In 2017, Village Green, and its accompanying schools festival, Village Green: Next Generation delighted audiences of 21,000; worked with 663 artists (449 local / 156 UK / 58 International); delivered workshops to 4980 young people; and partnered with 28 schools. Alongside all the other projects that our small team in Southend deliver, we work across […]
CHANGE MAKERS BLOG October 2nd 2017 – Change Maker Blog: Allies…. Welly O’Brien and Kate Marsh – in rehearsal. Image by – the artists What does it mean when we speak out for others? When we verbally or physically express our belief in or support for another person or group of people. The […]
We had the fantastic George Haslam helping us out for a few weeks before he started his Marketing course. He’s been a brilliant help in particular on our Clever Essex project. Here’s what he had to say about his time here… Why did you decide to come to Metal? I decided to apply for work […]
Contesting Neoliberal Common Sense: Bottom-up History and the Struggle over Urban Space Ben Rogaly This piece was written for Re:development, a book brought together by the artist Jessie Brennan following her year-long residency at The Green Backyard in Peterborough. The invitation gave me a chance to reflect on my own encounters with The Green Backyard, and the […]
“The title of this session is populations and people. Since I started doing academic research I have specialized in listening to people, especially people who maybe don’t think they have a story that’s worth listening to, or that others would be interested in. There is a scientific phrase for the kind of work I do: […]
Every week we see the beautiful art that comes out of our free, award-nominated Netpark Wellbeing sessions, which provide a peaceful place for people with dementia, low level mental health issues, and various groups from Southend who want to explore the therapeutic values of digital art and a supportive environment. Here’s a very colourful selection! Congratulations […]
We’re really excited to again be hosting the brilliant SoSlam as they hold another Young Musicians LAB here at Chalkwell Hall during October half term. They’re looking for 12-18 year olds with a passion for writing their own music, who want to explore and learn with new friends in a supportive environment. The last one was a […]
One of our favourite parts of the post Village Green glow is receiving the videos once people have gone away and done all the clever editing. Here’s one we just received of the mighty Nothing But Thieves, the Southend band who are taking the world by storm. The boys didn’t play many UK gigs last year […]
Huge congratulations to our Arts Award Bronze students, who passed with flying colours! We had 11 successful moderations, many of whom will be staying with us to continue onto Silver. This follows on from our Discover in a Day at Village Green, where we had 38 young artists completing the Award. If you are looking […]
We were very proud to host Kinetica’s Silk River project as their intrepid walk along the Thames reached its end right here in Southend. Here’s what it looked like!
Thanks to Charlotte Skidmore of Charlotte’s Films for sending us this lovely video glimpse into Village Green this year. It was lovely to receive just as the leaves turn brown and summer feels far away!
August 2nd 2017 – Change Maker Blog: Permission Photo by Ruth Campbell – Rob Hesp, Luke Pell, Kitty Fedorec and Kate Marsh In the two Labs that have taken place so far, I have been pretty vocal in my enthusiasm to get to the part where we all move together, make contact with each […]