Encounters

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Welcome

Hello and welcome to our Summer news update. We’re excited and busily involved in a range of diverse projects that we’d really like to tell you about.

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The opening of a permanent Encounters premises in Sheffield

Five years on we have re-opened our original shop in Sharrow, Sheffield as a creative space, focusing on developing, delivering and supporting cross-disciplinary participatory arts practice.

The shop opens with an exhibition forming a local and international dialogue that brings Encounters full circle. Sharrow/Venice/Sharrow is a vast collection of photo collages created by thousands of visitors from all over the world, who visited the Encounter’s room at the Venice Biennale of Architecture 06. The photographs used, of people and places in Sharrow, were taken of and by the hundreds of visitors to the three Encounters Sharrow shops 03 - 05.

The shop is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 1.00-7.00pm. Sharrow/Venice/Sharrow will be on display until the end of September 2008 please call in.

See images from the Encounters Room at the Venice Biennale

Be My Guest in Liverpool

We invite you to join us in Liverpool to see the culmination of our two year residency in south Liverpool that has been part of Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture programme. Be My Guest is featured as part of the Four Corners Exhibition which takes place at the Bluecoat from Thursday 3rd – Sunday 6th July.

The exhibition tells the story of groups of residents from across South Liverpool who volunteered to become Be My Guest Hosts, organising unique community events in their homes, social clubs, or community centres. Hosts gathered friends, family and neighbours together to witness an intimate multi – media performance of stories and imagery collected from and inspired by the people of South Liverpool over the two year period. During the four days at the Bluecoat the performance will be re-staged and the Be My Guest Hosts will be there to guide visitors through the whole experience.

Be My Guest Exhibition is open daily from 10.00am-6pm

Be My Guest Performance takes place 3.30-5pm on Saturday 5th July 2008, Admission Free

See images and info about Be My Guest

For venue directions visit www.thebluecoat.org.uk

Batley Family Encounters

In May we celebrated the culmination of the Batley Family Encounters project with an exhibition and launch of a new publication produced by DED Associates which captures the project in action. The project was commissioned by Batley Children’s Centre and cultural development agency Loca. Encounters worked on the streets of Batley over a three month period meeting people, collecting stories, journeys, images and family portraits.

The Book is on sale for £5.00 and includes a helpful ‘How we did it’ and ‘Now you can do it section’. If you would like to buy a copy of the book please email finance@wearencounters.org.uk.

Read more about Batley Family Encounters

Coming Soon
- What’s Your Wybourn Way?

From July 2008

We are beginning a new creative project on the Wybourn and Richmond Park Estates in Sheffield, meeting residents and developing ideas for integrating creative approaches within the regeneration of the estate. The project is supported by Parkways, Great Places Housing Group (www.greatplaces.org.uk) and will involve students from the University of Sheffield Architecture course.

To kick start the project, over the summer months, Encounters artists will be collecting memories and stories about Wybourn from residents of all ages and people who work on the estate. We plan to do this by inviting people to take us on a walk down memory lane, pointing out their personal landmarks around Wybourn. The memories, stories and images collected will then be shared in a creative project involving the wider community in the autumn.

Next Encounter?

We are interested in developing new ideas and collaborative projects with individual artists and organisations that are keen to research and explore creative ways to invite people of all ages and cultures to join in. We’ve spent five years doing that and are keen to continue.

Please contact Ruth Ben-Tovim directly if you would like to discuss your ideas for a future collaboration on 07870 698333 or ruth@wearencounters.org.uk

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Encounters create participatory arts projects using disused spaces, street based interventions, installation, text performance and photography. They co – author artworks with people and places, mapping and collecting urban histories and evidence of everyday life. Encounters was founded in 2003 by Sheffield based artists Ruth Ben-Tovim and Trish O’Shea.

For more information about Encounters, please visit our website