David Parker from Figment Arts tells us about their local folklore project ‘Story Maps’
Figment Arts Launches Story Maps, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to explore and share the folklore, heritage and history of Sussex.
Thanks to support from Artists Open Houses and Hanningtons Brighton, we are launching our project this May, at number 2 Hanningtons Lane. We are exhibiting art work from our AOH Brighton Fringe Award Winning Artists Open House and inviting people to Drop in to tell us your story, browse our pop up folklore library and take part in our collaborative painting. We will be open from 11 til 4pm on 11th, 12th 18th and 19th May.
We opened on 5th May and had 70 people through the doors, with 30 people taking part in our collaborative painting activity.
Quotes from our comments book:
“We walked in attracted by the vibrant colours and big paints. We love art and often use it to relax. We really enjoyed our short experience here, it is a beautiful concept”
“Beautiful community art space, lovely to interact and create together – thank you and good luck!”
“A very enjoyable experience, completely unplanned and unexpected, I found it unexpectedly soothing”
Learning disabled, autistic and neurodivergent artists from the Figment Arts Studio are working with museums along the south coast to explore the rich and varied folklore of the area, making art work in response to the stories and running creative workshops for people to learn about the colourful heritage of their local area.
Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, Story Maps will see us working in partnership with Worthing, Newhaven and Hastings museums with support from University of Chichester’s Centre for Folklore and Fairytales.
We will immersive ourselves in local communities to research and investigate the heritage of the place – taking field visits, exploring museum collections, telling stories, singing songs and speaking to people.
The artists will produce their own interpretations of what they find.
About Figment Arts
Figment Arts is a group of learning disabled, autistic and neurodivergent adults supported by Artistic Director David Parker and Producer Clare Sheppeard. In May 2023 we won the AOH Brighton Fringe Award for our Artists Open House ‘A Room Of Our Own’. www.figmentarts.co.uk
Visit:
Story Maps Open House
2 Hanningtons Lane, Brighton, BN1 1GS
On the Central trail
For further information, images and interviews please contact David Parker at Figment Arts on 07821673171 or [email protected]
