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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Dartford Arts Network
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190701
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190801
DTSTAMP:20260420T114040
CREATED:20160323T100811Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211007T202108Z
UID:436-1561939200-1564617599@www.dartfordartsnetwork.com
SUMMARY:Priory Mews Care Home
DESCRIPTION:In July 2019 we were excited to be able to visit the Priory Mews Care Home\, to take part in their annual Care Home Open Day\, which this year was themed Celebrating Art in Care. Well-being coordinator Ben contacted us and asked if we would like to be involved and we jumped at the chance to work with elderly patients\, as some of our artists have worked with elderly people in the past and are aware of the rewarding outcomes which can be delivered through carefully curated process and art facilitation. \nWe engaged with a number of residents through both Storytelling and Transient Art; the process of connection and production being the key feature in this project. These methods were used deliberately\, as people suffering from dementia often struggle with restrictive activities. We implicitly encouraged the residents to be free to tell their story in their own way\, and to create self portraits using a variety of free moving objects on a board. \nThe experience was a joy for us as artists\, with residents opening up about their lives through funny\, engaging\, inspiring and fascinating stories. As they chatted to our storyteller Caroline\, Nadia filmed the process and sketched portraits of the individuals. \nMeanwhile\, at the parallel activity where residents were encouraged to work with Kate and create a self-portrait\, people such as Patricia and Bob were able to share their past experiences\, chatting as they worked\, the artistic activity sparking memories. \nIt was\, overall\, an immensely rewarding experience which we hope to repeat in the future! \n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n		\n\n 
URL:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/event/priory-mews-care-home/
LOCATION:Priory Mews\, Watling Street\, Dartford\, Kent\, DA2 6EG\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Community Reachout
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Care-Home-12.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180810
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20181201
DTSTAMP:20260420T114040
CREATED:20211007T205758Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211007T205758Z
UID:2289-1533859200-1543622399@www.dartfordartsnetwork.com
SUMMARY:Drastic Plastic Action!
DESCRIPTION:Our Drastic Plastic Action! project aimed to convey an action through message – recycle\, re-use and look after your environment locally and nationally! \nThrough our Plastic Fantastic project at the Priory Centre back in 2016\, we were able to discover what happens to our plastics when they end up in the sea. Tragically\, they very often end up in the stomachs of marine life and birds\, who mistake the plastics for small creatures and we found that images showing this explicitly were very powerful in terms of conveying this message to the public. \nWhen the Priory Centre approached us to deliver a follow-on project which resulted in some sculpture pieces\, we immediately saw an opportunity to take our Plastic Fantastic message one step further and to again produce beautiful artworks which would make people stop and think\, through a series of public workshops and the construction/display of large hanging sculptures. \nAcross 2 free public workshops in 2018 we aimed to make 2-3 large-scale sculptures which would hang from the ceiling of the Priory Centre Market Hall and raise the issue of plastics in an explicit and bold way. \nThe largest of these\, a 3-metre-long fish\, was designed and built by local commissioned artist Nicola Claxton\, who constructed the fish’s skeleton and then gathered members of the public to help her\, and the team add the final decorative touches. The workshop tables were full of people busily creating colourful paper scales for the body of the fish\, which they then applied with watered down PVA glue\, as well as applying wet\, torn tissue to the body using a technique called Decoupage. The designs were beautiful\, and all the participants were excited about coming along next week to spot their own handmade scales when the fish was up and hanging from the ceiling of the market hall. \n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n		\n\nThe final touches were added when the body was turned over and local discarded plastics collected by Dartford Litterpickers were threaded onto the underbelly of the fish and shown coming from its mouth. These were visible from below when the fish was hung\, and explicitly conveys the message about the impact plastic waste has on our sea creatures – how it ends up being mistaken for food\, or caught around their bodies\, often killing or maiming them irreparably. \nAside from the fish\, participants were helping Sue with the Jellyfish sculpture. The workshop element was in addition to much sewing work painstakingly undertaken by Sue Holmes\, a local DAN artist\, who created the sculpture body from reclaimed net curtains using the traditional ‘Suffolk Puff’ technique. She was assisted in the creation of this by members of the