In Our Element / River Churn Project
Provisional proposal ideas for 2nd phase development based on discussions arising from the Artists’ Conference organised by Jony Easterby at The Cotswold Water Park - 19.11.07

• A co-ordinated day when schools, volunteers, members of local community etc, take ownership of sections of the River and clean it up by retrieving rubbish from it.  This aim of this activity is to enable a collective reconsideration of the relationship of Cirencester and the River Churn. This would provide an engaging platform for people to connect with a broad range of issues they might ordinarily switch off from.

Following the clean up day there is a day or number of days where artworks/sculptures (or perhaps one large work) are constructed under supervision of artists and facilitators. There could be individual team workshops or one large workshop with all teams assembled for a high profile day at one venue. There could be a competition judged by a local celebrity/ies, with prizes and certificates of involvement, to be presented at an awards ceremony covered by local press and television.

Antony Gormley’s Waste Man in Margate had a similar principal at its’ core. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/5394550.stm
(NH note – not sure about burning all that plastic!)

My preference would be to fabricate as many large swans (3-4’ above the water’s surface), as the collected rubbish allowed. They could of course be water voles, or other animals native to these habitats as decided by the particiapnts. If they were swans I would like to fit them with disposable weatherproof sample-based technology to enable ‘swan songs’.

They would then be re-introduced ‘to the wild’ either on the river itself or the flooded meadows in a ‘ceremony’. Imagine the fantastic image opportunities - giant swans made of rubbish gliding through early morning mists, and strange silhouettes in orange sunsets etc).

This enables more high profile opportunities for the ‘rubbish swans’ to navigate the River like Jony did in his film. They would have to be helped on their way where the River is blocked up, and carried through the streets etc. This reminds me of yearly community rituals I’ve witnessed in Spain, where Madonna statues are taken from churches and paraded through the streets.
This activity facilitates engaging community participation and education opportunities that raise awareness of important issues.

The ‘rubbish swans’ would/should be displayed somewhere prominent in Cirencester with audits of the trash collected from the Churn, along with the names of all the groups involved. A DVD documenting the process would be displayed on monitors.

In Our Element / River Churn Project
Provisional proposal ideas for 2nd phase development based on discussions arising from the Artists’ Conference organised by Jony Easterby at The Cotswold Water Park - 19.11.07

• A co-ordinated day when schools, volunteers, members of local community etc, take ownership of sections of the River and clean it up by retrieving rubbish from it.  This aim of this activity is to enable a collective reconsideration of the relationship of Cirencester and the River Churn. This would provide an engaging platform for people to connect with a broad range of issues they might ordinarily switch off from.

Following the clean up day there is a day or number of days where artworks/sculptures (or perhaps one large work) are constructed under supervision of artists and facilitators. There could be individual team workshops or one large workshop with all teams assembled for a high profile day at one venue. There could be a competition judged by a local celebrity/ies, with prizes and certificates of involvement, to be presented at an awards ceremony covered by local press and television.

Antony Gormley’s Waste Man in Margate had a similar principal at its’ core. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/5394550.stm
(NH note – not sure about burning all that plastic!)

My preference would be to fabricate as many large swans (3-4’ above the water’s surface), as the collected rubbish allowed. They could of course be water voles, or other animals native to these habitats as decided by the particiapnts. If they were swans I would like to fit them with disposable weatherproof sample-based technology to enable ‘swan songs’.

They would then be re-introduced ‘to the wild’ either on the river itself or the flooded meadows in a ‘ceremony’. Imagine the fantastic image opportunities - giant swans made of rubbish gliding through early morning mists, and strange silhouettes in orange sunsets etc).

This enables more high profile opportunities for the ‘rubbish swans’ to navigate the River like Jony did in his film. They would have to be helped on their way where the River is blocked up, and carried through the streets etc. This reminds me of yearly community rituals I’ve witnessed in Spain, where Madonna statues are taken from churches and paraded through the streets.
This activity facilitates engaging community participation and education opportunities that raise awareness of important issues.

The ‘rubbish swans’ would/should be displayed somewhere prominent in Cirencester with audits of the trash collected from the Churn, along with the names of all the groups involved. A DVD documenting the process would be displayed on monitors.

 

• River Churn Stories Archive – Audio Tours and Media-scapes.

It was clear from the lively conversations both at the Lido screening and the night-walk, that there is a wealth of personal local histories that could/should be collected for presentation as an audio book, and/or in print e.g. in an ‘In Our Element’ project catalogue/DVD (production costs should be factored into Phase 2 budgets).

As with museum audio tours, rugged (vandal-proof) units could be secured into walls and sturdy physical features along the Riverbank (powered by batteries or solar power?). People’s stories relating to childhood memories or local historical incidents could be listened to via button activated small speaker systems.

