The symposium ‘Art as a Tool for Freedom’ took place on the 20th of May at the Roosevelt Study Center in Middelburg.

It was a day of meetings- between professors in human rights law, history and social science and printmaking. The issue of Freedom made for the wheel, which around the talks spun. Besides freedom- the question was- what could art do for freedom - for human rights?

The previous day Amos Kennedy carried out a letter press workshop on the square as we asked people what freedom meant
to them. Amos had already printed cards with Freedom on it- and people could add their thoughts. In the end, it required direct action by Iris de Leeuw and myself: people were reluctant to write on the cards- and unsure what we actually wanted from them- money? Time? After some gentle coercion , they picked up their pens and really started talking.To me- this proved that we do need freedom from fear.

Freedom from fear of connecting and engaging in ideas with strangers.

John Phillips- from London Printmaking Studio- put on a instant street show with anarchist echoes- and sold the Freedom cards; No one bought freedom.

Next day- Amos concluded the symposium with a talk in the medieval herb garden. He showed posters made with American school children on freedom.
The children had courage- more that the adults on the square.

Freedom House Art is now becoming a reality- through the vision of Iris de Leeuw. This could be the place where the socially engaged print- regains its agency.

On the way back to London- in the train I thought of what wonderful days these had been - filled with meaning, curiosity and the light of good ideas. There, in the train, it was moment of silence when I could be still and inspired again.

The Littoral Zone is quite a hard concept to grasp. It is a space which is always in an in-between stage. Its only constancy is its fluxus. This is difficult to manage emotionally where we grasp for stability, for control which in reality becomes the stagnant pond of things. Why not allow the littoral zones of our lives to provide a rich mud of emerging and vanishing imprints, of meetings of living forms from opposite existences of land and sea.We work to build dams and to controll the currents of living, only letting go when it is part of controlled force.
These thoughts have begun to form the underpinning ideas for my images, as I myself struggle to go with the flow- to remain fluid, to find opportunites in what seems to be murky mud- to understand the Littoral Zone within and to recognize, it is a rich place to be.

Littoral is a show about flow- about the water which arrives and leaves, continuosly changing an inbetween space of land nor water nor sand.

Therefore, the show can not be a static display- but will run in conjunction with a series events and workshops at the Create Centre that might wash over visitors with new experiences…..as follows:
Friday 27th August

Saturday 28th August Exhibition opening ( sometime Between 4 &
7pm)

Saturday 4th September Peter Ford, Paper making workshop ( 11.30 - 1) and Paper folding workshop ( 2 - 3.30)

Saturday 11th September Phillip Gross poetry reading ( 12 - 1) signing after Relief print workshop ( 2 - 3.30)

Saturday 18th September Mud printing workshop ( 11.30 - 1) and Mud printing workshop ( 2 - 3.30)

Saturday 25th September Mono print workshop ( 11.30 - 1) and Mono print workshop ( 2 - 3.30)

Saturday 2nd October Collagraphs / Rubbings workshop (11.30 - 1) and Collagraphs / Rubbings workshop (11.30 - 1)

Thursday 7th October UWE MA Print visit ( 1- 3 ) Possible sustainability print paper w/ S. Hoskins

Saturday 9th October Closing party (2 - 4) and Prize draw