Art in Cumbria

Wordsworth and Ruskin not only changed the way we think about and see the Lake District, they also understood that putting profit and power before people, and people before nature, is neither sustainable nor in the best interests of the planet. That message is even more urgent and relevant today, and the good news is that artists based in or working in Cumbria are ensuring their legacy is very much alive and kicking. So proposals for the inscription of the Lake District as a World Heritage Site based on its strengths as a ‘cultural landscape’ do much more than celebrate the Romantic imagination – they plan to involve the cultural sector in the sustainable development of tomorrow’s heritage.

Cumbria’s countryside reflects a continuous interaction between mankind and nature, artists and environment. Its rich and varied geography offers a concentrated, accessible and varied microcosm – rural and urban, upland and coastal plain, estuary and lowlands, mainstream and marginal, industrial and agricultural. Its strengths include the nuclear sector, eco-tourism potential, innovative agriculture, woodland and food models, lots of water… and, of course, its artists.   Although Cumbrian artists have always been drawn to, and drawn inspiration from, its outstanding natural beauty and inspiring landscape, many are not just responding to the stunning views. They are also seeking inspiration from, and addressing the challenges of, climate change and a post-peak oil world by collaborating with scientists, farmers, planners, engineers, ecologists and philosophers. They’re exploring, testing and making new connections and paradigms, and imagining new environments well beyond any physical, temporal or geographical boundaries.   The ‘FRED Festival’, set up by artist Steve Messam through Fold, an artist-led initiative based in Kirkby Stephen, creates temporary interventions with an environmental angle across Cumbria. On Ullswater, Gareth Kennedy’s ‘Weathercube’, a transparent floating steam sauna, generated ideas concerning changing weather patterns, and how ‘climate change means landscape change’ will be mediated.   Steve has also worked with Dott 07 (Designs of the time 2007), a year of community projects, events and exhibitions based in the North East, which explored what life in a sustainable region could be like – and how good design and creative thinking can help us get there. ‘Urban Campsite’ is a sustainable tourism project providing temporary, low-impact, inexpensive urban accommodation. ‘Landlines’ explored how minor changes to farming affect landscape.   The University of Cumbria’s Faculty of the Arts is launching an Arts and Ecology project in 2008 involving artists’ residencies across Cumbria, to highlight creative ways of addressing ecological sustainability. Each residency will address a specific environmental issue and create new synergies (e.g. between cultural landscape and energy generation), focusing on the need for new partnerships, and for artists and scientists to work together. Key arts organisations and partners from the public, private, or voluntary and community sector will be involved. The project plans to link with the Royal Society of Arts’ international Arts and Ecology programme.   Grizedale Arts, based near Coniston, works internationally. In Japan it is exploring how art can be integral to rural life and agricultural practice. Artists worked with the rice farming village of Toge, assisting change and empowering the community. In Egremont in west Cumbria it leads a regeneration programme including local radio, new performance space, and planting Egremont Russet apples.   Low Luckens organic farm near Carlisle hosted a residency for artist Sheila Tilmouth, focusing on soil structure, fertility and farm ecosystems. Working with support from the Soil Association, the farm is one of five throughout the UK to inspire composer Cecilia McDowall and author Christie Dickason to write a commission for Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir.   The Creative Partnerships programme has had a major impact on West Cumbria. At Dowdales School in Dalton-in-Furness new media artist Adam Clarke worked with students on the Climate Change Explorer Programme with support from the Environmental Change Network at Lancaster’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. In another collaboration, with Shoreline Films in Barrow, Dowdales and Drop Zone created ‘Cecil and the Penguins’, a film that explores environmental concerns.   These are just some examples of how artists working in Cumbria are developing innovative work inspired by major environmental challenges affecting the county, and making for inspiring times for Cumbria’s cultural sector. Now Arts Council England and English Heritage are supporting a strategic approach to the development of arts and ecology in Cumbria, so watch this space… there will be more !