Goonhilly Village Green was an experimental project led by artists Sara Bowler and Elizabeth Masterton and produced by Field Notes. In 2019, five artists were commissioned to work with partner organisations and a programme of talks and workshops took place in locations on the Lizard and in nearby towns. The project culminated in The Gathering, a village fête style event on Goonhilly Downs, where artworks and information were shared and a range of activities invited people to engage in their own multi-layered exploration of this special place.
Photos: Artur Tixiliski
CONTEXT
The Gathering was held in 2019 on Goonhilly Downs, an intriguing location on the Lizard Peninsula in South Cornwall. The Downs is a special place, it has never been truly inhabited by humans yet it bears witness to millions of years of history; from its rare serpentinite geology, through Bronze age barrows and trackways, subsistence farms and experimental forests to WW2 radar bases and the space age, where the first transatlantic television signals and pictures of the Moon landings were received at Goonhilly Earth Station. Now designated as a protected Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its rare and diverse plant and animal species, Goonhilly is a unique ancient landscape where the deep past intersects with deep space.
At its heart is the Drytree menhir, a standing stone, which marks the convergence of five parish boundaries. There a rich history of human activity at Goonhilly, however there has never been a central village there.
Goonhilly Village Green founding artists Sara Bowler and Elizabeth Masterton have been involved with the site for over a decade, building an expansive, durational investigation of the distinctive area of Goonhilly Downs. Before GVG, this took form as HAPPIDROME, an experimental artist-led project platform, based in a WW2 radar shelter on The Downs. With the support of the land manager, Natural England, Sara and Elizabeth have devised and presented new work by invited artists both on the Downs and online since 2007. Working across 50+ extant radar buildings, some intact and some open to the elements, they created a space of roaming artistic inquiry for artists, curators, scientists, engineers and writers working in a site specific way.
After four iterations of HAPPIDROME, Sara and Elizabeth became inspired by a new area of The Downs; the perfect green sward of the nearby ex-BT recreation ground amidst the rough heath peaked their interest and they developed the idea of a transient assembly of folk, united by a shared interest in the site, who would come together for one day on a pop-up village green at the heart of Goonhilly. This led to Goonhilly Village Green, a programme of free, public events and activities from 2015-19, that aimed to gather a diverse range of people and interests in a series of celebratory events; to meet, talk, play and learn about Goonhilly; to find common ground on this historic common land.
COMMISSIONS
Goonhilly Village Green 2019 featured the work of ten artists including Sara Bowler and Elizabeth Masterton who took a small step back from some of the organisation of the event in order to focus on their own work. Five of the artists were commissioned to work with local partner organisations and community groups in order to create new artworks reflecting different aspects of the cultural, ecological, historic and scientific contexts of Goonhilly Downs.
Paul Chaney collaborated with Natural England to create a series of graphical artworks looking in closer detail at the metrics of survival within the specific environment of the Downs.
James Hankey worked with Goonhilly Earth Station and the Goonhilly Heritage Society to explore the history and future of the technologies used on site.
Sara Bowler worked with Trelowarren Estate to expand her research into boundaries, and developed a new sound piece focused on the five parish boundaries that meet at the Dry Tree standing stone.
Beth Emily Richards worked with The Museum of Cornish Life in Helston and Penryn based choir Hum to create a performance that welcomed visitors to The Gathering, drawing upon motifs from Helston’s flora day, processional Cornish music and cosmic communications.
Rosanna Martin, who was partnered with community group Lizard Outreach Trust, created a collaborative geological resource by inviting participants to donate and draw rocks collected when exploring different landscapes.
Paul Chaney collaborated with Natural England to create a series of graphical artworks looking in closer detail at the metrics of survival within the specific environment of the Downs.
James Hankey worked with Goonhilly Earth Station and the Goonhilly Heritage Society to explore the history and future of the technologies used on site.
Sara Bowler worked with Trelowarren Estate to expand her research into boundaries, and developed a new sound piece focused on the five parish boundaries that meet at the Dry Tree standing stone.
Beth Emily Richards worked with The Museum of Cornish Life in Helston and Penryn based choir Hum to create a performance that welcomed visitors to The Gathering, drawing upon motifs from Helston’s flora day, processional Cornish music and cosmic communications.
Rosanna Martin, who was partnered with community group Lizard Outreach Trust, created a collaborative geological resource by inviting participants to donate and draw rocks collected when exploring different landscapes.
In addition to the collaborative commissions there were five more works, specifically designed to enhance visitors experiences of the Downs at The Gathering:
Elizabeth Masterton updated The Goonhilly Standard, the Village Green’s banner with coded embroidery for the 2019 celebration.
Liminal presented a new version of their work Transient Parish, originally commissioned for Goonhilly Village Green 2015, creating a ‘transient data-parish’ with the help of local internet company Wildanet.
Oliver Raymond-Barker was commissioned to create an immersive camera obscura, playing with the selection and optics to focus in on different aspects of the landscape.
