Yesterday I made my way through the rain to Taunton in Somerset, to meet Ann-Marie Culhane. We have shared connections and values, and have been talking about meeting for a walk for a number of years. Ann-Marie’s practice draws on permaculture design, and projects are long-term, ‘based on the cycles and patterns found in nature.’Continue reading “Walking with… Artist and Activist Ann-Marie Culhane”
Author Archives: James Aldridge
Walking Out
Over the last few months I’ve been parking up and walking out from some of the towns and villages sited along the Bristol Avon and its tributaries, as they run through Wiltshire. Although the Salisbury or Hampshire Avon runs nearest to my home in the Vale of Pewsey, the two watersheds meet only a fewContinue reading “Walking Out”
How do I notice birds?
I’ve had a very rich and busy September. Working with groups and individuals in Liverpool with Up Projects, in Somerset with Hauser and Wirth and Spike Island, in Bath with Forest of Imagination, some really rich time in Portsmouth, beginning a ‘walking and talking’ mentoring process with artist Hannah Mae Buckingham. I’ve also started anContinue reading “How do I notice birds?”
A Taste of the Mersey: Racial Justice and Regeneration
On Thursday I led a walk in Liverpool titled Neuroqueer Ecologies: Noticing Differently, as part of the UP Projects symposium Bodies of Water: Regenerative Art Practice. The symposium was curated by Justine Boussard (below, left) and partnered with the Liverpool Biennial, with an associated public art commission by Anne Duk Hee Jordan at A laContinue reading “A Taste of the Mersey: Racial Justice and Regeneration”
After the Rain: Run off and Roadcombing
After a Summer of drought, I was wishing for some heavy rain. We had a little, then a little more, and now we’ve got the heavy stuff. As I wrote on instagram, the arrival of the rain relieves some of the tension in my body, hardened and tensed by the wait and the awareness ofContinue reading “After the Rain: Run off and Roadcombing”
Tonal podcast with Feral Practice
Earlier this year I walked along the flooded River Tone near Taunton, Somerset, with artist Fiona MacDonald, working with more than human communities as Feral Practice. Fiona invited me to talk about Queer River, and explore more generally how Queer and Neurodivergent perspectives might shape our understanding of rivers. In a similar way to QueerContinue reading “Tonal podcast with Feral Practice”
Re-Making Rivers: Learning from Different Perspectives
As an artist I’m interested in making, including how other species can be seen as makers, and the possibility for multi-species collaboration, including in the re-making of UK rivers that have suffered from previous human interventions. Earlier this month I spent a few days holiday in Devon with my family. I was hoping to findContinue reading “Re-Making Rivers: Learning from Different Perspectives”
A Rivery Mind / Thinking with Bridges
My work ‘out there’ (outside of my home and studio) now quietens for the Summer. I have some lovely one day events and CPD sessions I’m facilitating in August, but apart from that, life can slow down for a bit. When I am doing my work with organisations and communities I need to interpret myContinue reading “A Rivery Mind / Thinking with Bridges”
Bodies of Water Symposium at the Liverpool Biennial
On September 11th I’ll be facilitating a walk as part of Bodies of Water Symposium: Regenerative Arts Practice. Titled Neuroqueer Ecologies: Noticing Differently, our walk will see us travelling as a group from Black-E to the Queen’s Wharf on the River Mersey, noticing and creatively recording how water passes through the city, informed by myContinue reading “Bodies of Water Symposium at the Liverpool Biennial”
Queer River – five years on
I set up Queer River five years ago in 2020, as we emerged from lockdown, as a way to walk, talk and make with my local river, the Hampshire Avon, which begins its journey near my home in the Vale of Pewsey in mid Wiltshire. The original intention was to pay attention to the riverContinue reading “Queer River – five years on”
Queer River 