Encounters

Encounters specialise in designing participatory arts projects and interventions that inspire creativity, dialogue and exchange between people of all ages and cultures.

Since 2003 they have used the transformational power of the arts to work creatively with thousands of people in arts, community, education, reconciliation, rehabilitation, regeneration and environmental contexts. Encounters create spaces and processes for people from all walks of life to explore their relationship with themselves, each other, where they live and the wider world. Through performances, workshops, public interventions, co-authored exhibitions, publications and uniquely tailored events, the invitation is to re-look at who and how we are in the world at this time of crisis and opportunity and together to explore new stories to live by on individual, local, city wide and global levels.

Previous project strands:

Encounters workshops with Regen SW Throughout July 2014 Encounters and Regen SW will be holding a number of workshops across the South West for artists, and arts organisations on climate change and renewable energy. These are free events funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Centre for Business and Climate Solutions.

Encounters at Schumacher College Encounters are leading a course at Schumacher College later this summer: The Art of Invitation – Creative Engagement for Ourselves and Our Communities. The course will provide a creative space for people from all walks of life to look at examples of where projects have engaged and energised people in formal and informal spaces. The group will look at effective ways to bring groups of people together and maintain their involvement in projects focused on social change and addressing ecological challenges.

Encounters Shops Since 2003 Encounters have been taking up residence in disused Shops across the UK, working with thousands of people to create evolving, co-authored artworks about the joys and challenges of everyday life.

Encounters Shops become meeting places in which local communities can collect and exchange experiences, memories, objects, journeys and thoughts about their lives, where they live and the wider world.  Using photography, visual art and text to collect personal material from visitors reflecting this back through the creation of interactive, evolving displays and verbatim performance events and publications. Talks, workshops, community visioning, feasts, inter-generational exchanges and cross-cultural dialogue processes can also take place in the Shops.

A Little Patch of Ground is an inter-generational food growing and performance project that culminates in a permaculture inspired vegetable garden and a multi-media performance about relationships with the natural world.

A Little Patch of Ground takes place over a period of 20 weeks. A diverse inter-generational group of local residents meet weekly to create and grow their own permaculture inspired vegetable garden, cook and eat together. Through a variety of media the group explores thoughts on food, resources, climate change, interdependence and sustainability. Encounters latest A Little Patch of Ground was a twinned Urban/Rural Patch in the East End of London and Totnes, Devon, in association with Artsadmin.

Combatants for Peace Encounters host a programme of events, workshops and conflict resolution processes in the UK for representatives of Combatants for Peace (CfP), a grassroots movement of Israeli and Palestinian ex-combatants engaged in a non-violent struggle to end the Israeli occupation.

The CfP movement was started in 2005 by Palestinians who had been part of the violent struggle against the occupation and Israelis who had fought in the Israeli army. Having put down their arms, CfP members are engaged in a non-violent struggle against the Israeli occupation and for a viable peace in the area. They are committed to using dialogue and reconciliation as a way to promote the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem, alongside the State of Israel. In 2010 and 2011, Encounters hosted a visit from a group of Israeli and Palestinian members of CfP for a UK tour of public events to share their personal stories and non-violent creative methods for resolving conflict. CfP uses theatre as a tool for dialogue, action and transformation.

Find out more at encounters-arts.org.uk