Category: Project Posts

FenScapers Podcast No. 1

Posted on by Colin Stevens
Photo taken at Madeleine’s Patch near Warboys. Visit facebook.com/madeleinespatch

From page to podcast…

Friday 21st January 2022 was a big day for the creative writing team.

We launched the first FenScapers audio collection, to listen to on your phone or device. Enjoy either in the comfort of your home or while you take a walk in the countryside. Simply click the play button or read the transcript of the podcast here.

The launch of the podcast coincided with the FenScapers’ first live performance of their writing at the Fascinating Fens ‘Fen Folks Friday’ monthly online social event.

Fen Folks Fridays are free, friendly monthly meet-ups via Zoom, featuring speakers and topics for those who enjoy meeting others who share their love of the Fens. Watch the full Fen Folk Friday video here:

We had an incredible night presenting poems, prose and even a 2-person performance which was received enthusiastically by over 25 Fascinating Fen followers.

“We weren’t really sure what to expect, but we really enjoyed it. Please thank everyone. It was great to have the FenScapers and the Fascinating Fenners/Fen Folkers together”

Karen, Founder of Fascinating Fens

The FenScapers have been working with writer and editor Belona Greenwood since summer 2020 as part of our Inkling and Connect commissions. You can read about how the project began as the ‘Writing the Landscape’ project here.

The writers from across Fenland and East Cambs have explored their love of the Fens and experimenting with many different creative ways to use the written word. You can find a library of their writing on their blog ‘Leaping the Lockdown’.

They are exploring ways of sharing their writing and The FenScapers podcast is their first digital audio platform in order to share with the wider community.

Created during the lockdowns the podcast was recorded their writings on phones and laptops and then Creative Agent Colin, edited and mixed them with sound effects and original music.

Barbara, one of the writers, is very happy with the final edit:

“Listening to the different voices and the music that we helped to choose – the podcast reflects what a lovely mixed bunch we are“

Wide view of FenScapers enjoying the freedom of Madeliene's Patch near Warboys
FenScapers lost in the glorious sunshine and wildflowers of Madeleine’s Patch during a 2021 summer easedown.

The music was commissioned by the writers from Norfolk musician, Chris Ellis. The group chose the final themes and Chris developed musical strands to be mixed and blended with the writing.

Fascinating Fens Friday was a huge success and now FenScapers are preparing to create a new live performance for local communities. To find out more contact Colin : colin@cppmarketplace.co.uk

Read about how this project began as the ‘Writing the Landscape’ project here.

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BACK TO THE HIGH STREET

Posted on by Alice Cramer

Fenland District Council approached MarketPlace to help their efforts to bring life back the High Street in March, following the pandemic.

With the aim of supporting shopkeepers and residents alike we created some fun street entertainment activity onto the High Streets of Wisbech and March.

We were delighted to be combining some professional street entertainers from London and Birmingham with our local talent to create a flurry of energy (and a few odd looks!) on the High Street.

Wow in Wisbech

How could we support the local shops to promote their businesses as the post-pandemic world opened up again? In discussions with the team at Fenland District Council it was clear that the shops needed to feel part of something and that Wisbech needed reminding that it is very fortunate to have what many towns do not – a lively array of independent shops ranging from fishing tackle and locksmiths to vinyl records and jewellery.

The shops agreed to participate, each deciding what offers they could promote. Then we brought some street entertainment to let people know there was a Wow! in Wisbech to be found.

The Bendy Balloon sisters visited the town creating smiles and laughter and telling people how marvellous they felt the town was in having their colourful shops. On their second visit to the town they were joined by a stilts walker and a folk trio from Norwich who filled Market Place with lively tunes and supported The Art Station that had arrived in town.

The Art Station is the creation of Wisbech based artist and musician Dan Donovan and was also part of the Back to the High Street project.

March Christmas Market – The Build Up

A major event in the town had not happened for 2 years. Fenland District Council wanted to support the town on a relaunch with a view to stimulating footfall for the local shops.

On Saturday 20th November, MarketPlace spent the day at March Market spreading cheer with Santa’s ‘ELF and Safety’ Team. Festive tunes were provided by Sally Rose and local artist, Marian Savill invited members of the public to add creative wishes the (now) well known denim Christmas Tree that we commissioned in 2019.

Here’s a little round up video of the day.

The Tree then spent 6 weeks in March Library where Librarians supported the activity, encouraging more people to add their wishes for the local community. Simple but effective.

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SURVIVING LOCKDOWN

Posted on by Colin Stevens

We’ve loved working with Click Therapy in co-creating their second book SURVIVING LOCKDOWN. The colourful book is a powerful combination of photography and heartfelt writing about life during the lockdowns of 2020/21.

The book contains moving, sometimes funny stories and naturally lend themselves to monologues and performance.

