes to note down goals and ambitions for the next 2 years.

3. Each participant has 3 minutes to note down all the things they would like to see the gallery doing over the next two years.

Then participants present their goals and ambitions, and then what they would like to see the gallery doing - and links between own goals and gallery goals are explored as well as links between participants.

(This helps us to understand what informs each of our approaches.) Very helpful! 

4. Participants note down 5 points in relation to what they feel AirSpace is and should be, with a view to write a new/relevant mission statement. These are looked at and discussed, and links/crossovers explored.

5. We discuss the original 3 questions set out at the beginning to see if we have answers yet.

A new mission statement is written in the subsequent weeks, plus a timeplan set out, and an arts council bid completed.

Conjunction 12

Conjunction 12 opened on Friday.  I am one of the curators of the biennial, and this year we are exploring the theme 'The Art of Survival.' There is a lot of information about the programme and events on the Conjunction website, but I thought I would include details of the Artist Soup Kitchen, which I have been leading on.


Each Saturday during Conjunction a special Artist Soup Kitchen will take place from 1-3pm in the AirSpace gallery resource room, and the first took place on 3rd November. We were keen to develop a platform of critical debate and support for creative practitioners during Conjunction, and felt that it was important to create a situation which would be more than the average artist talk, but would be more participatory, and that those present would feel able to contribute. I find that sharing a meal can create just such an environment, the right amount of distraction and enjoyment to be conducive to meaningful discussion.

The first of our soup kitchens took place this Saturday, this week’s soup was Carrot and Ginger. The recipe is below, and the feedback from the hungry artists was that it was great, with a few writing the recipe down from the wall, in order to make it again.

This week was aimed at artists working with communities and the public, and we were exploring how we can ensure our projects are sustainable, and that as practitioners we have the resilience to keep going.

The Creative Soup Eaters were: Chris Oldham, Grega Greaves, Deb Rogers, Anneka French, Gemma Thomas, Robert Cochrane, Tony Jones, Penny Vincent, Maria Whatton, Anne Kinnaird, Jane Howie and Emily Charlton.

The session was lead by Penny Vincent from The Creative Communities Unit at Staffordshire University. Penny works in creative community development, and introduced one of her own projects Parklive! as a way of exploring the idea that we should not wait for permission to do something, or hope and wait for someone else to do something that we would like to see done. The Parklive! project came about, as Penny had been thinking that she wished someone would organise a series of events on Hanley Park bandstand. She thought to herself, hang on, I am someone! and that is where it started. It also leads to another consideration, and that is the question of sustainability. How to involve others in the project, to ensure that all of the energy does not have to come from you.

Penny had also invited Grega Greaves from CANS to discuss The Woodlands Road Mural project that he worked on, which was a partnership with Sir Graham Balfour School, Tillington Manor Primary School and Stafford and Rural Housing. The project worked with a huge number of local people, and the mural has been very well received and looked after. This lead to a discussion about impact measuring, and how difficult it can be to prove the impact of participatory activity of this kind.

We then heard about Tony Jones' involvement as lead artist on the Happy Mandays Photography Group. Tony has been instrumental in setting up and sustaining the project for years, which works with men with Mental Health care needs. The group work with a variety or photographic approaches and tools, as a way of looking out at the world, and as a therapeutic activity. When Tony first got involved, he could not have envisaged how long his involvement would end up being, and also how beneficial the project would turn out to be for a number of the groups members. We also discussed sustainability, Tony has now decided to stop leading the group, but far from folding, the group will continue (self-managed). We considered what the magic formula might be, what is it that makes some projects continue once the artist/developer has left? It seems that of course there is no one magic formula, but making real attempts to understand the context and people you are working with, and confronting problems that necessarily occur with relational projects, and taking a clear stance in terms of ethics and rules, and also establishing and managing expectations can all help to ensure sustainability, as well as creating a space where participants take ownership (and feel like co-producers, as with Tony's group.)

The Practitioners in the room discussed how difficult it can be to keep going as a creative practitioner, and what we each do to survive (both in terms of maintaining energy, and economic stability).

The Survival Bread, delivered to The Artist Soup Kitchen that morning by B Arts Susan Clarke, helped the soup to go down marvelously  and provided a model of how to survive: help and support each other where we can.

Throughout the session, the participants around the table were recording their responses to the discussion on the table cloth, which is now on display on the wall of the resource room. The doodles and notes have been recorded below, and some of these will go into The Artist Soup Kitchen Zine, which will be created at the end of the series, including notes, thoughts and recipes.

