Archive Project: Another Country

Another Country

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Project Description

Another Country

www.another-country.org

‘Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, sounds and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not.’

Another Country was an intercultural and intergenerational community programme within a rural environment in Warwickshire aimed at extending contemporary arts practice and developing cultural exchange. The programme supported community cohesion as well as new art form development. It brought together text and sound artist Charlie Dark and filmmaker and installation artist Trevor Mathison with an emerging Warwickshire mixed media artist Perveen Chohan to present four outcomes in the summer of 2006.

• Exhibition by Trevor Mathison at the Royal Show, Warwickshire.

• Performance at the Bridgehouse Theatre, Warwick School as part of Warwickshire’s borough’s Year of Shakespeare’s Complete Works for the RSC with the students of Great Alne Primary School devised by Charlie Dark & Trevor Mathison.

• Exhibition by Charlie Dark at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum.

• Special event in Great Alne village to close programme which included the launch of the website www.another-country.org

The four project outcomes followed a year long programme of activity in Great Alne village in Warwickshire. Following the launch of the project in April 2005 the artists facilitated workshops with different groups in the village; the primary school, the Pupil Reintegration Unit, The Young Farmers group and the village community including established groups like the cricket club.

The exhibitions at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, the Royal Show and presentations at Bridgehouse Theatre and Great Alne village were new commissions from the artists based on their experience in the village from April 2005 to March 2006.

The aim of the project was to: confront social stereotyping whether through class, race or geography, challenge perceptions of art either as producers or audiences and to provide opportunities to work with leading international artists in new ways and art forms including performing and exhibiting alongside commissioned artists

The project was managed by a consortium of organisations: Rugby Art Gallery and Museum (RAGM), the Institute of International Visual Arts (inIVA) and Artists in Warwickshire Education (AWE)