Art, Landscape & Food gather in Take Art’s Cultivate RURITAGE hub

As a way of exchanging knowledge between the local food and arts sectors, Take Art, through is RURITAGE hub Cultivate, linked with other local organisations to create events and actions that offer opportunities for people participate in activities that lead to better health, wellbeing and environmental outcomes, generating a sense of ownership and pride.

FARMER’s Supper at The Pig Pen

Take Art’s RURITAGE local hub, Cultivate, connected food and art through the Farmer’s Supper, organised in South Petherton, a market town of Somerset. The event, organised at The Pig Pen, a gathering space in the heart of Somerset’s orchard country, involved enjoying locally sourced food, arts performances and bringing farmers and artists together. The relaxed atmosphere of this event triggered conversations around peoples’ own stories throughout the COVID pandemic, their resilience and how they have had to diversify.  Performances from Wassail Theatre Company, Dance from aKa Dance Theatre and music by Jorden Lindsay brightened the evening.  

This was Cultivate’s first live get together with some of Take Art’s stakeholders and artists since UK lockdowns and restrictions due to the COVID19 pandemic. The event brought opportunity to develop relationships with farmers, local food producers, artists and strengthening ideas and collaborations.

Culturally Chard Banners Project with Somerset Art Works

In partnership with the Culturally Chard Project, the Somerset Art Works and Chard Town Council, Cultivate Hub provided creative workshops as part of a banner making project for the high street of Chard, a town in Somerset. The workshop was led by artist Jenny Mellings at ARK, a land-based day facility for children and adults in South Somerset. It offered a range of activities and experiences for all to improve health, well-being and opportunities.

Through this activity families were able to explore ARK’s farm and facilities including a kitchen garden, woodland area, animals and take part in creative activity in a beautiful, outdoor setting.

Linked to the action, Cultivate created a creative opportunity for families to reconnect and experience the arts in a beautiful setting, good for wellbeing, social connection and to promote a sense of ownership and pride. These are part of Take Art’s rural enhancement plan objectives in the framework of RURITAGE.

The event involved enjoying locally sourced food and a team BBQ with members from the ARK facility including the families and artist attending the workshop. Families got to explore the on-site kitchen garden, connecting the produce that was used in the cooking to how it’s grown and harvested. On the artistic side, still life drawings, vegetable prints and photographic prints using the Cyanotype method were used by the participants to express their learnings. These artworks will be used as illustrations on the banners in a celebratory event to be held in April 2022.

These events are an important contribution that RURITAGE’s Cultivate Hub is giving to the local community. Creative collaborations between the local food and arts sectors are helping to bring significance to community cohesion and resilience while raising awareness about health, wellbeing & environmental outcomes.