PERFORMANCES, TALKS, TOURS & WORKSHOPS ON A BOAT TRAVELLING AROUND KINGSTON TOWN CENTRE
Artist Ben Judd Adapts A Boat Into A “Floating Community Resource”
The boat is commissioned by Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston University and forms part of artist Ben Judd’s Stanley Picker Fellowship project The Origin which reflects on Britain’s island status, both literal and metaphorical, and how islands shape the communities that live on them.
A free programme of events from 17 June to 3 July 2021 includes performances, talks, tours and workshops takes place on the boat moored at Barge Walk, Townend Wharf, Canbury Gardens in Kingston and Thames Eyot in Twickenham. Places are limited so booking is essential. All events are COVID-compliant.
The Origin brings together the communities surrounding the Stanley Picker Gallery – from Kingston University students and academics to local networks, charities and residents – and asks them to imagine a classless, stateless, humane society based on common ownership. A temporary community, an experiment in living, a fictional island group. How would this community interact? What would they move, sound and dress like? How would they communicate with the outside world? This summer you can get involved through an extensive programme of events happening on the boat, at the Gallery and online!
The boat acts as a performance stage, a workshop and a talks venue and will be recognisable by the wooden structure and triangular canopy that sits on top. Informed by discussions with Canbury and Riverside Association (CARA), this architectural intervention designed by Interior Design students at Kingston School of Art (KSA) adapts to the needs and aspirations of local people. The boat is generously supported through Art Fund’s Small Project Grants and Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants.
• Get involved with workshops such as Creative Writing with Jim Dunk from The Bradbury (17, 25 June), Weaving with Aoife Donnelly from Kingston School of Art (18 June) and an online Gaelic Singing Workshop with Chloe Steele (24 June).
• Want to learn more about the history and ecology of Kingston Upon Thames? There is an extensive programme of talks including by biodiversity expert Elliot Newton (19 June), local designers 121 Collective (18 June), and creative network The Community Brain (18 June)
• There are also several tours such as a walking tour exploring the history of Kingston with Dr Helen Wickstead (19 June) and a rare opportunity to explore Eel Pie Island and its Museum (26 June).
• The final week of the programme will culminate in Canbury Gardens with a series of performances staged with CARA (1-3 July).
View the full programme of events happening on the boat, at the Gallery and online here.
The Origin at the Stanley Picker Gallery
The boat coincides with an exhibition at the Stanley Picker Gallery which includes a large freestanding structure, built by 121 Collective and Architecture students at KSA. As you navigate the structure, you will find objects, images, music and costumes that suggest something about this temporary community, its history and aspirations. With no written information provided, Judd invites you to draw your own conclusions about what you are looking at and reflect on this community’s identity, with your own imagination shaping its very existence.
