Join artist Eelyn Lee for a free sound and costume workshop exploring how Sheffield’s rivers carry memories across places and time.

The session starts with a short walk to the River Sheaf where it meets the River Don - the birthplace of the City of Sheffield. For more than 100 years this segment of the river was hidden underground, and is currently being uncovered as part of the Castlegate regeneration project. During the workshop we will listen and connect with the sonic and material memories that flow through the river, and imagine the new possible paths that it might forge.

With the sounds of the river in our mind, we will head back to Exchange Place where you will be guided through sonic and movement based exercises by Somatic Practitioner Poh-Eng San. Together we will seek to give voice to landscapes and places that travel with us in our bodies and memories.

The workshop culminates with a collective costume making activity, where we will translate our work into the creation of mythological characters that embody our reflections, using a mix of natural and recycled materials.

No previous experience in sound, movement, or costume design is needed. This workshop is designed for adults and children aged 11+ (accompanied by an adult).

Access

The workshop will be held in Arts Catalyst’s community space at Exchange Place and outside along the river Sheaf and Don.

The workshop will begin at Exchange Place and during the workshop we will take a very short walk outside to view the river.

The workshop starts at 1pm, with a break scheduled halfway through. Participants are welcome to move around, take time out, and eat whenever they need to.

Community space: The community space has ground floor step free access. You’ll find the entrance to the community space at the back of the Exchange Place lobby, a member of staff should be able to point you in the right direction. The entrance is wheelchair accessible. You will need to ring a doorbell for someone to let you in.

Public universal toilets are available on the ground floor. While the toilet is designed to be wheelchair accessible, this is through two sets of double doors. Soft and hard seating options are available.

River Sheaf and Don: During the workshop we take a short walk outside to view the river. This visit will be brief, however please ensure you are appropriately dressed for the weather conditions. We will be walking and standing on public pavements with flat surfaces and without stairs or handrails.

About the Artists

Eelyn Lee is an award-winning artist and filmmaker of dual British-Hong Kong heritage, whose work has been presented at the Barbican, Tate Modern, Whitechapel Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Palais de Tokyo, HKW, and at international film festivals.

Through collaborative explorations of identity, justice, and multi-species migrations, Eelyn’s practice blends costume, choreography, ritual, and sound to forge new mythologies –collectively imagining new narratives in the face of false truths.

Poh-Eng San is an Environmental Movement Artist and Somatic Movement Practitioner. With an MA in Dance and Somatic Wellbeing, she also teaches Tai Chi & Qigong, and practices as a Buqi & Plant Spirit Medicine Healer, a Freelance Dancer, and Doula. Inspired by landscape, Poh-Eng facilitates seasonal workshops in the Peak District – giving time to deepen our kinaesthetic relationship with the land and our bodies.

Description supplied by the event organiser.