Landscape and walking provide the catalyst for Walking the Land’s creative activities. Based in the Gloucestershire countryside, Walking the Land comprise three lead artists, Richard and Tom Keating and Kel Portman. Each share a passion for the landscape, using artworks to bring landscape and environmental issues to a wider Public audience. As painters, sculptors, photographers, videographers and educators we produce work which refers to specific places, localities and environments.

Formed over 6 years ago, we are a Stroud-based arts collective who have regularly produced and exhibited work made by direct engagement with the landscape. In addition we also facilitate landscape-based projects, walks, curate installations, exhibitions and events with other artists. Our works have been shown in formal galleries and informal sites including such places as Capel Mill with the ‘Transitions’ project, ‘Racking Fields’ in Rodborough, Arboreality at Westonbirt National Arboretum and ‘river’ shown on the banks of the River Severn. Alongside collaboration with artists, we promote creative enterprises with other groups and individuals including; universities ecologists, historians, architects and renewable energy engineers.

Part of our work also includes creative involvement with schools, community groups, neighbourhood projects and conservation organisations such as The Cotswold Water Park, Natural England, the Cotswold Conservation Board and The Forestry Commission and post-graduate students from The University of Delft.

Walking the Land see our role not just as individual or even group artists, but also as facilitators of practical projects that bring an appreciation of the landscape to a wider audience. By inviting and encouraging local people to make artwork and responses based on their own direct experience of ‘the land’, we hope to provoke dialogue and discussion about both art, landscape, environmental and sustainability matters.

Walking the Land run creative workshops, art courses and walks in the Gloucestershire countryside throughout the year and will be active as a part of the 'site09' Visual Arts Festival which will place in June 2009.
• click to see site09

On this site you can find out more about Walking the Land and our activities. In particular how to take part in our projects and courses.

News

This years site09 festival is promising to be a fabulous and eclectic mix of all things creative. Walking the Land are actively engaged in several projects and events.  Find out more by clicking onto our Exhibition & Events page

'thinking about.. food'
An exhibition of 18 artists taking place throughout June and July at The Old Passage in Arlingham. Yum!

'thinking about...trees'
Taking place in Stoud's Stratford Park, this project is an open workshop that invites artists and members of the public to respond to the Park's collection and focuses on a tree that is endangered in it's native China - The Dawn Redwood. Walking the Land have established creative connections with the University of Shanghai and intend to establish 'exchanges' through a live web-link on the day.
June 20th

artwalks
Walking the Land's programme of 3 'artwalks' will explore footpaths that follow River Severn at Arlingham. Our artists offer guidance on a creative response to this wonderful, but fragile feature of Gloucestershire's landscape.
6th, 13th and 27th June.
• click here for further details about these events on our exhibitions page

Thinking Landscape
A seminar jointly organised by PhotoStroud, SVA, Stroud College and Walking the Land to be held at SVA's John Street building. This half day event will explore some of the issues confronting landscape artists today.
23rd June 2-5 pm
4 John Street Stroud
for more details and booking
please call 01453 824 212 or email info@photostroud.co.uk

Interactive Digital Signs project at the Cotswold Water Park
In 2008 Wakling the Land colaborated with the Cotswold Water Park and Knowledge West in a pilot project to develop and install three intercative digital visitor interpretation signs in the Cotswold Water Park nature reserve. The system was designed to provide visitors with multimedia information about the park via their mobile phones, to innovatively deliver information to as wide a range of people as possible while minimising the invasion of the natural environment.
Knowledge West is a project run by the University of the West of England in collaboration with the Universities of Bath, Gloucestershire, and Bristol, the Royal Agricultural College, Bath Spa University and Business Link.

• click here to read about the project

Old Passage Art Award 08

Seen here are the winners of last years Award for the public's favorite artist participating in 'river', an exhibition hosted by Sally & David Pearce of The Old Passage at Arlingham and curated by Walking the Land, during the site08 visual arts festival.
Voting was very close with several artists in the running, but the overall winner was textile artist Jo Newman with her artwork 'Old Tom'.
The very worthy runner-up prize was awarded to Stroud photographer
Sylvain Guenot for his portrait of the elver fisherman Hartly Everet.
Jesse Spurr of Frampton on Severn won the Voter's Prize.
(left to right: David Pearce, Sylvain Guenot, Jo Newman and Sally Pearce)

• click here to see the exhibition