public and by the Dartford Science and Technology College students\, who on their Community Day delighted in helping Sue make the baby jellyfish which hang from the base of the main feature. \n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n		\n\nThe puffin was also made by Nicola\, with the body made from wet willow\, the wings from wire mesh while the coverings were black and white bin bags with paper attachments. \n  \nAs well as these main sculptures\, we encouraged the general public to get involved in making paintings/pictures/drawings and adding their thoughts to the work\, some of which we displayed alongside the sculpture on a printed display board. \n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n		\n\nThe project was funded by KCC Councillor Jan Ozog\, and opened by the Mayor of Dartford. \n 
URL:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/event/drastic-plastic-action/
CATEGORIES:Community Artwork,Community Reachout
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Drastic-Plastic-Action-4.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180701
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180901
DTSTAMP:20260420T114040
CREATED:20160323T114333Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211007T194953Z
UID:446-1530403200-1535759999@www.dartfordartsnetwork.com
SUMMARY:Land Art On Tour
DESCRIPTION:This series of art events was inspired by the work of Andy Goldsworthy and took place at a whole host of pop-up festival events over the summer of 2018. Goldsworthy’s natural sculptures use only organic material and are organic in nature\, that is\, they grow as they are built and then degrade over time. His land art style lends itself to a collaborative community project\, and embodies the concept that beautiful art can be created from anything\, anywhere. It is not reliant on technical skill or expensive materials\, but can be produced by harnessing creative expression\, imagination and everyday materials. \nWe utilised collected leaves\, pine cones\, chalk stones\, wooden sticks and a stack of coconut shells collected by DAN member and project assistant Tim. We invited people to use these objects to create patterns and pictures\, making our own alongside them as a guide (which they didn’t need!). At Stone Fete\, after deciding to make a very basic starting design to give people an idea of what we were doing\, we almost instantly began to get some interest from passing children. “how much does it cost?” they asked cautiously. “it’s FREE!” we replied with glee. “Get stuck in!”. Soon enough\, kids of all ages (including very grown-up ones) were getting fully absorbed with the task\, which was as enthralling to watch as to do. \n \nWe piloted this event at our 2017 Spring Fayre\, and its popularity and success led us to take it ‘on tour’ to various other events cross the summers of 2017/18\, at the following events: \n\nBridge Community Day 2017 & 18\nStone Fete 2018\nIngress Community Fun Day 2018\nWilmington Fete 2018\n\n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n		\n\nOur Chair and project lead Kate Withstandley spoke to BBC Radio Kent from the Land Art stall at Stone Fete\, explaining all about the project and championing the use of free natural materials as a way to engage with art for free and at home/out in nature. \nThis type of sculpture is\, by its very nature\, transient. It evolved organically throughout the day at each event\, affected by weather and by human influence. In response\, we had to ensure we were adaptable and allowed our imaginations to guide us in creating a beautiful outdoor sculpture. \nAs with many public art events\, we found that people were initially a little reluctant to get involved\, preferring to observe from afar and work out what we were offering. It didn’t take long though\, for the first inquisitive soul to step forward and have a go and before long the site was a frenzy of activity. Mandalas and rock piles began to cover the floor\, and people intuitively started working together to build a set of beautiful sculptures. \n \nIt was a complete delight to see the differences in the participants; their way of thinking (it took a while before anyone decide to build UP)\, their type of design\, and the levels of concentration and creativity. We deliberately didn’t give a lot of guidance; (the imagination of a child is far beyond what we could proscribe) and although some people initially asked us what they should do\, within minutes they were doing far better by themselves. We also allowed the design to evolve\, to ebb and flow throughout the day. People were reluctant to dismantle other artworks\, but the nature of the activity is its change. It ended very differently from how it began\, which was exactly the intention. A number of parents responded that they thought it was a great idea and that they would now be gathering materials in their garden to make their own sculptures. Part of our reason behind doing this was to leave people with a sense of ownership over it\, that they can take the idea with them\, re-use it\, recreate it. You don’t need a studio of art materials to embrace creativity\, you can do it anywhere around you. \nOverall\, we had a great time and chatted to hundreds of local residents over the events\, gathering feedback about what kind of art events they would most like to see in the local area. Thank you so much to everyone who got involved. You lot are awesome!
