We are creating a London‘s largest secular shrine celebrating our diversity and the universal human experiences that connect us all regardless of age or belief. The Arts Council love our idea and have given us 70% of the funding ON CONDITION that we find the rest. Thats where you come in!! If we dont meet our targets this important community project can't happen. This is art and celebration - but it’s also therapy. We are supporting 4 important charities and the workshops will directly help young people process loss.
Who would you honour on our walking trail of secular shrines? What loved one or hero have you lost? Who’s legacy shaped you? This Autumn half term we want to share 1000 lives. Their photos and stories incorporated in artworks and secular installations that explore the universal experience of love, loss and legacy that connect us all.
Whether you were born 1000 years ago or yeatserday we have more in common than divides us. Altar celebrates our similarities as well as our diversity, encouraging people to actively add to the shrines with photos, quotes and letters for loved ones.
Set in one of London’s ‘magnificent seven’ garden cemeteries, Abney Park is in the heart of Hackney - 31 acres of woodland and Victorian memorials. Its stunning. Your contribution will allow us to make this happen - if we don’t meet our target then it will need to be cancelled.
We want to make this an annual event that creates something truly moving and a wonderful addition to traditional Halloween celebrations. Your contribution will also help run a series of workshops with young people affected by violence enabling them to create a shrine that is meaningful to them. Other shrines will be dedicated to Cancer Reserach UK, Children of Peace (children affected by the war in the Middle East) and Baby Loss Awarness.
The curator, Elizabeth Melinek is a film set designer and visual artist. in collaboration with ten artists, charities and young people Altar is a call for peace and recognition that we have more in common than divides us.