Photo by Aniruddha Das
With support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we will not only be able to restore our ancient church building in 2022, but also begin to explore the history, art and culture of the church and local area. We will do this by partnering with professional artists and heritage professionals to co-create free exhibitions, activities and events with local residents.
Some of this funding will be used to create a soundscape: an immersive aural experience for visitors wanting to learn about the heritage of the church. Through this newly commissioned artwork, we aim to tell untold stories and to look at history from different perspectives. The soundscape will be co-produced by artist Gary Stewart alongside students from Leyton Sixth Form College and members of the wider community.
Gary and his collaborators will capture music, voices and ambient sound from the local area to weave together a soundscape telling the story of the local area from the past to the present.
Open Door Creative Labs
Are you a Walthamstow resident interested in heritage, the arts and community? We’d love to meet you!
Gary will be throwing the doors open to anyone from the community to find out more about what he is doing, to share your stories of the local area, and to participate creatively and contribute to the soundscape. Everyone of all ages is welcome and no experience is needed – just bring your curiosity!
The Open Door Creative Labs will take place in the St Mary’s Welcome Centre (which is the church hall, located opposite the church and just across the churchyard) between 4.30pm and 6.30pm on the following dates:
- 19 January 2022
- 2 February, 9 February and 23 February 2022
- 2 March, 9 March, 16 March 2022
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Dr Emma Miles, Community Engagement Officer, at emma@stmaryswalthamstow.org.
Gary Stewart first worked with St Mary’s on our Advent(us): Another World is Possible (2016) projection project. Gary is an artist concerned with social and political issues, particularly history, identity and culture, working across sound, moving image and performance. Collective practice is key to his work. Gary uses experimental media practices and technologies to explore the unique spaces emerging in public spaces, art galleries and museums formed by the shifting intersections and blurred boundaries between audiences, authorship and participation. Currently Lecturer in Fine Art (Studio Practice) at Goldsmiths, University of London, he is a founder member of the interdisciplinary artist, research and performance group Dubmorphology, and Artist Associate at People’s Palace Projects based in the Drama Department of Queen Mary University of London, working with activists and academics on projects that address a wide range of social justice and human rights issues.
