Precarious Straits
‘Precarious straits ~ survival on Southend’s new coast, Southend-under-Sea’, collaboration with The Old Waterworks
launching saturday 22 May 2021
A series of workshops and events at The Old Waterworks, North Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 7AB every Saturday and Sunday, full schedule below.
A new postal care package commission, posters and writing commissions will accompany the project.
‘Precarious straits ~ survival on Southend’s new coast, Southend-under-Sea’ is a collaborative project from TOMA (The Other MA) and TOW (The Old Waterworks) and is a Creative Estuary co-commission with additional funding from Arts Council England. The project consists of a group exhibition, a series of events, workshops, a postal care package, new writing and poster commissions responding to the precarious times we inevitably face.
The exhibition will be at the TOMA Project Space and a series of events and workshops leading away from the rising tides of the estuary, down the high street and in-land to TOW. Alongside this activity we have invited three writers-in-residence, Holly Firmin, Rose Cleary and Zarina Muhammad from The White Pube, to reflect on ‘Precarious straits…’, these will be published in-house at TOW. There will also be a newly commissioned care package with Bella Milroy, Evan Ifekoya and Jade Montserrat. These three artists will make work to be posted out to recipients who may not be able to visit this month-long programme or be able to access new artwork. We will prioritise disabled people, people with caring responsibilities or people otherwise unable to access arts and culture in person, bringing physical artworks to people’s doors.
‘Precarious Straits…’ will be a manual for awareness and survival, looking at the speculative economic, political and ecological futures people may have to navigate. Our starting point comes from research put forward by Climate Central - an independent group of leading scientists and journalists - suggesting much of the world’s coastlines will be submerged due to flooding by 2050, including Southend. TOMA and TOW will use this research and our existing ways of working together as a point of departure. A place to begin thinking and practicing in these uncertain times, working out ways to support small art ecologies in Southend and beyond. Solid foundations will, after all, help us in precarious straits.
‘Precarious straits…’ will run alongside Estuary 2021.
Precarious straits events/workshops:
Precarious straits care package commissioned artists:
Writers-in-residence:
Precarious straits exhibiting artists:
Amy Pennington + Sophie Chapman
WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS
The Old Waterworks will be open for programmed events & to view the library & poster installation. There will be a cash donation bar.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Friday 29 October - Dystopian Pub Quiz Fundraiser.
Date TBC - ‘Donna Haraway: Storytelling for Earthly Survival’ film screening.
PAST EVENTS:
Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 May - Screening of Estuary Festival 2021 opening weekend live broadcast with cash donation bar. Writer-in-residence launch: Holly Firmin.
Saturday 29 May - Morgan Quaintance film screening.
Sunday 30 May - Workshop with artist Ruth Hazel.
Saturday 5 June - Wild food walk & fermenting workshop with artist Sean Roy Parker. Writer-in-residence launch: Rose Cleary.
Sunday 6 June - Tincture making workshop & walk with medical herbalist Rabiah Mali.
Saturday 12 June - Workshop with artist Laura Trevail.
Sunday 13 June - Writer-in-residence launch & talk at TOMA Project Space: Zarina Muhammad from the White Pube.
