Artist Kate Genever will be carrying out her residency “We have found in the ashes what we lost in the fire” as part of our ‘Strong Bonds for a Fragile Planet’ Peterborough programme in February.
Her residency is in response to the overarching themes of the ‘Strong Bonds for a Fragile Planet‘ programme and is informed by recent conversations Kate has had with visual artists and curators about how they make to recover, rejuvenate, refresh and rest.
Kate shares a conversation, where she “spoke of sitting quietly, making small pencil drawings as a way to recover after busy times. Whilst another artist spoke of how he was currently sitting with a packet of felt tips and a block of copier paper scribbling to become unencumbered after an intense period. One, who suffers from Long Covid, spoke of how rest means something new and just mixing paint was nice and enough. Others have talked of how open, care-full social spaces with unknown outcomes helped and how “doing rest” was more effective than “doing nothing”.”
In response and with other artists, Kate will consider why they’re exhausted; research how ease, peace and rejuvenation can be found in creative processes; seek out and display the outcomes of this active resting, and finally reflect on how what she learns might offer a useful counterpoint to the commodified “well being” culture.
Drawing inspiration from Sophie K Rosa’s book Radical Intimacy, ‘Strong Bonds for a Fragile Planet’ is a programme as part of our Reading Room. We’ll be hosting a series of events and activities to ocnsider what we need at a time when the planet feels fragile in many ways.
