Vessel Projects is delivering an ambitious visual arts programme inspired by prehistoric ceramic ‘beakers’ found across Britain and Europe.
Our project will connect the process of contemporary making and cultural exchange with the ancient movement of people and evolution of practices and ideas through Beaker Culture, which flourished across the UK and in Lincolnshire during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age (c. 2800-1900 BCE).
The programme combines archaeological research, community participation and contemporary art commissioning to contemplate our relationship with this little known history. Delivered in partnership with Oxcombe Pottery, and funded by East Lindsey Investment Fund GRASSroots grant and Storytellers NPO Arts & Heritage grant, the project will offer:
- A workshop programme for schools and local residents creating hundreds of clay beakers to be installed in the landscape at National Trust Sandilands.
- An artist residency that will enhance the project with nuanced contemporary perspectives on migration, material culture and some of the earliest creative practices in Lincolnshire.
Public events:
National Trust Sandilands – mass installation of contemporary beakers in the landscape. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/nottinghamshire-lincolnshire/sandilands
Queen Street Studios, Louth – project showcase in a new artist-led space. https://www.instagram.com/queen_streetstudios/
Oxcombe Pottery – exhibitions in the church and/or barns in this rural centre of culture. https://oxcombepottery.co.uk/
Selected artists:
Nicki Jarvis an artist and maker working predominantly in ceramic and textiles, based at Oxcombe Studios. Themes of resilience, rurality and tradition underpin an exploration of pattern-making and repetition, creating artefacts that reflect aspects of the Lincolnshire landscape, such as in her two-year residency and site-specific commissions for Mrs Smith’s Cottage. https://www.nickijarvis.co.uk/
Jayne Cooper, based in Louth. Grounded in painting, Jayne’s practice moves between image and object – spanning painting, object-making, assemblage and performance. Her work often carries a playful sense of fantasy and desire, engaging with themes of ritual and female transgression. Jayne is the founder and director of a new artist-led space; Queen Street Studios in Louth. http://www.jaynecooperpaintings.com/
Sophie Dickinson, a recent graduate of Manchester School of Art. One of the 2024 winners of The Manchester Contemporary Art Fund 2024, her work now forms part of the permanent public collection at Manchester Art Gallery. Sophie’s mixed media practice explores the historical, allegorical, and personal use of objects, including our complex relationship to materiality. She is based near North Thoresby and works at Oxcombe and also at Turntable Gallery in Grimsby. https://www.instagram.com/sophiedickinsonart/