Genevieve Rudd - Your Walking Companion

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Genevieve Rudd – Your Walking Companion

Ever wondered what it would be like to take a walk through a landscape with an artist? An artist helping you to explore the environment with a creative eye?

Environmental artist, Genevieve Rudd sits on a tree stump, surrounded by the lush greens of Brandon Country Park woodland.

With a very user-friendly app called ECHOES we think we’ve found a way for you to take a walk with an artist…

Working with artist Genevieve Rudd and media producer David Johnson (DMJ Imagery), we’ve been exploring the idea of developing a smartphone activity over the past two years.

Visit How To: Download Your Walking Companion here.

Environmental artist, Genevieve Rudd, reached out to us in 2020 as part of our Inkling and Connect commissions. Her idea was to enable people to maintain a connection with nature and the outdoors with modern technology.

#LetsTakeAWalk (2020), involved Gen leading a group workshop via Whatsapp between the Walk’n’Craft group, based in Mildenhall, and the Can’t Sing Choir, based in March. Gen sent prompts and creative activities which encouraged everyone to take time to look more closely, listen to and feel their surroundings and think about the landscape they were in. This enabled participants the opportunity to meet virtually and connect. You can read more about #LetsTakeAWalk here.

_{Three photos; one of a leafy green treetop, one of a shallow pond with green foliage around and one of the rings on a cut down tree log.}

Taking key aspects of the #LetsTakeAWalk project, Gen and David developed the idea into an audio experience – using the Echoes app, which allows you to use GPS locations to prompt audio files, creating an immersive soundwalk.

With the Echoes app on your phone you can walk through Brandon Country Park with Genevieve chatting gently in your ear; inviting you to take a fresh look at the nature around you and experiment with drawing, writing and photography.

We’re pleased to have developed our first interactive Walking Companion with West Suffolk Council, who are keen to promote Brandon Country Park as a place of creativity, as well as recreation.

_{A photo of Gen and David taking audio clips in Brandon Country Park.}

Genevieve has loved the development stage and became very attached to Brandon Country Park.

“Walking in Brandon is green, every shade, from punchy lime to pine. Brandon is also earthy. The mausoleum is deep gray and purple ivy leaf toadflax. Flint silver shards…”

This project has been very much a collaborative effort, and members of Brandon Creative Forum and Mildenhall Ladies Walking Group getting involved in testing the app and the artistic idea.

_{A collection of photos of members of Brandon Creative Forum trailing the guided walk with Creative Agent, Colin at Brandon Country Park.}

So, ready to take a walk?

It’s very simple to take part and takes just a few minutes to get set up. Get started at home with good reliable wi-fi, and then set out to Brandon Country Park. Have fun!

Don’t forget to tag Brandon Country Park, West Suffolk Council or CPP MarketPlace on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You can also send them to us via direct message or email us at admin@cppmarketplace.co.uk.

Visit ‘How To Download Your Walking Companion’ here to get involved.

With thanks to…

Commissioned by MarketPlace: Creative People and Places, the Walking Companion project is a collaboration between environmental artist Genevieve Rudd and media producer David Johnson of DMJ Imagery, exploring a new user-friendly phone app called ECHOES. The project is supported by with Brandon Country Park, West Suffolk Council and Brandon Creative Forum.

Visit ‘How To Download Your Walking Companion’ here to get involved.

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