RECENT graduates from Kingsbridge Community College have curated an art exhibition at Harbour House, Kingsbridge, which showcases work from the local community and artists based in Cornwall and Devon. 

The exhibition, called ‘The Great Turning: Tidal Signals, Tidal Cycles’, is part of Harbour House’s new gallery programme, and will be open from October 6 to November 11.

The exhibition was curated by the KCC alumni, who have worked with Harbour House and Devon and Cornwall based artists to create a series of creative workshops exploring the climate crisis and local community in Kingsbridge.  The exhibition, which is open to all members of the public, will include work from the Kingsbridge graduates: Phoebe Carpenter, Annaliese Paskins, Ellie Trowelle, and Uinseann Wrigley. It will also showcase new collaborative works from other artists in the local community, such as Katharine Platts and sound artist Alex Kearney. 

Harbour house and Kingsbridge Community College have worked together on multiple projects, providing enrichment opportunities for students over the past year. Continuing their partnership, they worked with this committed group of young people who wanted to use creativity to make positive community change. 

The group co-designed and delivered workshops with local contemporary artists, including Bronwen Buckeridge, Crab and Bee, Tricia Stubberfields and Erika Cann. These events took place at various events in the Kingsbridge town calendar. 

At Kingsbridge Nature Festival they used clay paint, ceramic object-making, and creative writing to explore how people feel when they engage with local nature; they engaged in deep listening at West Alvington woods, creating visual scores and sound drawings. At Kingsbridge’s ‘Love Your Park’ event, they worked on a drop-in workshop with playful drawing games to capture the natural world around us, and at ‘Celebrate Start Bay’ at FSC Slapton Ley Field Centre they created cyanotypes with natural and man-made materials found washed ashore.

Young curator Phoebe Carpenter said: “Nature preservation and preventing the climate crisis is at the heart of Kingsbridge. In our art-based workshops we used these shared interests to bridge the generational divide.”

Using the Kingsbridge ria and its tidal activity as a starting point for the exhibition, ‘The Great Turning: Tidal Signals, Tidal Cycles’ includes film and immersive sound work, alongside sculptures and drawings to explore the estuary’s cycles, the tide’s heralding of change, and its ability to bring about ecological renewal.

Harbour House Director Amy Dickson says: “We were delighted that over 180 community members joined us in participating in our community workshops. Together with the artists that they worked with, the young curators hosted welcoming and creative opportunities to engage with local nature, and with human and more-than-human community members.”

A spokesperson for Harbour House added: “The new vision for the Harbour House is shaped by our ongoing work with the Young Curators... who highlighted the need for art to bring together different groups and generations.”