Phyllida Bluemel and Bram Thomas-Arnold were both commissioned to create works to help audiences explore, understand and interpret the other works at The Gathering. Phyllida produced The Goonhilly Chronicle, a printed booklet and map drawing together knowledge gathered by each artist, and Bram created a radio broadcast combining fragments of other artist’s projects with outlandish suggestions and strange endeavours.
Elizabeth Masterton updated The Goonhilly Standard, the Village Green’s banner with coded embroidery for the 2019 celebration.
Liminal presented a new version of their work Transient Parish, originally commissioned for Goonhilly Village Green 2015, creating a ‘transient data-parish’ with the help of local internet company Wildanet.
Oliver Raymond-Barker was commissioned to create an immersive camera obscura, playing with the selection and optics to focus in on different aspects of the landscape.
Phyllida Bluemel and Bram Thomas-Arnold were both commissioned to create works to help audiences explore, understand and interpret the other works at The Gathering. Phyllida produced The Goonhilly Chronicle, a printed booklet and map drawing together knowledge gathered by each artist, and Bram created a radio broadcast combining fragments of other artist’s projects with outlandish suggestions and strange endeavours.
Cardinal Points; A Goonhilly Green Show, Bram Thomas Arnold
Lizard Exit Plan: Goonhilly Sector, Paul Chaney
Welcome (Sent Forever), Beth Emily Richards
The Goonhilly Standard, Elizabeth Masterton
The Goonhilly Chronicle, Phyllida Bluemel
Conduit, Oliver Raymond Barker
Lost Rock Library, Rosanna Martin
Transient Parish II, LiminalENGAGEMENT
Public engagement was at the heart of Goonhilly Village Green and this was woven through the many strands of the project including the partnership commissions and events at The Gathering. There was also a dedicated Community Heritage Programme and a day of activities designed especially for local primary schools.
The Community Heritage Programme was a series of free public events for all ages that was held in the run up to The Gathering. It was hosted in local community venues in and around the Lizard from February to April 2019 and took the form of a series of talks and workshops.
Goonhilly School was a day of themed outdoor learning activities in May that took the commissioned artworks as a starting point to explore the Downs. The workshops brought together children from five local primary schools for an exciting hands-on programme.
The Gathering itself was a public-facing event centred around the idea of the ‘Village Green’ which explored the notion of assembly and commons. The Gathering offered people the opportunity to discover the site through a range of activities; sharing stories and exploring ideas about art, science and nature inspired by Goonhilly. The area holds many stories: of telecommunications, archaeology, ecology, geology, social history, agriculture and astronomy, amongst others. The Gathering and the programme as a whole aimed to assemble a body of accessible knowledge drawn from academic, vernacular and experiential sources.
The Community Heritage Programme was a series of free public events for all ages that was held in the run up to The Gathering. It was hosted in local community venues in and around the Lizard from February to April 2019 and took the form of a series of talks and workshops.
Goonhilly School was a day of themed outdoor learning activities in May that took the commissioned artworks as a starting point to explore the Downs. The workshops brought together children from five local primary schools for an exciting hands-on programme.
The Gathering itself was a public-facing event centred around the idea of the ‘Village Green’ which explored the notion of assembly and commons. The Gathering offered people the opportunity to discover the site through a range of activities; sharing stories and exploring ideas about art, science and nature inspired by Goonhilly. The area holds many stories: of telecommunications, archaeology, ecology, geology, social history, agriculture and astronomy, amongst others. The Gathering and the programme as a whole aimed to assemble a body of accessible knowledge drawn from academic, vernacular and experiential sources.
EVENTS
The Gathering was a one day village fête style event with a rich programme of artist-led activities inviting the public to engage with the diverse history of Goonhilly Downs:
The Village Green Society Lectures & Screenings
The Village Green Society was held in The Happidrome, an old WWII radar shelter, where our curation of talks and screenings revealed the secrets of the surrounding Lizard Peninsula. Across the course of the day, The Happidrome was used to host a variety of artists and speakers, events included: a screening of Urth, a moving image work by artist Ben Rivers; a talk from author Dr Alan M Kent on his novel Turning Serpentine, set in the landscape of Goonhilly Downs; and a viewing of Satellite by Nelson Henricks, an exploration of found footage and techno beats.
There was a screening of artist Abigail Reynolds’ Double Brass; a performance piece in collaboration with the St Keverne parish brass band, followed by a talk from Abigail covering the works she has made on and for the Lizard peninsula from 2013-17. Chris Coldwell, Project Development Officer at the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, spoke about the work of AONB and Dr Andrew Ormerod gave a lecture on local and global farming systems. Commissioned artist Paul Chaney screened his 2014 work Eathorne Stone, which documents this once lost Menhir; and gave a talk introducing the origins of his Lizard Exit Plan project.
For further information on the day’s events click here.
The Village Green Society Lectures & Screenings
The Village Green Society was held in The Happidrome, an old WWII radar shelter, where our curation of talks and screenings revealed the secrets of the surrounding Lizard Peninsula. Across the course of the day, The Happidrome was used to host a variety of artists and speakers, events included: a screening of Urth, a moving image work by artist Ben Rivers; a talk from author Dr Alan M Kent on his novel Turning Serpentine, set in the landscape of Goonhilly Downs; and a viewing of Satellite by Nelson Henricks, an exploration of found footage and techno beats.
