COLLISION & CONFLICT
PROJECT OUTLINE
Collision & Conflict will be a geolocated sound walk through the Northumberland Cumbria landscape. The walk will travel along Hadrian’s Wall National Trail taking Thirlwall Castle, Green Croft On The Wall, the pronounced ditch at Gilsland, preserved milecastle at Poltross Burn, 914m stretch of wall at Willowford and to roman bridge remains beside the River Irthing leading to Birdoswald Roman Fort.
Often called the Borderlands or Forgotten Lands, the area is wild, bleak, beautiful, and unforgiving. Conflict over boundaries have dominated the history of the area, leaving scars present on the landscape. Thirlwall Castle is where the barbarians ‘thirled’, or threw down part of the wall, during a raid in Roman times. Romans were replaced with Reivers, with Gilsland at the centre of conflict and raids between Reiver families. Conflict continues in contemporary rural Britain with contested views on what land should be used for; production, consumption, preservation, diversification.
ARTIST OPEN CALL FOR PROPOSALS
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Living On The Edge
Living On The Edge
November 2020 - Feb 2021
Living On The Edge is a film featuring the collective experiences of rural communities living on the edge of west Northumberland. Their stories, memories of growing up and living in the area and the communities experience of living through a pandemic.  Living On The Edge was part ofThe Great Northumberland Winter Festival 2020.
The Making Of The FilmÂ
During the second lockdown in November and December 2020, Green Croft Arts put a call out to communities in West Northumberland through the radio, local press and posters at key points in local villages. Memories and stories were received through email and we held 3 arranged telephone calls which were recorded and transcribed. Despite the government's Covid-19 restrictions, we were able to host one to one socially distant interviews at a Covid-19 secure venue with members of Zig Zag Days. They support people living in west Northumberland who feel isolated due to disability, unemployment, mental health or other issues. The project is coordinated by Haltwhistle Partnership.​Amanda Drago collated these conversations, shaping them into prose whilst voice Artist Kathryn Beaumont (Home Front, Radio 4) brought these voices to life. Kit Haigh has taken breathtaking images of the landscape around the base of Green Croft Arts and composed a soundscape that acts as a backdrop to these voices. ​The film premiered on Thursday 4th February 2021, on Time To Talk Day which encourages the nation to get talking and break the silence around mental health problems.
Listen to Amanda Drago talking about Living On The Edge on Radio Newcastle, interview by Radio Newcastle's Anna Foster. Â
Kathryn Beaumont Biography
Kathryn Beaumont is an actor, maker and psychotherapist living and working in the North East. Kathryn’s acting work ranges across stage, tv and radio. Recent acting credits include: Isabella Beeton in Northumberland based theatre company November Club’s production of Food and Feuds, ‘Suzy’ in OpenClasp’s production of Rattle Snake, DC Smee in ITV’s Emmerdale and BBC Radio4 WWI series Home Front, playing North Shields’ munitionette Edie Chadwick. Kathryn has also lent her voice to an online Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing course. As a maker and collaborator Kathryn wrote and performed a one woman show I Told You This Would Happen, which toured nationally, and is currently working with London based Coney to develop The Glass Kettle: a playful theatrical experiment which reflects on our relationships with politics. Kathryn’s work increasingly seeks to explore how art can raise awareness and impact the lives we choose to live.
Project Gallery
