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New Ways of Seeing: Creating Pathways to Confident Market Towns

@ Berwick Visual Arts

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Presented by Berwick-upon-Tweed Conservation Area Advisory Group & Historic Towns Forum

Drawing on the artistic heritage of Berwick-upon-Tweed, New Ways of Seeing aims to forge creative pathways towards confident market towns. In our time of rapid social and technological advances, planning for and managing change is complicated. Through contributions from heritage professionals, arts managers, artists, planners and planning academics, we aim to support the development of this work by asking: how can those tasked with protecting and enhancing our historic environment imagine the future?

Art and creative practice has played an important role in Berwick’s history, and is nationally and internationally renowned for its innovative artist-in-residency programmes. Whilst ‘in residence’ artists make work for an exhibition in response to their experience of being in Berwick. Just like heritage professionals, the task of the artists is one of drawing on the past and present in order to fashion something new. So, what can we learn from each other? Encouraged by the work of artists inspired by Berwick, our ambition is to create much needed room for stimulating reflections around how and why we do what we do, and how we might shape our work for future purpose.

By employing a range of perspectives on ways of seeing the future, our strategy is one of forging inventive connections for getting there. Over the years, artists have employed a range of approaches for engaging with Berwick. Sometimes they have used traditional artistic approaches – such as drawing, photography, film and sculpture. At other times they utilise methods that might traditionally be more closely aligned with the planner – such as designing tours, focus groups and feedback sessions. Current research at Newcastle University (Centre for Rural Economy), developed in partnership with Berwick Visual Arts, suggests artists and planners have more in common than we might first expect.

Developed from this research, the programme is designed to explore and exploit our common ground – across heritage, the arts and academia, and to create pathways, which are designed to assist the process of creating appropriate place grounded strategies, rather than uniform solutions.

To foster exchange, we welcome attendance from a range of perspectives.

Download the full programme here and to book a place please contact: jar.61@btinternet

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