It would be marvellous if the technology also enabled people to record their own impressions. These could be stored on a central database (at the museum?). The point is that stories of boyhood adventures under the tunnels and culverts of Cirencester are ‘living history’, and equally as valid as ancient Roman remains. (NH note – this system is too easily abused by people leaving negative responses etc. Sophisticated screening technology would need to be in place to filter such abuses.)

It’s probably better (and certainly cheaper) if existing ubiquitous handheld technologies were used. There are systems in place called Mediascapes that enable users to navigate local environments in this way. A film I made in 2006 is part of a ‘Bristol Short Film Walk’ around the harbour-side area of the Bristol. Find out more about this and mediascape technology here - http://mindpaw.co.uk/content/view/36/26/

 

• Inaugural ‘River Churn Day’ Launched with a Weekend of Artists’ Presentations.

It’s very exciting that Lesley has cultivated a broad coalition of partners from local government, the community, Simon (Ecologist) from the Cotswold Water Park, Flood Management experts, and now artists and poets etc. If (as hoped), a second phase of the In Our Element project becomes a reality, it seems a natural conclusion to present the diverse potential outcomes at a high-profile presentation along The Churn. This might happen over successive nights, or a greater impact (also more manageable) might be achieved in one blast. Presentations of individual artist’s commissions would be ‘stations’ along a controlled River walk. Whatever happens, it should culminate in a spectacular fiesta for all those whose lives are touched by The River. An ideal location would be Citybank? (is that the name of the green space where we finished the night-time walk?)

The momentum generated as a result of this second phase activity might be harnessed to bring into being an inaugural ‘River Churn Day’. The objective of a yearly day dedicated to The River would be to raise awareness of historical factors influencing it’s management (and/or mis-management?). It would aim to cultivate greater community insight, and interest in the relationship of Cirencester and it’s river. Through shared dialogue and responsibility, people may discover a new instinct to engage with policies affecting future ‘treatment’ of The Churn.

 

• ‘Healing The Churn’

I believe that the idea of ‘Healing The Churn’, which someone raised at the Conference is potentially very powerful if presented properly. It should be carefully marketed in order not to scare people off who may perceive it as a woolly-minded New Age type concept.  

 

Nathan Hughes – January 2008

• River Churn Stories Archive – Audio Tours and Media-scapes.

It was clear from the lively conversations both at the Lido screening and the night-walk, that there is a wealth of personal local histories that could/should be collected for presentation as an audio book, and/or in print e.g. in an ‘In Our Element’ project catalogue/DVD (production costs should be factored into Phase 2 budgets).

As with museum audio tours, rugged (vandal-proof) units could be secured into walls and sturdy physical features along the Riverbank (powered by batteries or solar power?). People’s stories relating to childhood memories or local historical incidents could be listened to via button activated small speaker systems.

It would be marvellous if the technology also enabled people to record their own impressions. These could be stored on a central database (at the museum?). The point is that stories of boyhood adventures under the tunnels and culverts of Cirencester are ‘living history’, and equally as valid as ancient Roman remains. (NH note – this system is too easily abused by people leaving negative responses etc. Sophisticated screening technology would need to be in place to filter such abuses.)

It’s probably better (and certainly cheaper) if existing ubiquitous handheld technologies were used. There are systems in place called Mediascapes that enable users to navigate local environments in this way. A film I made in 2006 is part of a ‘Bristol Short Film Walk’ around the harbour-side area of the Bristol. Find out more about this and mediascape technology here - http://mindpaw.co.uk/content/view/36/26/

 

• Inaugural ‘River Churn Day’ Launched with a Weekend of Artists’ Presentations.

It’s very exciting that Lesley has cultivated a broad coalition of partners from local government, the community, Simon (Ecologist) from the Cotswold Water Park, Flood Management experts, and now artists and poets etc. If (as hoped), a second phase of the In Our Element project becomes a reality, it seems a natural conclusion to present the diverse potential outcomes at a high-profile presentation along The Churn. This might happen over successive nights, or a greater impact (also more manageable) might be achieved in one blast. Presentations of individual artist’s commissions would be ‘stations’ along a controlled River walk. Whatever happens, it should culminate in a spectacular fiesta for all those whose lives are touched by The River. An ideal location would be Citybank? (is that the name of the green space where we finished the night-time walk?)

The momentum generated as a result of this second phase activity might be harnessed to bring into being an inaugural ‘River Churn Day’. The objective of a yearly day dedicated to The River would be to raise awareness of historical factors influencing it’s management (and/or mis-management?). It would aim to cultivate greater community insight, and interest in the relationship of Cirencester and it’s river. Through shared dialogue and responsibility, people may discover a new instinct to engage with policies affecting future ‘treatment’ of The Churn.

 

• ‘Healing The Churn’

I believe that the idea of ‘Healing The Churn’, which someone raised at the Conference is potentially very powerful if presented properly. It should be carefully marketed in order not to scare people off who may perceive it as a woolly-minded New Age type concept.  

 

Nathan Hughes – January 2008