The University is looking for people to share stories and memories for a new artwork being developed in partnership with the Imperial War Museum.
On Saturday 9 July, between 12pm and 5pm, Kent researchers and artists will be holding a ‘Show and Share’ event at The Clearing in the Creative Quarter Café, Folkestone, where they will talk about the artwork’s development and invite people to bring a memento (such as a letter, photo, medal) or story to share with the creative team.
The stories will shape the development of – and may even feature directly in – a new immersive artwork which will explore the impact of war and conflict on Folkestone and its community over the last 100 years. The artwork, Walking with Ghosts, will be shown at the Folkestone Harbour Arm between 11 and 14 November 2022.
It will combine an original soundscape with digital projection mapping and will run for 84 hours straight – the length of time it would have taken the dead from the First World War to march past the cenotaph. The significance of Folkestone – as the point of departure service personnel, and also the point of arrival on UK soil for many migrants/refugees– makes the town the perfect location for the installation.
Walking with Ghosts is supported by a £20,000 grant through the IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund and will be one of the first artwork supported by the fund to premiere. The award is enabling Kent’s Gateways Partnership to work with both established and emerging artists, as well as local community groups and schools, to explore the impact of conflict from the First World War to the present day.
The IWM14-18 NOW Legacy fund builds on over 100 years of contemporary art commissioning by IWM, and continues the vision and reach of 14-18 NOW, the official UK arts programme for the First World War centenary. It has been made possible thanks to the success of Peter Jackson’s critically acclaimed film They Shall Not Grow Old, co-commissioned by IWM and 14-18 NOW. A share of the film’s royalties – £2.5 million – is enabling investment in artists and arts experiences as IWM partners with 20 cultural organisations and 22 artists from across the UK.
The IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund commissions will go on public display across the UK between 2022 and 2024. For further information about the IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund, please visit the IWM website. To follow the progress of Walking with Ghosts and take part, please visit the Gateways Partnership website www.gatewayspartnership.org.uk.