An international art exhibition that has included groups in the Netherlands and Germany is coming to Hadrian's Wall for the final month of the 1900 Festival.
Frontier Voices is a wall-wide project that has involved many of the attractions across Hadrian's Wall in North Tyneside, Northumberland and Cumbria; including Corbridge Roman Town, Vindolanda and Segedunum. It coincides with the Roman festival of Saturnalia, which will see various celebrations along the wall throughout December.
Over the last seven months, Cumbrian artist Karen McDougall has worked with local community groups, schools, museum visitors, international partners and museum staff to create artworks exploring perceptions of Hadrian's Wall and the surrounding landscapes. Artworks include poetry, banners, embossed metal foil art, installations and felted vessels, all of which have been brought together expressing how participants feel and think about themselves as Frontier Voices and what the Wall means to them, and displayed at The Sill in Northumberland National Park.
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It is the first time an arts project has reached out to include other communities across the World Heritage of the Roman frontiers. Two communities from the Roman frontier in the Netherlands and a further two from Bavaria and Baden- Württemberg have participated through online meetings and workshops, while their creative works also make up part of the exhibition at The Sill.
Dr Frances McIntosh, Hadrian's Wall curator for English Heritage, said: " The poems and word art produced during the creative workshops at Birdoswald are inspiring, capturing the spirit of the Wall and of people’s perceptions and connections to it. It is great to feel that we at English Heritage help look after a place that attracts and inspires such strong emotions. We will be showcasing the artworks on our website."
Artist Karen MacDougall said: "Frontier Voices has run since May in eleven locations in the UK and in four locations in Europe that are also on Roman Frontiers. We have been inspired by our past and see how this affects our present - visitors and residents along Hadrian’s Wall, European borders and climate change perhaps the most pressing as we create and debate art.
"We have connected with just over 4,000 people through half-day workshops, and many thousands more with our explorations on display and following my blog. The poetry is also published in our booklet and English Heritage is publishing it online on their Birdoswald website.
"The Face-pots from Arbeia even made it on stage at an RSC Associates production in Newcastle. The face-pots made by the Scouts working with Corbridge Roman Town will be auctioned off after the exhibition to help them finance an International trip to Iceland for today’s Frontier Voices next summer - our project a force for good!"
The artworks of Frontier Voices will be on display from December 1 2022 - January 31 2023. For more information, visit The Sill's website.
Which events have you been to celebrating the end of the 1900 Festival? Let us know!
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