SWAP in 2015

SWAP in 2015

I have recently received funding from both the Community Foundation North East Fund for the Arts and UnLtD Star People Do It Award to continue the project into 2015 and to develop the project into a social enterprise. This will enable me to develop into a sustainable community led project that would benefit the community […]

Guest blogger for TWAM

Guest blogger for TWAM

Tyne & Wear Archives invited me to be a guest blogger on their website to write and present the Spence Watson Archive Project. You can read the article here.  

Portrait of Spence Watson

Portrait of Spence Watson

Portrait of Robert by Ralph Hedley, currently exhibited in the Shipley Art Gallery  

Echoes of Bensham Grove

Echoes of Bensham Grove

On the 17th April, Pete Ross, the Scribblers group and some of Progressive Players of the Little Theatre performed and read poetry, plays and spoken word inspired by Bensham Grove and a visit to the Tyne & Wear Archives to research the Spence Watson collection. Sound artist Nick Williams interviewed and created an audioscape of […]

Robinson Library

Robinson Library

The Robinson Library special collections has a great archive of letters from people to the Spence Watsons. These include letters from Arthur Conan Doyle, German revolutionist and writer on politics, history, mythology and German literature Karl Blind, Russian revolutionary Sergius Stepniak amongst others.

Newcastle Library

Newcastle Library

Bust of Robert Spence Watson at Newcastle main library. The library has a collection about the Spence Watsons which I am yet to explore.

Two FREE Workshops in Bensham

Two FREE Workshops in Bensham

As part of the Spence Watson project I am organising two free workshops and performances at Bensham Grove Community Centre run by artists Stevie Ronnie and Jane Dudman. These workshops are part of the Arts Council funded digital arts and heritage project, ‘The Spence-Watson Archive’, I am currently undertaking with Tyne & Wear Archive and […]

Lit & Phil

The Lit & Phil has quite a good collection of material related to Robert Spence Watson including books of poetry written by him, tracts of speeches that he presented at the Lit & Phil on a variety of subjects as well as a dissertation about Elizabeth Spence Watson which is very helpful for there is […]

Bensham Grove

Bensham Grove

A few images of Bensham Grove inside and out. The internal photographs show the house after the restoration, which was achieved through a Heritage Lottery grant to try and bring the house back to its Arts & Crafts history as well as keep and maintain it as a working community centre. Also included are a […]