URL:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/event/land-art-on-tour/
LOCATION:Local Community Fayres\, Dartford and surrounding towns\, Kent\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Tournament
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180501
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180502
DTSTAMP:20260420T114040
CREATED:20160323T113620Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211007T202619Z
UID:444-1525132800-1525219199@www.dartfordartsnetwork.com
SUMMARY:Dartford Steam Fair
DESCRIPTION:In May 2018 we were keen to get involved with the annual Dartford Steam Fair taking place in Central Park. Members came up with the idea of a creative collaboration; something which would engage all age groups and bring families and community together to create a piece of artwork. DAN member and craft artist Nicola Claxton drew a beautiful representation of the original Trevithick engine\, which we used as the basis for our project.  \nThe drawing was scaled up\, printed and then cut into squares which were glued onto foam board pieces. Each square was then able to be removed from the board (which showed the original drawing underneath) and given to a visitor to decorate and complete in their own style. \n  \n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n		\n\nAs well as a stall with lots of engaging art activities to get involved in\, we also brought along DAN artist Marco Ruffoni to undertake a technical drawing demonstration. Marco is skilled in a variety of art techniques\, but has a passion for detailed technical and often mechanical drawings. Visitors were intrigued and impressed by his striking pieces.  \nWe had arrived that morning\, laden with trestle tables and bringing with us a black and white image ready for the public to infuse with their creativity and colour – and that they did! We had a lovely time helping people to complete their squares and had fun with both kids and adults alike colouring\, painting and sticking the collage.  \n  \n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n		\n\nAfter a fun-filled day interacting and engaging with the public\, we stood back and admired the results – the final piece was stunning. “Colourful”\, “abstract”\, “patterned”\, “thoughtful”\, “artistic”\, were some of the comments we had from both DAN members and the general public.  \nThe work was temporarily exhibited in an empty window unit of the Priory Centre in Dartford\, for the public to see the work they had seemingly created individually\, put back together as a whole\, collaborative community artwork.  \n 
URL:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/event/dartford-steam-fair/
LOCATION:Central Park Dartford\, Cranford Rd\, Dartford\, Kent\, DA1 1JP\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Community Artwork,Community Reachout,Festival
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20170715
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20171001
DTSTAMP:20260420T114040
CREATED:20211007T203713Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211007T203834Z
UID:2285-1500076800-1506815999@www.dartfordartsnetwork.com
SUMMARY:Silk River
DESCRIPTION:In 2017\, the 70th anniversary of India’s independence from Britain\, Kinetika\, an arts organisation based in Purfleet\, undertook a project to highlight the history of the silk trade routes from India to London\, with the Thames river channel being a key route. They invited 10 towns situated along the river Thames to take part in this project\, Dartford being one of these. \nEach town was ‘twinned’ with a corresponding town in India – Dartford’s twin town was Howrah. The aim of the project was to create a set of large (6m long) banners – painted with wax\, and made of silk (referencing the silk trade). These banners were walked through the town at an event in September of the same year. Kinetika walked through each town involved in the project and so linked the independent events in each town to create one larger overall event. \n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n		\n\nKey artists from Dartford were invited to come along to two workshops to produce sketch designs to be incorporated into the final banners. These sketches were then silk printed through What If Gallery workshops and including work by DAN artists\, to produce a 6m long silk Batik banner to represent Dartford\, with the help of Kinetika\, the arts organisation who were running the project. \nAs part of the background learning\, we had a visit from some Indian artists. They gave us a demonstration of a traditional folk art form – singing scrolls. The artists paint a scroll of paper with images depicting a story or event. They then compose a song to accompany the scroll\, and as the song and story progresses\, the scroll is unravelled vertically to reveal the next stage of the story. It was a beautiful experience to watch these artworks in action; part visual art\, part music\, part performance art\, they are incredibly engaging and moving. \n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n		\n\nIn conjunction with the project\, we were lucky enough to host a group of students and Alison Medd\, Director of Learning\, Creative Arts & Performance\, from Dartford Science and Technology College at an art workshop as part of their annual Community Day. The workshop took place at the What If Gallery\, and its aim was to produce a series of Indian scroll artworks\, to be used as part of the Silk River project. We intended to explore the creative process and production of a traditional Indian artform – whereby an aesthetic narrative is painted onto canvas scrolls\, and a song composed to accompany the visual element. The scroll is ‘performed’ by unravelling the physical artwork as the song is sung and the story explained. \nOur aim for the community day workshop was for the students from DSTC to create some of these types of artworks in groups composed of art and music students. They were asked to produce some works which could link with the final walk celebrations when the silk banners were paraded through the town. We hope that through the workshop the girls became aware of an important artistic tradition which is embedded in the Indian culture with which we had been linked through this project\, encompassing the overall aim of engaging local people and particularly up and coming artists.
