In this project artist Jill Impey curated a creative space (online or live) in which people from coastal and immigrant communities (in England in 2021 and New Zealand in 2018) reflected on relationships with heritage. They explored feelings about the weather, the sea, immigration, colonisation and notions of connection and took part in recording sessions that contributed to a film. The project was funded by Arts Council England in 2020 . In post Brexit, mid-pandemic England, the host was Lucida Impey, a mental health nurse just returned in 1948, from New Zealand. She provided resource packs and led creative activities. By setting the scene post-war, participants were released from their day to day lives to converse and connect with their creativity. Before and after the workshops, they gave their own ‘internal weather reports’ The full film is 14 mins duration, with subtitled spoken reflections.
The Weather Report : 2022-2023 Inclusion, Collaboration, Connection
The Weather Report tour (National Lottery funded and supported by Art’s Council England in 2022) offers visitors the opportunity to take inspiration from the film and engage with a creative process of gathering and sharing wisdom and understanding.
Lucida in the UK and Jasmine Teei in New Zealand will guide participants through a range of creative activities, inviting them to:
• Explore seashells and other natural objects through touch and drawing.
• Consider how you connect to the world by sharing thoughts and feelings.
• Make postcards, poems and collage
• Find new ways of connecting and considering what it is to be ‘A Good Ancestor’.
Jill’s working process is to make new recordings in response to her films and workshops. These in-turn create new artworks to be shared.
The Weather Report is currently touring the UK and New Zealand starting with The Hive, Shrewsbury, Prince Rock School Plymouth, The Dragon Theatre Barmouth and The Old Art School Raglan New Zealand in 2022, followed by Wolverhampton Arena Theatre with a BSL signed performance in spring 2023. The final exhibition and events will be shown between April and May 2023 at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury.
The Weather Report : Inclusion, Collaboration, Connection Post 3
Jill Impey’s Arts Council England funded Project, “The Weather Report” is Touring to The Dragon Theatre Barmouth for 2 performances, on Tuesday 25th October. Followed by Raglan, New Zealand for 2 performances, on Friday 28th October.
Art History and Contemporary Art
We can learn a lot about our world through art history and contemporary art by putting things into context.
The Weather Report : Inclusion, Collaboration, Connection Post 2
This week I have been reflecting on accessibility and inclusion.
Jill Impey’s practice combines artefacts, found objects, curation, sound and video. Her focus is on communication and connectedness. Exhibited as audiovisual installations on themes of heritage and nature, Impey as artist and Reiki practitioner, seeks to engage observers in discussions and workshops.
The combination of installation and focus upon the response of the observer is at the heart of my practice, which is committed to opening up vitally needed channels of communication to heal the fractures in our modern society. The Weather Report seeks to engage a broader national and international audience in discussions around heritage, migration and interconnectedness….. sometimes its easier to talk about the weather.
Jill Impey
Jill Impey 