We produced the Ode to the River Avon exhibition at Rother Street Arts House in partnership with Brook Arts Hub and River Hope. The exhibition included two commissioned works: a glass vessel created by Melissa Keskinkinlinc was presented to Stratford District Council leaders (Councillors Lizzie Cole and Olivia Hatch) so that the waters of the River Avon can be present in all debates concerning the restoration of the river. Artist and theatre designer Heidi Luker was commissioned to create a unique wall hanging that was presented to Dr Manuela Perteghella, MP for Stratford-on-Avon, on Sunday 14th June.
Performance events included a performance of Riversong, the ballad written by Robert MacFarlane, composed by Alex Silverman and performed by Stour Singers at Crowne Plaza Hotel and STT Bandstand. Dance events included Shakespeare Morris Dancers and musicians and the opportunity to learn a maypole dance which we performed to the clog dance music from the ballet La Fille mal gardée, choreographed by Frederick Ashton. As Manuela Perteghella said:
‘In our most recent history, the river has become a place where we can dump our sewage, cause pollution with our plastics and litter. So this event is helping us to recognise how our ancestors had a relationship with the river and to think of this river as a living being, a sentient being.’