URL:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/event/silk-river/
CATEGORIES:Charity,Community Artwork
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/silk-river-7.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20160611
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20160925
DTSTAMP:20260420T114040
CREATED:20211007T204808Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211007T204808Z
UID:2287-1465603200-1474761599@www.dartfordartsnetwork.com
SUMMARY:Plastic Fantastic
DESCRIPTION:In 2016\, the Ellandi / Project Dirt grant scheme gave us the opportunity to produce a public work which aimed to stimulate the artistic senses visually\, to educate about environmental crises\, and to facilitate the general public in an artistic collaboration with local artists. \nOur core concept centred around the idea of waste and recycling\, and a specific look at the journey our plastics embark on when we discard them without recycling them. As it stands\, in certain areas our oceans have more plastic in than zooplankton and it is predicted that if waste continues at the current rate\, in 25 years there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish. That is a terrifying prospect and one we are eager to highlight to the residents of our town. \nWe produced two sculptures made from recycled materials\, constructed at interactive workshops in the Priory Centre. \nThe first was a large-scale map of a section of the world displayed on a plinth made from reused pallets and decorated with filled recycled vases made from unwanted CD-cases. Our artists created the map utilising corrugated cardboard to create a 3D display\, using a technique from model-making to build the layers of the map up. We used the map base to graphically convey the journey of a plastic bottle; how it travels from our shores\, swept by ocean gyres to the shores of the Caribbean; how bottles discarded in the USA and Africa are brought together in a ‘garbage patch’ the size of Texas\, and how we can reduce the effect of this by recycling our plastics locally. \n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n		\n\nThe second sculpture was a ‘Wishing Tree’ built from reclaimed polypipe and used as a base to attach smaller recycled art objects made both by visitors to the workshops and by members of the group. \n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n		\n\nOur goal was to combine both fun and education – to work directly with the public in creating a beautiful artwork which will benefit the area in which it is exhibited – but also\, in collecting the materials and re-appropriating them to produce an artwork\, participants and observers were part of a dialogue about waste and the environment\, both locally\, nationally and internationally.
URL:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/event/plastic-fantastic/
CATEGORIES:Community Artwork,Community Reachout
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/DAN-Volunteers-c-Priory-Centre.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20160601
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20160602
DTSTAMP:20260420T114040
CREATED:20160323T114154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211007T092151Z
UID:445-1464739200-1464825599@www.dartfordartsnetwork.com
SUMMARY:The Dartford Assembly
DESCRIPTION:The Dartford Assembly project was the first of its kind in the town with original art works on boards produced following a public call-out for artists\, as well as collages from community workshops and local school and college contributions. \nThe central aim of the project was initially to kill two very significant birds with one stone: to provide a vehicle through which local artists could publicly display their artworks in the town\, and to deliver a project which greatly enhanced the aesthetics of Lowfield Street for the general public. \nThe project was sparked by a grassroots appeal from a number of local residents and artists who felt the hoardings could host something creative until development on the site gets underway.  The original idea of the project was to see local people having some impact on the appearance of Lowfield Street\, creating something bright and positive and replacing the blank space which represented the impact of Tesco’s long occupation of the site. \nSome took to Facebook and members of the Dartford Arts Network developed a plan for a public arts project that won the support of Dartford Borough Council. 13 individual artists contributed\, as well as art students at North West Kent College\, children at The Bridge Primary Community School\, and 10 members of the public who produced collage and monoprint works at the public workshops we held over the 2015 summer at One Bell Corner. \nThe result\, a 75m long outdoor gallery\, was designed to stimulate the visual senses and showcase a small sample of the wealth of artistic talent which resides in our local area. \n\n		\n		\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n			\n				\n			\n		\n\nThe high quality of work meant that the public reaction was overwhelmingly positive and the project’s aim – to bring more public art to the town\, as well as to enhance the streetscape of the area – was more than fulfilled. \n \nDartford Borough Council were our partners throughout the project\, with generous financial support\, and in negotiations with the landowner. With the subsequent progression of works on the Lowfield Street site\, the hoardings were replaced and the artworks removed with great care by Bellway’s groundworks team. \nWe were (are) determined that these fabulous artworks should continue as a legacy of the history of the Lowfield Street site development\, as well as a lasting testament to the creative talents of the Dartford population\, and so in September 2019 we arranged for the remaining artworks to be auctioned for the Ellenor Hospice\, at the Dartford Lions’ Community Fayre. Many of the boards were sold at the auction\, with local artists also donating handmade postcard artworks for sale too.  \nWe still have a number of boards remaining available for sale\, with proceeds going to the Ellenor Hospice. To find out more please see our Gallery of works.  \n“DAN have steered this project brilliantly and it’s a real demonstration of the talent we have in the town’  Dartford Borough Council Leader\, Jeremy Kite \nDartford Arts Network was still in its early inception stages at that point and learning how to produce such a major project as we went along was a huge hurdle to overcome. Thankfully\, we received some financial support from the council to make the project happen\, but the logistical planning was immense; the time spent on design\, artist liaison\, landowner and council consultation\, material production and site planning was overwhelming. All this was produced with a small group of local artist volunteers\, each of whom was trying to (variously); do their day job\, have babies\, raise babies\, have a life and do their own artwork. To say we are incredibly proud of\, and grateful to\, everyone who contributed\, is an understatement. \nArticle on Kent Online about the project
URL:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/event/the-dartford-assembly/
LOCATION:Lowfield Street\, Lowfield Street\, Dartford\, Kent\, DA1\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Community Artwork
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.dartfordartsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/c-Kate-Withstandley-Photography-4.jpg
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