Tag Archives: Rainham

Dysbiosis: Creative Nature Exhibition

“Such beautiful conversations, and lasting connections made” – Exhibition Launch Attendee

Last month we launched the DYSBIOSIS: CREATIVE NATURE EXHIBITION in Rainham. Over four workshops, Rainham and Wennington locals of all ages came together to observe the nature around us and express their thoughts creatively and together. A selection of these artworks are now available to view as you ascend the stairs at the Royals Youth Centre.

Here is an extract of a poem written by Wennington resident and Change Maker Laurence:

Cultural Dysbiosis: A Personal Essay by Ruth Kettle-Frisby

Above photo: Ruth, far left, looking out at the view from Wennington Church.

We invited Havering local, environmental activist and writer Ruth Kettle-Frisby to write a guest blog article on DYSBIOSIS after attending some of our DYSBIOSIS Creative Nature Workshops in Havering this month. 

What is nature to me?

When I first saw the term Dysbiosis – the title of the creative workshops here in Havering by Daedalus Theatre Company – my mind began to juxtapose discordant thoughts that seemed nevertheless to harmonise. Funnily enough, it is this very paradox that encapsulates nature.

Nature functions to such a finely tuned degree that the earth spins on its axis around the precise gravitational force to sustain life; and this mechanical harmony extends to our localised experiences here on earth, which can be beautiful to behold.

There are few things I enjoy more than an enchanted stroll around Warley Place when it’s sprinkled with clumps of dewy snowdrops glistening in the morning sun, sporadically dissected by ancient trees, some even thriving in supine slumber after great storms…or treating fluffy ducklings, flapping feral pigeons, and tame grey squirrels to veritable feasts at Langtons Gardens on a crisp Spring afternoon: scenes of comical unrest annually reverberate from the resident cob, angrily chasing persistent Canada geese from the lake; loss and sadness rippling in the still air as it becomes apparent on returning children’s fingers, that numbers no longer add up, and he’s attacked some of his own cygnets.

Nature continues to inspire artists, photographers and musicians; it provides us with sustenance, shelter, oxygen and medicine; it grinds our remains deep into its geology, and it contains coded messages of hope, regeneration and resilience, much like the Gingko trees that survived after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nature also has the ability to overwhelm with its might, brutality and caprice; blithely indifferent to some of our deepest instincts and desires.

DYSBIOSIS: Creative Nature Workshops – call for participants

Calling all Rainham and Wennington residents!

Our latest community programme is now live for DYSBIOSIS: Creative Nature Workshops. 

Join Daedalus Theatre Company for some fun and relaxed drop-in workshops and contribute to a collaborative artwork that will be displayed at Rainham Royals and Queens Theatre Hornchurch. Sign up via Google Forms here. If you need support with the form email tasnim@daedalustheatre.co.uk or if you prefer to do it on the phone, call Tasnim on 07942 476053

Location: Rainham and Wennington, East London

Dates:
Session 1. Saturday 24 February 2024, 11AM-2.30PM
Nature Walk at Rainham Marshes, Purfleet
Meeting point: Rainham Library, 6 Celtic Farm Road, Rainham RM13 9GP
Session 2. Friday 1 March 2024, 6-8.30PM
Creative Workshop, Royals Youth Centre, Viking Way, Rainham, RM13 9YG
Session 3. Friday 8 March 2024, 6-8.30PM
Creative Workshop, Royals Youth Centre, Viking Way, Rainham, RM13 9YG
Session 4. Friday 15 March 2024, 6-8.30PM
Creative Workshop, St Mary & St Peter’s Church, Wennington Road, Wennington, RM13 9DX 
Meeting point in Rainham for those who need transport to Wennington TBC.

Plus follow-up sessions later in the year! 

You do not need to attend every workshop.

Be part of a fun and relaxed project to explore how we relate to nature and the natural world. Havering is one of London’s greenest boroughs! It’s rich in nature and history. For example, did you know that 400,000 years ago, the Anglian ice sheets reached as far as Hornchurch, forcing the Thames into its present course, or that if you’re lucky, at low tide, you can see the remnants of an ancient forest from the Neolithic age?

This is an opportunity to explore your creativity with the support of interdisciplinary arts professionals from the Dysbiosis project. You’ll be guided through the process of making a personal creative response to the theme, then work with the rest of the group to make an installation that combines everyone’s work. The work will then be showcased at Rainham Royals and Queens Theatre Hornchurch. No experience necessary. 

Who is it for? All residents of the Rainham and Wennington area are welcome. Aimed at adults but children are welcome if supervised by an adult.

For more information, email Assistant Producer/Director Tasnim at tasnim@daedalustheatre.co.uk or call 07942 476053

Organised by Daedalus Theatre Company in partnership with Havering Changing and support from Queens Theatre Hornchurch and Arts Council England. 

Check out the Daedalus website and sign up for the Daedalus newsletter for more about the project Dysbiosis, the company and the latest Dysbiosis project updates or follow us on Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook.


Creative workshops at Poplar Union, Tower Hamlets, for a previous project: Mobile Incitement