‘A Yard of Joy’ Workshop
- Surrey Artists Network
- 25 minutes ago
- 3 min read
In the summer of 2023 I was awarded a bursary from DAiSY (Disability Arts in Surrey) to become artist in residence at the New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham, Surrey. The brief was to be in an ‘open studio’ situation, welcoming the gallery’s visitors and answering any questions they might have about my work and about creativity in general. In particular, the New Ashgate wanted someone who could contribute to the gallery’s participation in the national Heritage Open Days scheme (10 days in early September when thousands of volunteers across England organise events to celebrate the UK’s fantastic history and culture; it's a chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are free to explore). Since Farnham has many listed buildings and a thriving artistic community Heritage Open Days (HOD) are a key part of the town’s calendar every year. In 2023 the national theme for HOD was ‘creativity’, so the New Ashgate thought it would be ideal to have an artist working in the gallery, whilst people watch and talk to me about my work and creativity in general.
Now, I am a disabled writer, contemplative photographer and mixed-media visual artist, but back in 1997/8, I was Education Director at the Redgrave Theatre. I was made redundant when the theatre closed because the site was due for commercial redevelopment. Long story short, the planned development on this site didn’t break ground until 2019, and, in part affected by COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, the site was still being built in 2023 and is still unfinished in 2025. It has been a hugely controversial mixed residential, commercial and retail development by Crest Nicholson, and Farnham has been deeply divided about all aspects of what is now called ‘BrightWells Yard’. The development is named after BrightWell, the Grade-II listed house which sits at the heart of the site, and which formed part of the Redgrave Theatre when I worked there. I decided to make this house the centre of my work at the New Ashgate, focussing fascinating conversations with visitors towards the interplay between wellbeing and the built environment. In artistic terms, I was also trying to find ways of exploring this past connection to the site through combining four P’s on a single (non-digital) surface: poetry, photography, printing and painting (my passions).
As a result of this personal exploration of my own ‘ghosts’ whilst listening to many of the town’s residents talk about Farnham’s current needs and future housing developments, I decided to begin the bright-+/well project. This project explores themes around wellbeing and our built surroundings through two pathways. One is a personal route to understanding my own grief and anger when I re-encountered a place which had played a significant role in my current illness and eventual disability. The second thread is a community arts engagement route, with free activities to bring new residents together with existing residents and to provide opportunities where new community networks might be forged.
Last year, in a series of workshops in collaboration with the New Ashgate Gallery called ‘how bright can you go?’, we made 239 mixed-media ‘welcome’ cards: one for every new residence in the BrightWells Yard development. This year, in conjunction with Toolbox Marketing and Surrey County Council, we are launching ‘BrightWells & Co’: a creative community space in one of the empty shop units in the development.
To mark the opening of this space, and to coincide with national Creativity and Wellbeing week 2025, we are holding a free ‘a yard of joy’ workshop. We are inviting anyone and everyone to come and make your own mixed-media kite - and fly it. Let’s fill the sky above this development with symbols of creative freedom, expression and enjoyment, and let’s build community at the same time. Information about the event can be found at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569087720960 . This activity is adaptable for all ages and abilities. The space is fully accessible. Full instructions will be given - and again, this activity is free to all comers! So please spread the word…
This is just one of the first events for BrightWells & Co. We are encouraging any local communities who might wish to find a space in which to come together and create, meet or exhibit, to contact us either through the website (https://www.brightwells-farnham.com/whats-here/creative-space/ ). My personal explorations with photography, poetry, printing and painting continue, and I have lots of hopes and dreams for the future of the bright-+/well project. Ultimately I just hope that it will be a positive contribution to Farnham’s future communities. I continue to be supported by the wonderful teams at the New Ashgate Gallery and Disability Arts in Surrey. Without their encouragement my life - physically, emotionally and artistically - would be significantly smaller and definitely less purposeful.
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