Discover CLICK THERAPY

How the book began

Wisbech community members were working with Click Therapy, taking photographs that reflected their personal lives and situations during the pandemic. Talking with Jenna and Steve about the difficulties of meeting during lockdowns, we suggested trying some creative writing – a new development for them.

The writing began in a short series of lunchtime online workshops with writer Bel Greenwood acting as facilitator. Community writers shared their personal contributions, and with Belona’s support formed creative documentary pieces.

Creative Activities with toddlers

SURVIVING LOCKDOWN is an honest snapshot of people’s lives during one of the most difficult periods of recent history. How they coped. Thier fears, worries and their successes.

Founder of CLICK Therapy, Steve Hubbard said: “The creative writing aspect was new to us all, a photograph can speak a 1000 words, but a blank sheet is filled with the silent voices within you”.

Creative Agent Colin began to feel that the writing would be served well by some theatrical attention. It was lucky then that he was talking to three young people in Fenland who were beginning to explore the idea of setting up a theatre company.

AlternateOrbit Theatre

Community performers Jodie Hicks, Christopher Crowther & Glen O’Gorman met each other during their teenage years with 20Twenty Productions. They were interested in establishing a theatre company in Fenland . Colin felt their energy and age would offer some interesting adaptation to the Surviving Lockdown content.

In just 3 short rehearsals the team brought a staged rehearsed reading at The Oasis Centre in Wisbech on Friday 22nd October. It was received with great enthusiasm and thanks to a Community Connector’s links to the local Libraries the show was presented at Wisbech Library and March Library.

Many will connect with the themes of loss, isolation, mental health and community support. There is emotional content but it is suitable for a family audience (12+ yrs).

Image reads: “The Lockdown has made me aware of how selfish people can become. Selfish people were buying everything up and not thinking of the elderly and vulnerable…”

Take a look at some highlights of the show or watch the full performance at the end of the page:

Highlights from the performance at the Oasis Centre in Wisbech

Bel Greenwood – Facilitator

Belona is a former journalist and an experienced co-writer with community groups. She has been helping many groups find and develop their voice through writing and is also the lead facilitator of the Fenscapers who produce the Leaping the Landscape blog.

We have all been through so many different emotions and experiences over the last year. Isn’t it time to hope that we can move on? Here’s hoping…

Grab a cuppa and watch the full performance of SURVIVING LOCKDOWN here:

Subtitled by Stagetext

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Tiny Dance

Posted on by Alice Cramer

Across Summer 2021, MarketPlace teamed up with Casson and Friends to make Tiny Dance – short dance films inspired by conversations with communities in Fenland and Forest Heath. Collaborative Choreography you might say.

The dancers visited 4 market towns around Fenland and West Suffolk (Forest Heath) and chatted to residents about what they loved about where they live. They also encouraged people to collaborate on some moves – watching the dancers and helping to shape choreography.

Casson and Friends are a record-breaking dance theatre company that aims to always be accessible, interactive and joyful. The company believes in ‘people powered performance’ – dance that is co-created with the help of the public.

Tiny Dances are short dance films inspired by the shared conversations, stories and anecdotes, plus choreography ideas. Choreographer Tim and his team of dancers use the information shared to create a bespoke dance reflecting our unique rural landscape.

View the finished videos below and let us knowwhat you think.

#TinyDance Fenland

Event photography credit: Malachy Luckie.

Casson & Friends brought their dance moves to Wisbech Play Day at The Spinney Adventure Playground on Wednesday 4th August and March Market on Saturday 7th August, inspiring choreography moves with creative people in their creative places. Take a look at the final #TinyDance below and view the full album of photos here (credit Malacky Luckie).

Casson & Friends dancers performing their finished #TinyDance in Fenland for the final film.
Filming day photography: Jodie Hicks.

#TinyDance Forest Heath (West Suffolk)

Event photography credit: Malachy Luckie.

Casson & Friends dancers spent a week focusing on Newmarket Memorial Gardens Earth Arts Festival (19th August) and Brandon Festival (21st August). Talking with local people helped them create a unique West Suffolk dance.

Take a look at the final #TinyDance below and view the full album of photos here.

Casson & Friends dancers performing their finished #TinyDance in Forest Heath for the final film.
Filming day photography: Jodie Hicks.

Read about how our Community Producer, Jodie Hicks got on this summer with Casson & Friends.

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Escape from Fort Lagoon R&D

Posted on by Alice Cramer

Tickets & more info here

Read our Young Producer Jodie’s experience of the day here.

Escape from Fort Lagoon is an immersive ‘theatre game’ created by Wake the Beast (Adam McGuigan) and Submersion Productions (Jude Jagger). We have been an active partner in their Research & Development work since 2019. We’ve been lucky to have a group of local community members who have formed a ‘Creative Collective’ that has provided a springboard for feedback on ideas and the concept of the theatre production.