After the success of this weeks session, we are really looking forward to next week's kitchen, which is lead by Professor David Manley, and explores self-publishing, and asks the question, is it enough to survive rather than thrive? We will also be tucking into some Russian Vegetable Soup.

Brownfield Ikebana

This summer while on my research trip in Osaka, Japan I went to an Ikebana demonstration. It gave me an idea, to research ikebana while I was on my mountain residency at Headspace in Nara.

Aiko and I did a bit of ikebana practising, and I purchased some books and read up about the Japanese art of flower arranging. It gave me an idea about the ABC site next to the gallery.

For some time myself and other members of AirSpace studio have been considering these Brownfield sites as places of potential. They are not being recognised as such, but in other cities people are using interim sites as interim community growing space. One example is NVA's fantastic SAGE (Sow And Grow Everywhere) project.
On my return to UK the AirSpace studio artists went to Low Parkamoor - Grizedale for a retreat, which I used as an opportunity to practice my ikebana skills.
The AirSpace studio show opened on Friday, where I presented my new work - Brownfield Ikebana - the week before the ikebana's I made on 3 Brownfield sites were presented in the AirSpace window. The three sites chosen are interesting, as they are at different stages of non-development. The Abbatoir was only demolished about a year ago, and yet is surprisingly diverse in terms of the wildflower species to be found there, then the ANC site is a few years older, and the old greyhound track even older still. I hadn't planned to show the ikebana arrangements in the window - I was making them in order to create a new 'works instruction' for the studio show - and then it turned out the window was empty for a week, so we put them in to fill the slot.
The statement accompanying read:

In Brownfield Ikebana Anna presents part of a new series of works, which aim to draw attention to some of the brownfield sites that can be found throughout the city, in the wake of various now defunct or collapsed regeneration programmes. The schemes saw the demolition of buildings and homes all over the city, but with the funding to rebuild seemingly swallowed up with the changing political climate, the interim period between demolition and development seems set to grow.

Empty spaces are now populated by wildflowers and other wildlife, and in some places citizen activism has seen the local population scattering wildflower seeds, improving the environment in the intervening period. Brownfield Ikebanacelebrates these impromptu wildlife havens, using the Japanese art of flower arranging, but replacing the vase with items of  rubbish salvaged from 3 brownfield sites close to the gallery  replacing the flowers with 'weeds.' 

Perhaps Brownfield Ikebana can act as a call for the council to nurture these sites, and see their potential in the short-term, rather than allowing them to become fly-tipping zones.

Then on Friday for the studio show I presented my new works instruction, and revisited the ABC site to create a Brownfield Ikebana live during the private view.

It was a very different thing to do the ikebana in front of people, and was not such an enjoyable experience as previously. I was quite pleased with the vessel which I found this time, which was an empty scotch egg packet. 

I think the ABC site is particularly awful, as the cinema was knocked down to build TESCO - and this bit of land in between the gallery and Tesco has been in limbo. Shoppers sit on the wall which has been built around the site, and throw their rubbish over the wall - so there is plenty of choice for ikebana - and also plenty for the local rat population to eat. Such a big company as Tesco should do something about making the site better - potentially becoming a community asset.

On the last weekend of the studio show (06/10/12 from 2 - 4pm) I will be running a Brownfield Ikebana workshop - showing the participants some of the techniques I have picked up - but mainly as an opportunity to explore the Brownfield Sites of our city, and talk about their interim potential.

Sideways Festival of Art and Walking

A while back I joined the (WAN) Walking Artists Network: a network for artists who walk, or walking artists or other practitioners who consider walking a creative act. 

I was really pleased when, through my connection to the network, I was offered a travel bursary to go to the Sideways Festival of Art and Walking in Belgium. I had seen the call for the festival months back, and had wanted to apply, but didn't in the end, as it would have been difficult with my already scheduled Japan and Lake District residencies in place.

Sideways involved a 4 week expedition of artists, anthropologists, sociologists and other practitioners walking together - 360 KM across Belgium. The walking was punctuated by Festival Weekends, where the walkers would stop for the weekend for a series of events and symposiums, culminating in the final festival weekend and symposium in Zutendaal (the bit that I went to.)

Members of the network met up at St Pancras station to take the Eurostar, our journey to Zutendaal was set to coincide with the arrival of the Walkers - who would be coming to the end of their journey. We were excited to meet them and hear all about it...We arrived at Zutendaal Mooi, a strange log cabin camp, which would be our home for the weekend.

