OUR VISION
To create a community festival that celebrates our coastal heritage past and present. A chance to remember the huers and herring girls, shouts of "fish against the wall" and in particular the humble sardine. A chance to parade around in ganseys (fishing jumpers), listen to shanties, enjoy a ritual to honour the ocean, eat nice food and so much more.
OUR PROJECT IDEA
We want to produce a FREE bespoke community-led event on the Barbican which will celebrate coastal culture inspired by the ‘Janner Gansey’ and the story of the Sardines that Saved Plymouth.
This one day extravaganza may include performance, food, music, dance, ritual, storytelling, re-enactment and of course gansey wearing en masse (that's a given)! The event will be devised by a group of gansey knitters, historians, fishers and janners supported by The Conscious Sisters CIC.
There will be sardines too of course. The event will celebrate little known working-class local history such as the Siege of Plymouth in 1642, when the city was saved from starvation by a shoal of sardines. Local historian Richard Fisher will be on hand delivering history walks around the barbican.
Inspired by this important fish-based moment in the history of Plymouth, five local community groups supported by artists will develop exciting artworks for the day. It could be dance, music, art, performance, who knows. These Plymouth Coastal micro-commissions will be open to artists and groups who have experience of working with the community.
Gin Farrow-Jones will be working with us to devise a community ritual we can all do to celebrate Plymouth Sound. The Gansey Gathering aims to encourage better sea stewardship especially from those who live next to the ocean and supports sustainable fishing. Let's show the ocean some love.
Photo above - Local Crabber BJ Tapper wearing a 'Janner Gansey' , image by Andy Lawson
This event has been inspired by three projects we have worked on in past five years.
1) Fishing Friends which has been teaching people who live in social housing to catch and cook fish. A wellbeing project that brings neighbours together and is underpinned by sustainable fishing.
2) Alongside that we have been busy bringing back the gansey to Plymouth, with 60+ people learning to knit their own from scratch. In case you don’t know the gansey is a long-forgotten fishing jumper worn in the 19th and early 20th century see the images above of local crabber BJ Tapper in a gansey and below fisher in the 1930's wearing the original.
3) Before that we worked on the Gathering which is the original project to develop a local community based sea event, this project sparked our deep dive into the gansey amongst other oceanic ideas.
Overall we have been immersed in sea-based work for the past five years. Shanty singers, marine biologists, fishers, historians, lighthouse keepers, rock poolers, foragers - a diverse group of maritime heroes has led us to this moment and we want to share some of what we have been inspired by with you.
Photographs of Lady Astor meeting fisherman, 1935 – The Box Plymouth
WHO WE ARE
The Conscious Sisters are real life sisters Karen and Fiona; a socially engaged arts company based in Plymouth, UK which produces unique art projects working with and for the community.
We love collaborative working with communities and specialise in work that explores identity, drawing from over 40 years of experience of inclusion and race work. As an organisation it aims to interrogate and raise the standard of community arts practice in the South West of the UK.
Working in a non-pretentious and accessible way is key for The Conscious Sisters CIC which believes with a passion that art can transform lives
OUR PROJECT BUDGET
Community workshops at five sites for five days at £250 per day.
£250 x 5 days =£1,250·day per community group
5 community groups/schools £6250
£10,000 stretch target to cover
- Materials £1500
- Performers £1000
- Publicity £500
- Admin £750
Janner Gansey Knitting Pattern now available as a reward
CHECK OUT OUR WORK
https://www.theconscioussisters.com/
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