We are delighted to announce a weekend of collaborative performance events as part of Sensing Place, our place-making public programme that aims to strengthen connections between our individual identities and the environments we share.
Commissioned in the run-up to our opening of 24 Guildhall Road, Northampton’s major new five-storey cultural hub, which is set to open to the public in 2024, the Sensing Place programme platforms some of the ways that contemporary artists and communities can work together to explore radical approaches to placemaking. Bringing leading artists RESOLVE Collective and Musarc to Northampton for the first time, the weekend will feature a sculptural parade through the town centre and the inaugural performance from the recently formed Northampton Complaints Choir.
Kicking off on Friday 30th June, Northampton town centre will play host to a roaming, processional installation made by over 50 members of the local community in collaboration with award-winning interdisciplinary design collective, RESOLVE. The sculpture is the culmination of the Hell4Leather workshop series that reflects on the town’s historic leather trade and addresses themes of vacancy in Northampton. Made from foraged materials from boot and shoe factories in the local area, as well as materials salvaged from the 24 Guildhall Road site, the piece reflects on Northampton’s history, present and potential future, exploring existing vacancies and radical new possibilities for the town. The sculpture will roam through Northampton town centre on 30th June, commencing at 5.30pm from Vulcan Works on Fetter Street.
On Sunday 2nd July at 3.30pm, experimental choral collective Musarc presents the inaugural performance from the Northampton Complaints Choir at the Carnegie Room, Northampton Central Library. Taking part in a series of workshops, local community members have worked with Musarc over a number of weekends to explore the art of complaining collectively, becoming a pop up choral body and working together to create a songbook ‘manifesto’ for the town that can be performed for years to come. Subverting the usual process of community consultation where the opinions of community members can feel marginalised, the project puts local people’s complaints front and centre, using the idea of a chorus to provide a political, social and cultural commentary on life in Northampton.
Funded by Arts Council England and West Northamptonshire Council, Sensing Place continues throughout 2023 and into the autumn, when it will play host to a new audio visual project from artist David Panos, which examines different threads of Northampton life, both traditional and subcultural, through the lens of gothic architecture.
Emer Grant, CEO and Artistic Director, NN Contemporary Art, said:
“It’s an exciting time for Northampton and this weekend of participatory performance commissions by such remarkable artists demonstrates the current atmosphere and opportunities made available through building new institutions, led by community & artistic practice. Bringing new voices and audiences to Northampton is key in ensuring the 24 Guildhall Road project will be a success, and it’s truly an honour to experience these artists and local communities collaborating to create new kinds of spaces and creative practices inspired by the town”
The Sensing Place weekend is curated by Simon Wright – if you’d like more information on this or any of NNCA’s programmes please email simon@nncontemporaryart.org
Wednesday 28th June, 6-9pm
Workshop – RESOLVE Collective ‘Hell 4 Leather’
NN Contemporary Art Project Space
Unit 9, Vulcan Works (Fetter Street entrance)
34-38 Guildhall Rd
Northampton NN1 1EW
Register for a free workshop spot here
Friday 30th June, 5.30pm til late
Installation and parade – RESOLVE Collective ‘Hell 4 Leather’,
Meet at NN Contemporary Art Project Space at 5.30pm
Unit 9, Vulcan Works (Fetter Street entrance)
34-38 Guildhall Rd
Northampton NN1 1EW
Saturday 1st July, 10.30am-5pm
Workshop – Musarc and the Northampton Complaints Choir
Meet at the front of Northamptonshire Central Library
Abington Street
Northampton NN1 2BA
Register for a free workshop spot here
Sunday 2nd July, 11.00am – 2.30pm
Workshop – Musarc and the Northampton Complaints Choir,
Carnegie Room, Northamptonshire Central Library
Abington Street
Northampton NN1 2BA
Register for a free workshop spot here
Sunday 2nd July, 3.30pm
Performance – The Northampton Complaints Choir
Carnegie Room, Northamptonshire Central Library
Abington Street
Northampton NN1 2BA
Get your free ticket to watch the performance here