Escape from Fort Lagoon is set in the future where water is a precious commodity and is controlled by an oppressive government who restrict access to the water to the elite (a theme that surely resonates with many right now in the rollout of the pandemic).

Once the Covid19 conditions allowed, Adam and Jude invited the Collective to do some location scouting in their home towns and further afield. Towns with a nearby body of water being the main practical consideration for this piece.

The Collective members came up with different locations and devised their own maps, highlighting interesting features of their area. With local knowledge they fed ideas into many of the creative elements that will end up in the final show.

These included news reports, set design, crowd interactions and environmental issues that are highlighted within the theatre piece.

The Fort Lagoon team visited the region to gain an understanding of our area and the challenges that exist in putting on a large scale theatre event. During the few days spent in Chatteris, March, Brandon and Mildenhall, the team got to test out the mobile phone app that will act as a device for audience members to navigate the game.

They also went for a spot of wild swimming and tested the new choral parts with the Cant Sing Choir in March. Having that time to test out elements of the show was extremely valuable and having the time to explore the spaces meant that the piece can be influenced by the landscape and the people in those areas.

The team got a lot of inspiration from the décor at Johnsons of Old Hurst Tropical House near Chatteris, (marred only slightly by Jude dropping her phone into the crocodile enclosure). Residents of Mildenhall were calling out supportive comments as the gang tested swimming in their local river and Brandon’s Market Square was buzzing with activity. Many people chatting in the square wanted to know more about the project and how they could get involved.

Submersion Productions now plan to secure funding to present the piece in summer 2023 in the area and all our fingers are crossed and watch this space!

Read our Young Producer Jodie’s experience of the day here.

Take a look at the Flickr gallery of the location visits here.

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A Rainbow Isolation…

Posted on by Colin Stevens

In the Autumn of 2020 photographer, Mercedes Rollason, had an idea.

To present a positive, colourful and flamboyant portrait of the LGBTQ community living in Fenland and Cambridgeshire.

However, at the end of 2020, it became obvious that this concept was not going to happen quite as planned. Why? Mercedes discovered an LGBTQ+ community feeling disheartened, isolated and not enthusiastic about living in Fenland.

Mercedes discussed the project with Creative Agent Colin and together they explored how it might continue. People were not feeling positive enough to show themselves publicly in photographic portraits. What if Mercedes could interview them and combine their words with a visual portrait of the landscape around them?

Mercedes pushed forward and the result is a stunning and moving collection of quotes and photographs that the reveal the lives of individuals living in Fenland.

For February 2022 the photographs were displayed in March Library (Ely also requested a display and presented it at their main doors). Mercedes did see a big shift in the attitude and spirit of those she interviewed in December and January 2021. She said at the time:

“Coming out of lockdown really does seem to have put some positivity back in people’s lives. Isolation can be an overwhelming situation. The LGBTQ community was already feeling isolated so the pandemic just reinforced that feeling. Something changed around April. Colour seemed to return”.

If confidence can grow we would love people to contact us about photography and other artforms that might explore and reflect the realities of living in the Fenland LGBTQ+ community.

If you would like to take part in the next stage of the project please contact colin@cppmarketplace.co.uk

Click the logo to visit Mercedes’ website

Art of #CovidChat

Posted on by Colin Stevens
Image reads "The Art of Covid Chat - Creative Conversations - Summer 2021". Behind the text is the image of coronavirus cells on a white background.
Image reads “The Art of Covid Chat – Creative Conversations – Summer 2021”. Behind the text is the image of coronavirus cells on a white background.

A new MarketPlace/ DMJ Imagery Ltd podcast series

For many creative practitioners, the Lockdown period during 2020 and 2021 was both a stressful challenge and a opportunity for experimentation and learning. Inevitably, this has raised questions about what we do, how we do it and most importantly, why we do what we do.

In the Art of #CovidChat, Chatteris based filmmaker and podcast producer, David Johnson (DMJ Imagery) had the idea of hosting ‘creative conversations’ with artists from our Inkling and Connect micro-commissions.

Pictured is a photo of David Johnson (DMJ Imagery) with his camera.

David wanted to explore how artists have coped with transferring their skills and practice to online workshops, digital technology and downloadable resources. He also wanted to discuss how they managed to continue the creative sharing process despite not being able to be in the same physical space as workshop participants.

  • Michelle Brace
  • Kaitlin Ferguson
  • Bel Greenwood
Three thumbnail images of artists’ Michelle Brace, Kaitlin Ferguson and Bel Greenwood, all taking part in the podcasts.

The podcasts include a great line-up of artists discussing music, writing, digital technology, fine art and performance.

The creative conversations launched on podcast platforms early this summer. Listen to them below.

