I met with Artist Lydia Halcrow in Bradford-on-Avon last week, to take a walk along the Bristol Avon. My first memory of Lydia must be from around 15 years ago, walking and talking together about climate breakdown, our anxieties, and the ways we hoped to address them in our work. Since then our paths haveContinue reading “Walking with… Artist Lydia Halcrow”
Author Archives: James Aldridge
Walking with… Wildlife Guide Nick Patel
Last week I returned to Heal Somerset to meet Wildlife Guide, birder, and ex nature reserve warden Nick Patel (@WilderSkies on Instagram). Nick and I first met at Heal’s Into the Wild event last Summer, when I was part of a panel on diversity in rewilding and also sharing a little on the place ofContinue reading “Walking with… Wildlife Guide Nick Patel”
Walking with… Artist and Activist Ann-Marie Culhane
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”
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”
Queer River 