Walking Together
Walking Together is one of the first projects to come under my new social enterprise, Dingy Butterflies CIC, working in Bensham. Angela Kennedy will lead two walks around Bensham taking in the area, bringing people together in a creative way. Walk 1: Thursday 16th July, 1-3pm Bensham Grove Community Centre to the Shipley Art Gallery […]
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
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.
Hannah Festival: Somehow it Began to Change When we Talked about Mrs Spence Watson
Somehow it Began to Change When we Talked about Mrs Spence includes recordings of poetry created by participants of Stevie Ronnie’s workshop, Voices of Bensham Grove that took place on the 7 April 2014. To celebrate the launch of the Hannah Festival (3-8 June 2014) The Spence Watson Archive Project will preview some of the […]
Hannah Festival: Echoes of Bensham Grove
On the 17th April, Echoes of Bensham Grove took place. 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 as well as a visit to Tyne & Wear Archives to research the Spence Watson collection. Sound artist Nick […]
Hannah Festival
The Spence Watson Archive Project is taking part in the Hannah Festival (3-8 June 2014). The Hannah Festival asks three questions: What great stuff is happening in places in England’s north now? Who is doing it? How can more of it happen? To celebrate the launch of the Hannah Festival (3-8 June 2014) The Spence […]
Women of Bensham Grove
For the workshop Women of Bensham Grove, artist Jane Dudman worked with participants at Bensham Grove took place over two afternoons, 21 and 28th May. Jane concentrated on Elizabeth Spence Watson and the archival material found in a number of archives in the region as well as online. Participants were given audio recorders and camera’s […]
Spence Watson cloud map
This is the cloud map that has been produced through looking through the various archives and collections. Whilst the map is not any way a complete picture of the Spence Watson’s I would like to hear how artists and other interested people could use the map, or one aspect, as a starting point to develop […]
List of Vistors to Bensham Grove
Here is a (incomplete) list of visitors to Bensham Grove at the time of Robert and Elizabeth living in the house. Most of these would be staying at the house when theye were speaking at either the Lit & Phil, the University or for the Liberal Party. Some would have just been invited by Robert […]
Walkabout
Working with artist Ben Jeans Houghton over three days (23-25 April), ten pupils at Kelvin Grove Primary School worked together to help Ben create footage and a soundtrack for a short film. The children painted a jungle scene as a back drop to them being filmed, created masks, walked around Bensham and visited Bensham Grove […]