Rosow was always going to be an ambitious fit for the structure required by the funding model. However, we have managed to bring together a wide range of creatives who have worked on some wonderful collaborative projects, seeded new work and future project plans.
Taking place in the Summer of 2022 this collaboration brought the industrial estate alive with performance and visual arts. There was an amazing turnout from across the community with more than 30 passengers attending. A team of brilliant volunteers turned out to support the creatives deliver this experience.
We received such positive feedback from those attending that Dance Centred were inspired to seek funding for a larger more ambitious project. They have successfully received funding from Feast, Lostwithiel Council, Hall for Cornwall and the Peoples Postcode Lottery fund.
This project was shared as part of our Networking event held on 8th June, as was the events planned for July 2023. Sam Lawrence also presented the origins of the Hibiscus performances and the history of performances she has taken part in leading to the current iterations of it. Those attending were thoroughly intrigued and found it very informative to get a fuller insight into the creative process and how we arrive at artistic outcomes. Fellow creatives met on this evening and new connections have been made. A local ceramicist has already connected with us to plan a new body of work connected to the Hibiscus theme.
The three vocal artists who came together for this collaboration fed back that they thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity offered to spend time reworking this classic Cornish tune. Kassie (Lyra) in particular benefitted greatly from working with experienced practitioners and learning more about a tradition of singing which was previously unfamiliar to her.
The performance evening which presented the outcome from this collaboration was well attended with over 30 members of the public attending, including Cultivator clients. The performance was received well and the following discussion was rich and wide ranging. One result of the evening is that Tara Montane, a poet and writer, has been using the words from the tune to research new work. She will be focusing on the medicinal uses of many of the plants mentioned in the tune and their historical significance in the promotion of fertility and healthy childbearing. Sadly this research will not be complete and resulting outcomes ready within funding deadlines and cannot be included as part of this first year of Rosow. We are seeking further funding for this project to happen later this year. Tara may also collaborate with visual artist Grace Wiltshire as a result of her research.
Both Sian and Donna thoroughly enjoyed their time researching together and their website record is a great insight into their time and practice https://colourofplace.wordpress.com/
They are also looking to collaborate again in the future and we are glad that Rosow has sparked a new creative connection that will be ongoing and will bring future projects together.
Their collaboration and resulting work was shared as part of our Networking event held on 8th June. We had lovely comments and feedback about the project and those attending were intrigued to discover such a rich heritage in the local area. Also there were several creatives who were keen to discover more and contact the artists.
Findings and future plans
Having had several false starts to the programme it took a while for Rosow to get going. These delays alongside other factors led to the decision to reduce the amount of collaborations that could be included within the timeframe for funding.
The abandoned creative response to Chloe Bonfield’s residency at UNIT3 in 2022 has resulted in Chloe and Mark Leahy continuing to work together with Mark acting as Mentor with Cultivator funding. Also Gary from UNIT and Mark have projects planned for the future.
Sam Lawrence took the opportunity the Rosow project provided to take up residence at UNIT3’s Gatehouse. This resulted in the Hibiscus event and seeded the plans for future projects. From this residency Sam grew confidence in the creative potential of the Hibiscus projects and as part of Dance Centred was successful in gaining funding for the larger project in July 2023. These projects have also drawn together an ever increasing group of creatives from a wide range of disciplines.
The Maid in Bedlam collaboration has instigated further creative responses from several creatives and future cross disciplinary collaborations.
Sian and Donna plan to collaborate on future projects and further the connections created across their practices.
From the networking events we held there have been many positive outcomes. New connections across disciplines have been made and a broader audience engaged for creative practice. The local community has a greater understanding of the wealth of creative talent in the area and are actively engaged in discovering more. It is a shame that greater numbers of Cultivator clients have not attended. Whilst there are many creatives in the area, not many seem to be active Cultivator clients. What Rosow has also highlighted is that creatives who have a more commercially “traditional” practice are less engaged with practices which are non commercial and more experimental. However those who attended have made new connections. Alongside those previously mentioned we had creative attendees who came to share opportunities for other creatives to take part in. This has led to 2 planned group exhibitions bringing together artists who previously were unaware of each other’s work.
A key point which came out from all of the creatives who have taken part in collaborations as part of Rosow relates to time. All fed back that having time and space to explore their practice and ideas was essential and that Rosow has enabled that. Even though the sums were relatively small they enabled experimentation and risk taking that would not otherwise have taken place.
Rosow has made a smaller impact than originally envisioned but it has had a positive impact and we are looking forward to building upon this and developing the local network of creatives further.