Creative Workshop Eat @ the Stade Cafe Thursday 6th September 2-3.30pm
My Heart Belongs to Hastings is an exciting public art commission by Strange Cargo, a company with an international reputation who have won many art awards, producing high quality, innovative celebratory arts projects involving large numbers of people. The project, My Heart Belongs to Hastings will be unique to Hastings and launches during the Coastal Currents Arts Festival with an unveiling of the sculpture on 23 September. The commission will become a permanent sculpture in the town on the seafront and will be enjoyed by everyone.
Individuals from and visitors to Hastings will have the opportunity to contribute and be part of the sculpture. People will decorate a padlock with messages, love tokens and initials weaving coloured threads, beads and jewels to a random padlock key as a reminder and souvenir of their participation in the artwork.
Each padlock will represent an individual member of the community, who will all contribute their personalised padlock to the artwork.
The sculpture will be created using reclaimed greenheart groyne timbers from Pevensey Bay coastal defence work, each wooden post weathered by years of saltwater and spray.
Strange Cargo will deliver a series of artist led workshops with partners across Hastings & St Leonards including The Bridge Community Centre, Parkwood College, St Michaels Hospice and Eat @ the Stade Cafe. The workshop programme will take place in the lead up to the Coastal Currents festival and will result in many hundreds of decorated padlocks being attached to the sculpture. Stainless steel mooring shackles will become the fixing points for the padlocks on the wooden structure, which will hang in organic fronds, similar in appearance to rope grown mussels, or lush fronds of seaweed. The interlinking padlock installation will grow in shape and size as people attach new locks to the artwork and people can continue to add their own locks after the artwork is unveiled.
Documentation from the project My Heart Belongs to Hastings, will culminate in an exhibition at Stade Hall of photographs gathered and video documentation taken from all community groups who have been involved and engaged with the development of the project.
Come and join us on 23 September to celebrate the unveiling of My Heart Belongs to Hastings at 12 noon, near Bottle Alley opposite Warrior Square Gardens, St Leonards. Everyone is welcome.
Workshops at Stade Hall
Fri 21 Sept, 10.30am & 2.30pm
Stade Hall, Old Town, Hastings
An opportunity to participate, come along to artist-led workshops by Strange Cargo and decorate your own padlock to add to My Heart Belongs to Hastings If you would like to decorate a padlock, please come to one of the free public workshops. A padlock and materials will be provided for each participant. You will also be able to decorate a keepsake key as a souvenir of the project to take away with you. If you would like to use your own padlock, please bring it along and materials will be provided for you to decorate it.
Children, please bring a grown-up with you.
Exhibition of My Heart Belongs to Hastings
20 – 23 Sept
Thurs, Fri and Sat, 11am – 4pm / Sun 2 – 6pm
Stade Hall, Old Town, Hastings
An exhibition documenting the project through photography and film.
Artists Development Talk by Brigitte Orasinski, Artistic Director of Strange Cargo
Sat 22 Sept, 5pm
Stade Hall, Old Town, Hastings
Brigitte has extensive experience of producing largescale celebratory participation projects both locally and internationally. Brigitte will talk about Strange Cargo’s approach to making public art and how this often involves collaboration with local people.
FREE – To book a place email jo@coastalcurrents.org.uk
Unveiling of My Heart Belongs to Hastings sculpture
Sun 23 Sept, 12noon
Goat Ledge, Opposite Warrior
Square Gardens, St Leonards
www.strangecargo.org.uk