  • Marian Savill
  • Ric Savage
  • Sally Rose
  • Genevieve Rudd
  • Leanne Moden
Five thumbnail images of artists’ Marian Savill, Ric Savage, Sally Rose, Genevieve Rudd and Leanne Moden, all taking part in the podcasts.

Listen to the podcast series below:

Episode 1

Read the transcript of Episode 1 here.

This episode David Johnson interviews artists Genevieve Rudd and Marian Savill. The topic for this episode is Mixed Media Arts. They discuss:-

  • Permission to be an artist
  • Cyanotype & anthotype
  • The changing of art materials and the impact of recycling

Read Genevieve’s blog post here.

Read Marian’s blog post here.

Episode 2

Read the transcript for Episode 2 here.

David Johnson interviews poet and writer Leanne Moden and writer Belona Greenwood. The topic for this episode is Poetry and Written Word. They discuss:-

  • Initial process to start writing
  • The effects of lockdown
  • Learning new skills during the last year

The challenge:

  • To write a short poem
  • Short story about a stone

Read Leanne’s blog post here.

Read Bel’s blog post here.

Episode 3

Read the transcript for Episode 3 here.

This episode, David Johnson interviews environmental artist Kaitlin Ferguson and publisher and illustrator Ric Savage. The topic for this episode is Use of Video in Art Projects. They discuss: –

  • How they learned to create videos
  • Their experiences of using videos in their work
  • Missing the audience engagement

The challenge:

  • Record the changes of nature using video
  • Capture something about you
  • Additional challenge – Film a one-minute elevator pitch

Read Kaitlin’s blog post here.

Read Ric’s blog post here.

Episode 4

Read the transcript for Episode 4 here.

This episode, David Johnson interviews singer/ music leader Sally Rose and artist Michelle Brace. The topic for this episode is Music and Technology. They discuss:-

  • What is VJ-ing?
  • Music and Mental Health
  • Folk music in the Fenland area

The challenge:

  • Go for a walk and listen to the rhythm of your feet as you move
  • Get two images – patterns/textures and digitally blend them or collage them.

Read Sally’s blog post here.

Read Michelle’s blog post here.

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The Story of Molly Whuppie with Marion Leeper

Posted on by Colin Stevens
A photo of Marion in a glittering tent telling a story to four small children.

Marion answered our Inkling & Connect call-out last year with a problem she wanted to try and solve.

The problem? How could Marion take the interactive fun and learning from a playgroup setting and transfer it to the flat screen of Zoom and YouTube?

It was certainly a challenge and we were keen to support Marion. Take a look at the first part of her Molly Whuppie story.

As she says about her first video story:

“The Bridge of One Hair that I’ve had to cross, was the big move to telling stories online. Live storytelling in the early years is a conversation.  Young children respond to stories with their whole bodies: not just joining in with actions and rhymes, but pointing, laughing, moving the props around, deciding how the characters are feeling and what they had for breakfast.  

I had to take a leaf out of Mollie Whuppie’s book, and make a virtue of a small screen.“

A photo of Marion’s makeshift set at home using household objects.

Marion persevered, tried out techniques and collaborated to bring in film skills.

“I struggled to learn so many things – lighting, set-building, framing. Then my film-buddy and mentor, Inés Alvarez Villa, came on the scene. Working remotely, she patiently taught me how to focus a shot, film close-up sequences of props and many other skills.”

You can read about Marion’s experience in her recent blog here.

If you are interested in finding out more about the use of storytelling in Early Years learning contact Marion via her website.

Here are the rest of the Molly Whuppie adventure series.

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#SeeYouSoon!

Posted on by Colin Stevens

Developed with support from public funding by Department of Culture, Media and Sport. We spent March, April and May 2021 exploring creative ways to address loneliness and social isolation resulting from the impact of Covid-19.

We threw the obvious title “The Loneliness Project” out the window. After a year of near-constant lockdown we felt it was important to offer people a more positive outlook. How could we help people break out of their ‘bubbles’ in a fun, colourful and positive manner?

After not been able to see or touch their families and friends for a year people needed a sense of real connection. What better way to make meaningful contact than with the simple forgotten Art of Writing? In a world of mobile phones, email, text and WhatsApp, how many of us take the time to put a pen to paper?

The #See You Soon pack of postcards was designed to encourage people to send creative messages and ideas to family members, friends and neighbours.

We took time to have our now familiar “creative conversations” with a diverse range of contacts who are working with families, seniors, young people and people who are experiencing isolation across Fenland and West Suffolk. We worked with community leaders and creative practitioners who understood how their localities and neighbourhoods had been affected by the pandemic.

Connecting is what #See You Soon  was all about – making a move to do something positive. Smile, Reach Out & Say Hello! Our new See You Soon section of the website is coming soon!

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