Culture of the Countryside, working with the community of Happisburgh 

How can we respond to our changing environment ?

Happisburgh is perched on the edge of an encroaching North sea, in an area of outstanding natural beauty with an extraordinary history.  With the increasing threat from coastal erosion, people losing their homes, the village has become infamous and tarnished by its misleading reputation that all is lost. 

Mark was part of this community and was passionate about developing a future vision for the village to coincide with the Pathfinders Programme.  A nationally funding scheme to help manage the ‘retreat’.  Working with Culture of the Countryside (CotC) Mark facilitated six community workshops during the course of 2010.  The aim was to encourage a better understanding of our culture and heritage through direct engagement with the Sainsbury Centre collections of art from around the world. www.cultureofthecountryside.ac.uk

Art handling in church rooms

Happisburgh school artwork

The second workshop was held in the Church rooms at the heart of the village.  This was an opportunity to see, handle and talk about art from around the world.  Participants concentrated on artefacts from New Guinea, which faces even more extreme environmental challenges. Observations and deductions were made about the significance of the objects in the room. The participants then reflected on the  values we place on the everyday objects that surround us, thinking about what is precious in our lives.

Happisburgh school visited the Sainsbury Centre World Art Collection to gain inspiration, and to compare objects from other coastal communities. The final three workshops were held at the school. In the first, a  team of creative educators, from the university brought a van packed with artefacts for the children to handled and study.  Questions were asked, considering different values across cultures and between peoples.