The Gleaning is a collaborative community arts project leading to an exhibition with events during Somerset Art Weeks Festival, celebrating diversity, connectivity, and the environment. Co-curated by Gill Sakakini and Fiona Campbell, large-scale translucent textile artworks will be suspended in front of clear glass windows in Shepton Mallet's beautiful 12th century church. Several workshops have already taken place engaging the community, with more to follow soon.

Key Information

Dates: 22nd September to 9th October 2022

Address: St Peter & St Paul's Church, Church Lane, Shepton Mallet BA4 5BW

Times: 10am-5pm daily

Admission: Free (except Jazz Concert)

Contact Details: Tel: (Fiona) 07515 537224/Email: [email protected]/(Gill) 07969 158488 [email protected]

The Gleaning is gathering momentum through further collaborations and workshops:

9th August, 10am-12pm – Collett Park (bandstand): Drawing On Gleaning Special

16th August, 10am-12pm – Collett Park (bandstand): Drawing On Gleaning Special

18th August, 2pm-4pm – St Peter & St Paul Church, Shepton Mallet: Textile workshop

23rd August, 10am-12pm – Market Cross, Shepton Mallet: Mono printing on fabrics

Enquiries email: [email protected]

culminating in a final exhibition and events as part of Somerset Art Weeks' Festival

FESTIVAL EVENTS

22nd September, 10am-5pm – St Peter & St Paul Church: launch of The Gleaning. as part of Somerset Art Weeks Festival (24th September-9th October) 

27th September, 10am-12pm – St Peter & St Paul Church: 'Drawing On' – a workshop exploring The Gleaning textiles with pencil and charcoal

30th September, 10.30am – Market Cross: 'Encounter Ruth', Pop-Up presentation of the Book of Ruth with spoken word and viola

1st October, 10am-12pm, St Peter & St Paul Church: 'Care and Repair' - a workshop for all ages exploring the theme of care and repair using found and recycled materials

1st October, 11am + 3pm – Market Cross: 'Encounter Ruth', Pop-Up presentation of the Book of Ruth with spoken word and viola

1st October, 8-9pm, St Peter & St Paul Church: Jazz Concert by 'East of Meon', Latino vocal and instrumental jazz responding to harvest themes in The Gleaning exhibition. Tickets £5

5th October, 3.30-5pm, St Peter & St Paul Church: 'After School Art' - create a piece from scraps and fragments left from the project, based on one of the themes

8th October, 3pm, St Peter & St Paul Church: 'Song & Celebration' - School and Community Choirs perform a specially-commissioned song for The Gleaning with a ballet performance responding to the art by dancer Joe Ducille (student at the English National Ballet, London)

9th October: The Gleaning ends

All events (except Jazz Concert) are Free

Further info:

The Gleaning references the Biblical rule of leaving a portion of one's crop for the poorest to glean (Leviticus 19, v 9-10). The central thread of Harvest Festival celebrates plenty, gratitude, generosity, sharing, social cohesion, giving voice to the marginalised. The project addresses Somerset Art Works' theme 'Sanctuary', with its key strands of the Spiritual, Sustainable and Social. It is centred in St Peter and St Paul's Church, a spiritual venue, welcoming, safe, sacred. The oldest building in town, it has offered sanctuary to all comers throughout history.