There was a screening of artist Abigail Reynolds’ Double Brass; a performance piece in collaboration with the St Keverne parish brass band, followed by a talk from Abigail covering the works she has made on and for the Lizard peninsula from 2013-17. Chris Coldwell, Project Development Officer at the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, spoke about the work of AONB and Dr Andrew Ormerod gave a lecture on local and global farming systems. Commissioned artist Paul Chaney screened his 2014 work Eathorne Stone, which documents this once lost Menhir; and gave a talk introducing the origins of his Lizard Exit Plan project.
For further information on the day’s events click here.
Workshops, Activities & Guided Walks:
A diverse programme of drop in and timed activities also ran across the site: authorial illustrator Phyllida Bluemel led Goonhillygrams; a cosmic creative writing workshop inspired by Goonhilly’s earth stations, visual artist Rosanna Martin held a clay workshop; where participants made their own addition to the Lost Rock Library, and at the Invisible Worlds Curiosity Table visitors explored curiosities from the Eden Project with Chris Bisson.
Guided walks with archaeologist Charlie Johns introduced visitors to the many historic layers of The Downs, then at solar noon (12.56) Welcome (Sent Forever) took place; a performance by Beth Emily Richards, Hum Community Choir, Daisy Higman & Chris Mayoh; welcoming everyone to GVG 2019; followed by a selection of world folk music from Hum Community Chair. Meanwhile artist Simon Bayliss led Landscape Painters Anonymous; an en plein air watercolour workshop for painting enthusiasts of all abilities and at the Sea to Stars Roadshow visitors learnt about the stars and planets, trying out refractive and reflective telescopes and solarscopes.
To find out more about the activities programme click here.
Post-gathering
Following The Gathering, two exhibitions were organised to share the artworks and ideas developed through the Goonhilly Village Green project. From the 27th July - 21st September 2019, The Museum of Cornish Life in Helston displayed a selection of the artworks created especially for The Gathering, accompanied by information and photographs of the event, artefacts and tools used in the making of the works and copies of Phyllida Bluemel’s Goonhilly Chronicle to take away and enjoy at leisure.
Unbounded was an exhibition of contemporary art that took place at The Eden Project from 2 November 2019 – 26 January 2020, showcasing work from fifteen artists each living in or deeply connected to Cornwall. The exhibition drew upon the artist-led and cross-disciplinary approach championed by Goonhilly Village Green, with conversations about GVG providing it with a starting point, and some of the artworks GVG commissioned included in the show.
A diverse programme of drop in and timed activities also ran across the site: authorial illustrator Phyllida Bluemel led Goonhillygrams; a cosmic creative writing workshop inspired by Goonhilly’s earth stations, visual artist Rosanna Martin held a clay workshop; where participants made their own addition to the Lost Rock Library, and at the Invisible Worlds Curiosity Table visitors explored curiosities from the Eden Project with Chris Bisson.
Guided walks with archaeologist Charlie Johns introduced visitors to the many historic layers of The Downs, then at solar noon (12.56) Welcome (Sent Forever) took place; a performance by Beth Emily Richards, Hum Community Choir, Daisy Higman & Chris Mayoh; welcoming everyone to GVG 2019; followed by a selection of world folk music from Hum Community Chair. Meanwhile artist Simon Bayliss led Landscape Painters Anonymous; an en plein air watercolour workshop for painting enthusiasts of all abilities and at the Sea to Stars Roadshow visitors learnt about the stars and planets, trying out refractive and reflective telescopes and solarscopes.
To find out more about the activities programme click here.
Post-gathering
Following The Gathering, two exhibitions were organised to share the artworks and ideas developed through the Goonhilly Village Green project. From the 27th July - 21st September 2019, The Museum of Cornish Life in Helston displayed a selection of the artworks created especially for The Gathering, accompanied by information and photographs of the event, artefacts and tools used in the making of the works and copies of Phyllida Bluemel’s Goonhilly Chronicle to take away and enjoy at leisure.
Unbounded was an exhibition of contemporary art that took place at The Eden Project from 2 November 2019 – 26 January 2020, showcasing work from fifteen artists each living in or deeply connected to Cornwall. The exhibition drew upon the artist-led and cross-disciplinary approach championed by Goonhilly Village Green, with conversations about GVG providing it with a starting point, and some of the artworks GVG commissioned included in the show.
FUNDERS AND PARTNERS
Goonhilly Village Green was an artist-led project initiated by Sara Bowler and Elizabeth Masterton, it was supported by funds from Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, FEAST, Ernest Cook Trust Enviroment & Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter and the Elmgrant Trust, and in partnership with Natural England, GES Ltd., The Museum of Cornish Life, Trelowarren Estate, Lizard Outreach Trust and Goonhilly Heritage Society.
GET IN TOUCH:
info@fieldnotes.org.ukThe development of this website was supported by Cultivator Cornwall
