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Headlands to Headspace: Landscape Art Commissions
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Over 24 months, Deco Publique co-produced five landscape commissions in the coastal region of Morecambe Bay - two permanent sculptures, a temporary installation & intimate rural performances
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Morecambe Bay is an area with spectacular beauty and a fascinating natural and cultural heritage that spans 90 miles of coastline from Walney Island in the North to Cockerham in the South. The area is a complex mosaic of rural, urban and coastal environments with multiple designations including Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and areas of rare wildlife species. The area has a spiritual significance for many and a history of seafaring and trade.
Deco Publique were commissioned by the charity Morecambe Bay Partnership to work with them on their major arts commissioning project - part of a Heritage Lottery Landscape Partnership Scheme. The charity, led by Director Susannah Bleakley, celebrates and conserves the precious natural assets and proud cultural histories of the area we’re based.
Deco Publique led the artist recruitment and commissioning process, bringing to the team expert in contemporary sculpture, The CoLAB.
Along with Jan Shorrock and the team at Morecambe Bay Partnership, Deco Publique co-produced and co-curated the artistic programme, working across all aspects of realising five ambitious new works that would encourage people to visit and make connections with the heritage of the land, sea and people of the Bay.
Date
2017 to March 2019
Location
Morecambe Bay
Client
Morecambe Bay Partnership
Funder
Heritage Lottery Fund
Collaborators
The Co.LAB; AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), National Trust
Artists
Rob Mullholland, Emily Hennessey, Jenny Reeves, Chris Drury, Anna Gillespie
Project highlight
Exploring art in the landscape, across the 90 mile coastline of Morecambe Bay
Over two years, we explored the incredible rural and coastal landscape of the Bay to identify locations for works; secured permits and permissions from landowners, trusts and planning authorities; delivered community consultation & engagement; facilitated technical aspects and worked creatively with artists, sculptors, choreographers, master makers, writers and illustrators. The resulting five landscape works were visited by approximately 30,000+ audiences in the first months, were featured in a special Boxing Day ‘slow art’ edition of BBC Radio Four Front Row as well as on news channels, in arts press and in the British Theatre Guide.
Deco Publique Project Areas
Research | Curatorial & Programming | Arts Commissioning | Project Management |Design, Marketing & PR Direction| Budget Control | Operations
“The Headlands to Headspace project took us around the vast coastline of Morecambe Bay. It also took us through all seasons - in thick snow that covered the sands in Silverdale, in storms and torrential rain on Arnside Knott during our first site visit with applicant artists, in 2018’s searing heat at Heysham for the launch of Settlement. Our Deco Publique office is based in Morecambe, and the work we started eight years ago came from wanting to animate the beaches and promenades with place specific art and culture, but Headlands to Headspace was the first time our work had taken us deeper into and around this landscape. The places we had enjoyed as family walks became possible sites, and working with the land and its communities gave us the opportunity to go deeper into its history, the spiritual nature of the Bay, the complexities of the shifting sands and the passionate communities who live around the coast. Working with artists from recruitment through commissioning, and supporting the creation of their work was an unforgettable, exhilarating experience with many practical challenges and an extraordinary amount of incredible moments with people and in nature.”
Elena Jackson
View Commissioned Works
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SHIP, Anna Gillespie. 2019, Half Moon Bay
Horizon Line Chamber, Chris Drury. 2019, Sunderland Point
Longways / Crosswise, Jenny Reeves + Ellen Jeffreys. 2018, Silverdale
Made by the Moon, Emily Hennessey. 2018, Arnside Knott + Birkrigg Common
Settlement, Rob Mullholland. 2018, Heysham Barrows + Birkrigg Common
“Morecambe Bay is the largest intertidal area in the UK where four estuaries join in a horseshoe-shaped Bay of a spectacular scale and grandeur. For centuries humans have earned livelihoods from fishing, seafaring, trade and farming the coastal fringes, shaping the coastal landscape and carving out a unique history and tremendous cultural richness. Headlands, cliffs and promenades offer spectacular vistas over the elemental landscape. The scale of these views lifts the spirits and has made the Bay a place of contemplation and religious significance through the ages.” Morecambe Bay Partnership
Headlands to Headspace Gallery
Photography by Robin Zahler
The Headlands to Headspace Landscape Art Commissioning Programme was a series of five artworks commissioned by Morecambe Bay Partnership, co-produced and co-curated by Deco Publique and funded by the Heritage Fund. The temporary and permanent artworks were located around Morecambe Bay’s stunning 90 mile coastline to engage residents and visitors with the natural and cultural heritage of the Bay and the spectacular landscape, coast and wildlife.
Morecambe Bay Partnership is a charity that celebrates and conserves; connects and collaborates. From birds to beach cleans, from cycle ways to the history that shaped the Bay, they work in collaboration with the community and other partners to deliver projects with real impact.
Deco Publique has collaborated with Morecambe Bay Partnership for a number of years with a shared vision of expanding the profile and legacy of the Bay’s heritage, landscape and culture. During the Headlands to Headspace programme, we worked together closely to navigate the complex challenges of citing artistic work in the land. Our particular thanks to Susannah Bleakley and Jan Shorrock for the collaborative and positive approach to working together to realise such ambitious, dynamic outcomes.
Our two organisations are now collaborating on a new piece of research made possible with Arts Council funding secured by Deco Publique to look at future arts and landscape commissioning around Morecambe Bay.