LANDING a real catch in Morecambe – event explores relationships with the natural world


Finnish artist Henna Asikainen sitting in her 'nest'. Photograph by Rich Berry.
Finnish artist Henna Asikainen sitting in her 'nest'. Photograph by Rich Berry.

A ‘sound walk’ on the sands, the creation of a human nest, a pop-up museum, and creative activities for all ages will take place in Morecambe from June 28 to 30.

Lancaster university-based Lancaster Arts working with ‘We Live Here’ present LANDING, three days of live events in Morecambe, exploring our relationships with the natural world.

The free event will be situated in and around three shipping containers located at The Battery in the West End of Morecambe.

Everyone is welcome to join in with activities including the creation of a song that everyone is invited to sing at the end of the event on Sunday and conversations about home, our ideas on belonging and nature.

LANDING is a co-commission between Lancaster Arts and We Live Here and a collaboration with artists Henna Asikainen and Breakwater Collective, all looking at playful and imaginative ways to connect us with our surrounding natural environments.

Henna’s project, NEST [CJ1] involves communities coming together to build a human sized nest, exploring ideas of belonging and home. On 1 June people gathered on Heysham Barrows to construct a nest and it is now Morecambe’s turn to do the same on Saturday, June 29.

Breakwater Collective comprises Taey Iohe and Youngsook Choi, who created Cockles of my Heart[CJ2] , an immersive, guided sound walk on Morecambe sands. The walks bring together the beautiful but fragile landscape with the stories, histories and tragedies of the bay. There will be two works per day with numbers limited and booking required.

Lancaster Arts Director Jocelyn Cunningham said: “We are really excited to hear about the relationships everyone has with the natural world and the conversations that will be sparked through the wide variety of activity taking place over the three days.

“We have everything from the fun and playful to the moving and poignant. There is something for all ages to enjoy together whether that’s workshops writing a song to be performed at the finale or the group curation of our pop-up Museum of Nature and Us that we want everyone to contribute to. This is about bringing people together through our shared experiences of nature, and we hope you can join us!”

We Live Here’s Director Tim Harrison said: “LANDING is the latest in a series of projects commissioned by We Live Here, taking place in the public realm and featuring UK based and international artists. Having already commissioned work at Norwich and Norfolk Festival with more to come at the Freedom Festival in Hull in September, we’re excited to be able to learn about Morecambe communities’ unique connection with the natural world. It’s going to be a jampacked three days and we can’t wait to see you there!”

On top of NEST and Cockles of my Heart there will be an array of further activity with full details available at lancasterats.org.

All events are completely free though some do require booking. Anyone wanting to get in touch can email landing@lancasterarts.org or visit lancasterarts.org.

We Live Here commissions and presents public realm projects by UK-based and international artists that build deeper connections between communities and the natural environments

around them.

Henna Asikainen is a Finnish artist based in the UK. Her artwork is concerned with humans’ complex relationship with nature and its intersections with social justice, climate justice, migration and notions of belonging.

Breakwater Collective are a collaboration between London-based and Korean diasporic artists Taey Iohe and Youngsook Choi.

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