On reflection, it may not have been the best timing; very weary travellers needing to bathe feet, regroup with those that had shared the experience colliding with the Walking Artists Network, who had taken a train, and then a bus to get there, and who were keen to ask questions and find out about the experience. The Walkers did not know who we were, or what we were there for. 

The first night we found ourselves whipped off to a beautiful farm, to share food together, and the next morning the Sideways Walkers had a debrief. 

While that was happening Clare and Mark from WAN organised an Open Space workshop - something I have never come across before. This created a space for the WAN members to get to know each other, and then make some work around walking and the Sideways Experience. 

It started with introductions, and one that struck me the most was Katie Etheridge, discussing a project she had just completed with Wrights and Sites, involving the Pendle Witch trials, Katie brought along some tiny wax and plaster feet, like talismans or relics which she requested people could hide/bury or take away to become future archaeology. I brought one back to put in my reliquary (above) I like to collect something for the reliquary wherever I go. Once introductions were over everyone posted up their ideas for what to do in the workshop on the window - then people would elect to do something, and then 'vote with your feet' and do it.

This resulted in myself, Glen Stoker and Phil Smith from Wrights and Sites going on a perimeter walk - exploring the boundary of the camp, picking up on signs and rhythms. The holiday camp had a strange, clinical atmosphere I felt, I think producing a feeling of 'cabin fever' surprisingly quickly. The perimeter walk took 3 and a quarter hours, and helped in exorcising the feeling. While walking the perimeter, I made a piece of documentary writing, as well as photographing the route. (See Bottom of post.) 

 On the Saturday, there was a symposium at De Leiteburg - a nature reserve. The symposium was a fantastic opportunity to find out about the experiences which the walkers had - starting with a beautiful happening: each of the walkers presented an object which summed up the Sideways Experience for them,

it was very moving, to hear these snippets of feeling - some people said nothing, while others explained their choice of object.
The symposium talks were being illustrated/documented on camera - a man (unfortunately I did not find out who) was making notes/diagrams and using objects to track the points and conversations made.

Some people said they found it distracting, but I found it very helpful, and also interesting to see what he picked up on. The morning contained a number of academic explorations of walking - one of which by Jan Masschelein talked about walking lines in cities to get to know place. Not going to tourist attractions, but literally drawing an a to b line, and asking participants to walk it - as closely as possible. This sits with the Dog Walk which I did back in 2008 - trying to understand the 'regeneration zones' in my city, and has also given me an idea for a class with my students. There was a very short space for discussion, and I think that bit could have gone on a lot longer. In the afternoon around De Leiteburg woods there were a number of tents - we were given maps to where the tents were, but we did not know who would be in them, we had to go there to find out.

We had less than two hours to get about - and it felt a bit pressured, as I was keen not to miss anything! Anyway, I thought this was a fantastic way for the audience and the participants in Sideways to interact. In each tent practitioners who had done the walk were waiting to present in a variety of ways about their own practices (which brought them to Sideways.) These included:

Wrights and Sites, who decided to have a conversation with each other about their Sideways Experience. Phil Smith talked about his idea to carry a plinth on his back, and the shocking physical impact it had on his body, and also very interestingly, the way the project necessarily had to change when faced with the real, as opposed to the imagined/proposed context when planning the work. Phil said he had aimed for the plinth to become a mobile fourth plinth, where he would invite people to stand on the plinth and give speeches, but in reality, when it came to it, in the real situations Phil had realised it would create a mockery of the person standing on it in some way, and so he had to change his idea - somehow the plinth could not operate as an elevation device, and in fact was a subjugation device - drilling Phil physically into the ground. Phil's experience of Sideways was obviously extremely difficult, both physically and mentally, but he was very philosophical about what could be learnt.
We talked a lot over the weekend with various walking practitioners about the difference in walking with a purpose (to get from a to b) and walking with a desire to understand a place - we discussed drifting and getting lost techniques - and that for many of the practitioners the Sideways Journey meant that their usual methodologies had to be quite violently interrupted. This was uncomfortable for many, who felt their original ideas had been compromised. It would be interesting to discover if, on reflection in a few weeks time, something new might have emerged from this new way of operating.

A different approach saw Peter and Giulia from Stalker - they barred the path and said 'you cannot pass' until we had explored the words stuck to trees nearby, there were words and thoughts which we were asked to ask questions about in relation to the group that they are in's activities: Stalker. Stalker Walking School lead walks in Rome and other places, taking participants into usually forbidden/barred areas of the city - exploring and trespassing as a political act. It was a great way to explore the forest, and have some great and interesting conversations.

After this we all met up to go on De Leiteburg's Barefoot Trail. I really liked the idea of the trail, where at the beginning of the walk you left your shoes, and went off into the forest.

