Knotted Identities

Knotted Identities is an Arts Council funded project which ran in the Staffordshire Moorlands during the Summer of 2022. The KARVAN (part of www.worldlits.com) stopped to deliver arts-based workshops at nine locations in the Staffordshire Moorlands during May, June, July and August

KARVAN: ‘together we travel’ – an artistically-renovated 1980s caravan
– part of http://www.worldlits.com by Emma Dawson Varughese

Launch of the Knotted Identities Exhibition

on Sunday 11th September, 2022, 3pm at Bolton Gate Farm, Cafe and Arts, Weston Coyney, ST3 5BD

Knotted Identities, run by Emma Dawson Varughese explores contemporary Staffordshire Moorlands identities asking questions of what it means to belong to this part of the country, its landscapes and its local people.

Winnoth Dale, Staffordshire Moorlands, Winter 2020. Image courtesy of AWD

Alongside lead artist Emma, three Staffordshire Moorlands-based artists delivered workshops – in ceramics (Sue Blatherwick of Longnor); life and still life drawing (Charles Walker of Caverswall); painting, printing and design (Louise Adams of Stockton Brook).

In addition to the KARVAN workshops being held at the nine locations across the Staffordshire Moorlands, Emma is compiling a travelogue, documenting the KARVAN’s journey and its encounters with the various groups of people who participate in the workshops. From Werrington in the west to Butterton in the east, Longnor in the north and to Tean in the south (and five other locations in between), Knotted Identities looks to celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of the people and the landscapes in this corner of Staffordshire.

The project culminates in an exhibition at Bolton Gate Farm, Weston Coyney, in the Autumn (2022).

Winnoth Dale, Staffordshire Moorlands, Spring 2020. Image courtesy of AWD
Winnoth Dale, Staffordshire Moorlands, Summer 2020. Image courtesy of AWD
Winnoth Dale, Staffordshire Moorlands, Autumn 2020. Image courtesy of AWD