In March 2014 the drawing shed put a call out for proposals from Live Art / Performance practitioners to undertake residencies as part of LiveElse[W]here. Based on two housing estates in Walthamstow E17, the residencies culminated in a mini symposium / LiveLunch as part of the part of the E17ArtTrail 2014 and as an on-going part of the ‘communities of Imagination’ project that preoccupies the drawing shed.
The two residencies were awarded to artists Leena Chauhan and Pablo Perezzerate, and alongside artist / LiveElse[W]here co-curator Jordan McKenzie they worked in residence in the drawing shed‘s new project space LockUpNumber11, developing projects that responded to, and engaged with, the diverse local communities. In parallel local people were also in residence in the project space, trying our their own creative ideas and becoming part of a dialogue with other artists and residents about the value of creativity in all our lives and exploring and extending the possibilities for practice in non traditional art spaces.
As Leena and Pablo developed their projects for LiveElse[W]here they also fed their ideas, work and responses into the IdeasFromElse[W]here project blog, a space for artists and collaborators of the drawing shed‘s arts lab project to experiment and share creative ideas alongside working in the project space at Winns Gallery E17.
For his residency Pablo developed Sound Maps comprised of stories and interviews compiled from members of the community living along the Drive and Attlee Terrace estates. The map, essentially a simple graphic representation of the layout of buildings and neighbouring streets, shows different numbers corresponding to specific locations of importance to the stories of the area. Each number represents a “Sound Track” in a “Track List” containing all the stories and interviews. The intent for this project is for listeners to explore the urban environment from the perspective of the stories told by the residents who live there, with listeners going to the estates in Walthamstow E17 and following the map while listening to each track as they arrive to the corresponding spot on the map.
Listen to Pablo’s Sound Maps here:
The Past – This first collection focuses on oral history about the area, detailing stories from recent and distant pasts.
Living Here – This collection focuses on testimonials from local residents about their experience of living in the Estates and the difficulties and joy of creating community.
Home Sounds – This third collection focuses on the music that reminds local residents of living in the area, and how these sounds affected their lives whilst living there.
For LiveElse[W]here, the drawing shed worked with the project’s advisers, LADA, who are keen to support the conversation about the value and role of arts practice which takes risks, may challenge received ideas and can support mutuality of dialogue with local people around contemporary arts practice, diverse creativity, the value of difference, and the culture of day to day life; the intentions for this project are that any artists who work with us will become part of a dialogue which will valuable to us all and extend the possibilities for practice in non traditional art spaces.
Live Art Development Agency (LADA) http://www.thisisliveart.co.uk/
E17 Art Trail (under the umbrella of Artillery) http://www.e17arttrail.co.uk/
Click here to see the original call out for the LiveElse[W]here residency proposals.