I somehow had not expected it was really a walk through the woods, up log ladders, through gravel, and mud.

And even through some quite deep rivers. The walk took an hour and a half, and was incredibly sensual, making you suddenly aware of how the foot make contact with the ground, and every muscle in the body is involved in that connection.

After that we went to the farm (with the marvellous sound system caravan and Bar on a Bus) for tea, before heading to the local school for a performative tour of Zutendaal. This project by Orquestina de Pigmeos took us around Zutendaal - with the 100 plus audience silently walking as dusk fell, discovering the sounds, people and places that make Zutendaal what it is.

We heard the football team practising, and sneaked under the football field sprinkler system, before finding ourselves silent voyeurs of the local dance class practice session.
We explored a forest populated by what sounded like dinosaurs, and discovered a lone stone mason, carving out a letter A. It went on, a silent procession of strangers, traipsing through the darkness of the woods - no torches allowed, senses prickled.

The tour continued and ended up in the barn for a shindig and a glass of locally grown and pressed apple juice. That evening the Sideways Walkers let their hair down, and it felt like a big sigh of relief, and burst of energy as well. Sunday, saw a few sore heads, and more interesting talks and presentation and opportunities to hear about the projects by participants of Sideways. There was a chance to look at the results of some of the works made en route. Reg Carremans had strapped canvas to his feet, physically documenting the connection between his feet and the earth. Then at the end of the journey, the canvasses were put together.

I went along to the Walking Library's Reading session, which gave the Librarians a chance to talk about their project, and also read from some of the fabulous books in the collection.

Participants had suggested books that they would take on a walk. I also went along to a talk by Susanne Kudielka and Kaspar Wimberley, who did the entire walk with their baby (who was mainly carried - but did take her first steps during the month.) The were doing a project based on the Belgian tradition of Ruitocht (tradetrip) where you start with an apple or an egg - and then swap it and swap it and swap it. They used it as a way of meeting people and creating conversations on the route. Kaspar was swapping objects (starting with an apple) whereas Susanne was swapping stories. They found that the experience of Sideways really affected their ability to carry out their project in the way that they wanted to.

With dialogical work of this nature, in order for the exchange to be meaningful, time must be spent. But the specific context of the Sideways walk meant that time was something that most participants struggled to find. Some days the walkers had 36 km to cover - which left no time for other activities - and there was a sense from many that this led to a head down and get it done approach. We heard this a lot over the weekend - librarians had expected to have time to read, and share readings on the road - but this had to be done at the same time as walking, Susanne and Kaspar knew that if they did a swap there was a good chance that they would be left behind and get lost, walkers who were used to 'drifting' as an exploratory method found their drifts were limited to minutes and sometimes seconds.
Over the weekend, the way that the participants described the experience of Sideways changed. At first, tiredness and sore feet saw people being very critical of the organisation of the festival - of the conditions which they had to walk under, but by the time we left we were being told about an amazing, once in a lifetime, not to be missed experience. And on the Sunday a sense of melancholy, and dread of morning seemed to be in the air - people were ready to return to their lives, but with a feeling that something important had taken place - a pilgrimage completed.

I saw and heard so much over the weekend which I know will feed into my thinking around waking practices, and hopefully my research for the Saje Project - exploring walking as a conversational tool. I cannot even get down here all that I saw - but there is one project which really stood out for me: and that was Peter Ankh's Donkijote project. Peter walked Sideways with Beagle, a local (and very beautiful) donkey. The donkey had a lot of high tech equipment strapped to him, which took a photograph every few minutes, measured pollution, as well as recording lots of other information on the journey.
A description of the project from the Sideways Website: 'The donkey will function as a living and walking browser that will produce information, geo-tagging knowledge, mapping route, collecting things, asking questions, searching for answers and share this content, bringing the Sideways journey online 'in real time'. The project aims to be a cocktail of ethical, tactical, educational and psychogeographical meaning; while walking at human speed new methods are explored to map the complex assemblages of humans, plants, animals, artifacts,  technologies and physical landscape features.'
Peter talked about his experience, and described how the donkey is a fantastic way to connect the public and create a space for conversation. He said that people are not able to mediate their reaction to the donkey, before they have meant to they are putting out their hand to make a connection, the donkey is an interruption in our modern lives.
Sideways - I am do glad to have been able to come and hear about the experience - but I wish I had gone on the walk. Thanks so much to WAN for the travel bursary. I hope that we will be able to work on something together with some of the fantastic walking artists in the network.