Join us on Saturday 13 September to celebrate the launch of Snail on me by internationally acclaimed Anne Duk Hee Jordan, part two of Jordan’s Bodies of Water commission.
UP Projects has commissioned Wigan based artist and producer, Anna FC Smith to devise the Community Collaboration Programme, a key element of Jordan’s commission at Haigh Hall.
Smith has led a series of co-created workshops with a team of five local Community Ambassadors: Karen Buckels, Marie-Clare Kenyon, Lee McStein, Ryan Millington and Farai Nhakaniso. Accompanying the launch of Snail on me, Smith and the ambassadors have co-created a programme of commissions, performances and workshops that respond to the themes of Jordan’s work.
The Community Ambassadors have developed vibrant, community orientated activities, rooted in their local knowledge and environmental concerns. The programme is a celebration of water, biodiversity, and the power of creative action. Each activity has been shaped through public engagement, exploring water through myth and folklore, ecology, and multi-species connection.
The programme includes two new commissions by Dustin Lyon and Alison Cooper (Magpahi), workshops and performances by Zephie Begolo, Everything Human Rights Kubatana Dance Group, Groundwork, and The Frog.
Schedule
11.00 – 12:00
Rain Dance Workshop by Everything Human Rights Kubatana Dance Group
Location: Amphitheatre For A Tree
12.10 – 12.20
Rain Dance Performance by Everything Human Rights Kubatana Dance Group
Location: Amphitheatre For A Tree
12.00 – 14.00
Aliens Swimming Beside Us: Pond-dip with Groundworks
Location: The Swan Pond
12.00 – 13.30
12.00- 13.30 Water Offerings: Workshop with Zephie Begolo
Location: The lawns by the Lily Pond
13.45– 15.45
Water Offerings: Workshop with Zephie Begolo
Location: The lawns by the Lily Pond
14.30 – 15:30
Artist Talk with Anne Duk Hee Jordan and curators
Location: The Walled Garden
15.35 – 15:45
Raindance Performance by Everything Human Rights Kubatana Dance Group
Location: Amphitheatre for a Tree
15.45 – 16:05
Water Offerings - Return to The Water Ritual
Closing ceremony by Zephie Begolo to give thanks to the water.
Location: The lawns by the Lily Pond to The Swan Pond
Please note that the three commissions by Anne Duk Hee Jordan, Dustin Lyon and Alison Cooper will be available to view throughout the event; similarly, The Frog performance will be taking place across the site.
Getting Here
Travel related to art is a notable source of carbon dioxide emissions. To lessen our carbon footprint UP Projects encourages travelling by ecological means and avoiding flying and private car usage whenever possible. For travelling ecologically to visit Haigh Hall, we recommend the following tips and routes:
Address: Haigh Hall
School Lane
Wigan WN2 1PE
Tip: The lowest emission route to visit Haigh Hall is to travel by public transport and shared cars or taxis:
- Wigan North Western is well connected by rail (50 minutes train from Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street)
- Haigh Hall is a taxi ride from Wigan North Western station (18-20 minutes)
Programme details
Snail on me by Anne Duk Hee Jordan
Snail on me is a sculptural installation responding to the Walled Garden at Haigh Hall. Jordan’s sculpture highlights the industrial histories of the site and play a part in the critical role of water management in the walled garden, as well as provide vital wetland habitats for birds, insects and amphibians.
Listening For Jenny Greenteeth. Sound Installation by Alison Cooper (Magpahi)
A site-specific sound installation that invokes the spectral voice of the water itself, embodying ecological urgency through sonic memory and water folklore. Developed from an engagement workshop attended by local Wigan residents during the summer.
Workshop by Everything Human Rights Kubatana Dance Group
This practical dance workshop will teach participants how to perform a rain dance that pulls routines from the different South & West African heritages of the group. Participants will use their bodies as a tool to communicate with water.
Performance by Everything Human Rights Kubatana Dance Group
An Afrofusion rain dance performance featuring professional dancers and workshop participants to inaugurate the launch event at the Amphitheatre for A Tree.
The Frog aka Simon Woolham
The Frog will be a presence representing the more-than-human throughout the launch, wandering between event sites presenting recycled signs made by the ambassadors asking the question “What Would You Sacrifice for the Water?”.
Aliens Swimming Beside Us. Pond-dipping safari by Groundwork
An interactive family-friendly drop-in session led by environmental charity Groundwork where you'll discover the fascinating invertebrates that inhabit our local waters.
Water Offerings. Family Workshop with Zephie Begolo
Family workshop creating votive offerings from local wild clay and plants. Drawing on folklore, myth and the tradition of creating objects of reverence and gratitude to nature, these sculptural pieces will be recycled by returning them back to the water.
Living Atoms Wander Darkling In The Eternal Space. Audio visual installation by Dustin Lyon
This audiovisual installation allows audiences to experience the underwater world from the perspective of its smallest inhabitants in a speculative and sensory reimagining of life at a miniature scale. Lyon’s references are drawn directly from two public pond-dipping sessions held over the summer by Groundwork.
Water Offerings - Return to The Water Ritual
Closing ceremony by Zephie Begolo to give thanks to the water. Participants will process from the lawns to the Swan Pond, returning the community made votive offerings. Their passage back to the water will be ministered by the Community Ambassadors through poetry readings and a live unaccompanied performance by Alison Cooper in communion with the landscape.
Bodies of Water is commissioned and curated by UP Projects working in partnership with National Trust and Wigan Council. It is generously funded by Arts Council England, Art Fund and Vallum Associates, and supported by Goethe-Institut with engineering support from Civic Engineers
