Words on Water was a project within Water’s Colour, run by Lynn Whitehead. Writers from across the Brecks took part in writing workshops to create poems inspired by local rivers. Lynn then had the poems set to music and held a Big Breckland singing event. You can read the poems and hear some of the songs on the Words on Water page below.
On the evening of the 19th of August 2024, Norfolk drumming company, Bear No 9 held a special session, drumming under the light of the Summer Super Blue Moon at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village.
To celebrate the distinctive visual landscape of the projects area through a variety of arts activities, and by doing so to engage with audiences not traditionally involved in heritage.
To connect new people to the landscape and create opportunities to learn new skills and provide activities that promote mental and physical wellbeing.
To enhance enjoyment of the Fen Edge & Rivers, by encouraging audiences to look at the landscape in new ways through outdoor activities and a variety of exhibitions
To raise awareness of the river corridors, aquatic species, and unique habitats of the Brecks Fen Edge & Rivers landscape.
Through ‘sound art’ to create an immersive experience for the audience which helps them to view their environment with fresh eyes adding to their enjoyment of it.
To inspire people to look deeper into the history of their everyday environment and appreciate or value it more.
To offer absorbing and valuable skill-building opportunities to participants and volunteers.
To offer an accessible and participatory creative experience for all.
This project celebrated the landscape and its unique heritage through engaging with diverse audiences and delivering a series of community arts activities, events, and workshops. Outputs were exciting and varied, created using a wide variety of media including painting, photography, music, sound and creative writing shared on-line, at local exhibitions and adding ‘colour’ to other Scheme projects’ outputs.
Previous Schemes have demonstrated significant opportunities for raising awareness of sensitive habitats and species by engaging new audiences through provision of community arts opportunities including poetry, botanical art, and community activities.
Contemplative and communal arts activities have been shown to benefit mental and physical well-being in participants through the act of creating as well as sharing and exhibiting works.
The outputs from these activities helped to encourage a wider audience to view the landscape in a different way.
