To Be Here With You embraces practices of ritual to create a space of shared knowledge, gentle hospitality and open collectivity. Situated at Southwark Park Galleries and engaging with the surrounding park, the project consists of five free workshops. Artists have been invited to each develop a workshop that begins with an exploratory walk in the park, followed by guided activities in Lake Gallery’s Salter Space. Each session opens a pathway for audiences to appreciate the spaces we inhabit, to rediscover the spiritual aspects of nature, and to value our intimate rituals as something sacred.
To Be Here With You is a project facilitated by students from the Royal College of Art, MA Curating Contemporary Art Programme, as part of the Graduate Projects 2023, in partnership with Southwark Park Galleries.
​
Programme //
​
Gathering: Saturday 22 April, 2–4pm
London-based artist Gail Dickerson led the first ‘Gathering’ workshop on Earth Day. Starting as a walk through the park, Dickerson introduced the geology of certain features whilst collecting found materials; talking and sharing experiences along the way. Returning to the gallery, participants created a layered map, drawing from the materials collected as well as personal impressions, stories and reflections.
​
Activating: Sunday 23 April, 2–4pm
Rie Nakajima's ‘Activating’ workshop invited participant to explore creative potential by crafting unique musical instruments from everyday materials and found objects. It celebrated communal processes of creation and was followed by a performance around Southwark Park making music with the created instruments. As a spiritual and universal practice, the workshop was open to all and was an enriching experience for anyone with a love of music.
Infinitely: Saturday 29 April, 2–4pm
for the second weekend of our workshops, 'Infinitely' was led by artist Alice May. Inspired by dreams, nature, and personal experiences, May guided participants through various art forms, including poetry, sketching, life drawing, and collaborative painting. After a guided walk in Southwark Park, May led a collaborative work on paper using materials inspired by previous observations.
​
Tenderly: Sunday 30 April, 2–4pm
connecting to the watery landscapes of our moving bodies, 'Tenderly' offered gentle and reparative movement, exploration and an invitation to be with our internal tides and cycles of repair. Rudzani Moleya is a South African-born, London-based interdisciplinary artist and teacher who is representing Yewande 103 – one of the UK’s only Black, disabled, neurodiverse, survivor and artist-led dance organisations.
​
Greening: Friday 5 May, 11am–1pm
Hannah Lees and May Hands presented 'Greening' drop-in workshop - an opportunity to reconnect with nature's cycles and celebrate the joys of making together through ancient traditions of simple weaving and natural materials. Small woven offerings were constructed using found and foraged sticks, flowers, and leaves with recycled textiles. The workshop wasculminate in decorating Southwark Park Galleries garden with the woven hangings and ribbons created during the session. This workshop was the last of five which explore collective and gentle connections to nature and ourselves through themes of ritual.
​
To Be Here With You is curated by Ghost Collective: Marjian Tsatsaros Tyagi, Julia Jiang, Ana Escoto, Youjia Qian, Chuqing Feng, Caspar Danuser, Esther Liu, Sophie Nowakowska and Nathan Yeomans.