The Crossing at St Paul`s in Darwall Street, Walsall is hosting a unique project called Creative Walsall between 21st - 28th September that is hoped to put Walsall on the map.
"It`s a joint collaboration" explained David McGuire, Chair of Walsall Society of Artists "and local poets. It`s intended to be a platform for all forms of creativity in the Walsall area for people to work, perform and create together. It`s absolutely free to enter and we plan to put Walsall on the map."
Local artists will showcase their paintings, drawings and other forms of visual art to expand artistic practice in Walsall. Local poets will then share their work which has engaged with the artwork on display. This type of artistic collaboration is called ekphrastic poetry which originates from a Greek expression for "description".
"The earliest ekphrastic poems were accounts of real or imagined scenes but we want to unleash their potential for wider use and not simply the visual or verbal formats" said poet Ian Henery. "We want to move beyond descriptions to reflect deeper meanings and devise many ways to interact with art - analyse the work, explore symbolic meanings, invent stories or create dialogue or dramatic scenes. The artwork will lead the public to new insights and surprising discussions".
The launch will take place at The Crossing between 6 - 8pm on 21st September with talks by the artists and spoken word. A further event will take place between 10am - 2pm on 23rd September with soundscapes, poetry and art workshops and spoken word.
Walsall Society of Artists is non-profit making and is organised for charitable purposes with the aim of advancing education and community art for the people of Walsall and surrounding region.
The Crossing at St Paul`s looks like the classic Victorian church it once was but inside is a unique project bringing together a variety of different community groups from business and commerce to worship and weddings. The aim is to be a heart of celebration in the centre of Walsall.
Image: courtesy of Ian Davies
