The Nomadic Village
"One never goes as far, as when one doesn’t know where one is going." - C. Columbus
From 21 May to 3 June 2012, County Durham hosted a village within a town, when a 'Nomadic Village' of over 30 international artists made its temporary home in Wolsingham. The artists lived and worked in camper vans, caravans, marquees, a converted police bus and even an adapted milk float based at the Demesne Mill Picnic Area. The 10-day project provided space for professional artists working in a variety of mediums to live and work, engage and interact with the local community and produce work responding to the location and situation and culminated in an event where visitors could meet the artists, look around the village and see the artworks on display.
The artists came from as far away as Australia and as near as Tow Law, and work varied from photography, film and digital media to 3-dimensional sculptural pieces. Residents took advantage of the open afternoons, met and chatted to the artists and visited the village 'mayor', artist Klaus Mähring. Some residents were involved in the artists' work more directly: artists were visited by and visited pupils from Wolsingham Primary School and Wolsingham College.
The project was produced by D6, in collaboration with Durham County Council and Wolsingham Parish Council. The Village was the brainchild of Klaus Mähring: a photographer who uses an old-fashioned plate camera to create stunning visual impressions of the landscape. Mähring lives for six months of the year in his converted police bus, travelling for inspiration. In 2010 he invited artists to camp with him in Bulgaria, and the resulting Nomadic Village was such a success that Mähring was keen to create another one with more structure and facilitation for interaction with the local community.
The Nomadic Village created a unique working environment for artists to draw inspiration from each other and the beautiful location. It gave the residents of Wolsingham an extraordinary opportunity to interact first-hand with artists and their practice alongside the exhibition of the resulting artworks. The exhibition toured locally and then travelled to Vienna and other parts of Austria and then Marseille in France, taking the inspiration of Wolsingham to international communities.
Klaus Mähring said: Nomadic Village is, on the one side, great for the artists, as it creates a semi-autonomous temporary zone that is perfect for the artistic process; on the other side it is a very interesting thing for local people, as they can follow and experience the artistic process in a very authentic, uncompromised way."
Lesley Richardson, Chair of Wolsingham Parish Council, said: "Wolsingham Parish Council are delighted that Wolsigham has been chosen for this exciting international event and that we have been able to accomodate the artists: Wolsingham is really looking forward to welcoming the artists as guests to our town."
Visit the artist blog created during the Nomadic Village and listen to archived broadcasts from the Village on Basic FM.
For any enquires please email: [email protected]
The Nomadic Village was funded by Arts Council England and was conceived by Klaus Mähring from On the Road Productions, Austria, and developed as part of an D6 research residency in 2011: it was produced by D6, UK with support from Durham County Arts Team and Wolsingham Parish Council.
From 21 May to 3 June 2012, County Durham hosted a village within a town, when a 'Nomadic Village' of over 30 international artists made its temporary home in Wolsingham. The artists lived and worked in camper vans, caravans, marquees, a converted police bus and even an adapted milk float based at the Demesne Mill Picnic Area. The 10-day project provided space for professional artists working in a variety of mediums to live and work, engage and interact with the local community and produce work responding to the location and situation and culminated in an event where visitors could meet the artists, look around the village and see the artworks on display.
The artists came from as far away as Australia and as near as Tow Law, and work varied from photography, film and digital media to 3-dimensional sculptural pieces. Residents took advantage of the open afternoons, met and chatted to the artists and visited the village 'mayor', artist Klaus Mähring. Some residents were involved in the artists' work more directly: artists were visited by and visited pupils from Wolsingham Primary School and Wolsingham College.
The project was produced by D6, in collaboration with Durham County Council and Wolsingham Parish Council. The Village was the brainchild of Klaus Mähring: a photographer who uses an old-fashioned plate camera to create stunning visual impressions of the landscape. Mähring lives for six months of the year in his converted police bus, travelling for inspiration. In 2010 he invited artists to camp with him in Bulgaria, and the resulting Nomadic Village was such a success that Mähring was keen to create another one with more structure and facilitation for interaction with the local community.
The Nomadic Village created a unique working environment for artists to draw inspiration from each other and the beautiful location. It gave the residents of Wolsingham an extraordinary opportunity to interact first-hand with artists and their practice alongside the exhibition of the resulting artworks. The exhibition toured locally and then travelled to Vienna and other parts of Austria and then Marseille in France, taking the inspiration of Wolsingham to international communities.
Klaus Mähring said: Nomadic Village is, on the one side, great for the artists, as it creates a semi-autonomous temporary zone that is perfect for the artistic process; on the other side it is a very interesting thing for local people, as they can follow and experience the artistic process in a very authentic, uncompromised way."
Lesley Richardson, Chair of Wolsingham Parish Council, said: "Wolsingham Parish Council are delighted that Wolsigham has been chosen for this exciting international event and that we have been able to accomodate the artists: Wolsingham is really looking forward to welcoming the artists as guests to our town."
Visit the artist blog created during the Nomadic Village and listen to archived broadcasts from the Village on Basic FM.
For any enquires please email: [email protected]
The Nomadic Village was funded by Arts Council England and was conceived by Klaus Mähring from On the Road Productions, Austria, and developed as part of an D6 research residency in 2011: it was produced by D6, UK with support from Durham County Arts Team and Wolsingham Parish Council.