REVEAL was a commissioned based project funded by Arts Council England. Community Engagement Curator Isobel King commissioned GRIT to explore the museum and tell some of it’s stories using contemporary dance.
Director Rob Mennear worked for three months gathering stories both from the objects within the collection but also by meeting the local people that work in Helston and visit the museum. This resulted in them unveiling stories of the building and what it holds, not just in its display cabinets but deeper in its foundations, compiling and weaving local stories, both historical and those of everyday. As Rob puts it they were keen to “Seek out tails and whispers that tilt on the side of curiosity and intrigue. Respectably side stepping the Cornish postcard approach and Revealing a deeper insight into what makes Cornwall Cornish today.”
Costume creator Meier Williams met with the museum’s volunteer clothing expert Andrea Newall and together they explored the museum’s rich textile history within it’s collection. Meier used the images and notes during these sessions to inform a design that would echo the museum’s rich history of being a community building full of people and their stories.
The REVEAL performance was at 7.30pm on Saturday 13th July 2024. The performance was promenade in style with the audience being greeted at the front door of the museum by young dancers from Hall For Cornwall’s Youth Dance company. The audience, accompanied by a soundscape of local voices, were led through the museum following a trail of old shoes, echoing the footsteps of all the people who had moved through the buildings when they were weekly produce markets before the museum was created. Eventually everyone arrived into the Guildhall space which had been transformed by light into an intimate performance space. Katie Lusby’s intensely physical and powerful performance was accompanied by a live, freshly composed violin score. As the piece progressed layers off history were revealed by movement and by the costume created that integrated images of the museum and its collection into the fabric of the clothes.
After the performance the audience were able to take a close look at the costume and talk with all the performers and director. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive with many people commenting on how the piece had generated a deep emotional reaction within them. For some it was the first time they had experienced a piece of contemporary dance, for others it was the first time they had experienced dance in a in a museum setting.
Here is a glimpse of this unique performance.
A pop up exhibition was created using the costumes created by Meier Williams plus her drawings and noted and drawings created by director Rob Mennear during the creative process. This exhibition opened on 22nd July and remained on display for three months until the end of October 2024.
REVEAL was created by Rob Mennear artistic director of GRIT , founder of All Boys Dance freelance practitioner and dance artist. Costume created by Meier Williams with original music commissioned from Ben Sutcliffe. Dancer/Performer Katie Lusby and technical support from Martin Fenton. Guest dancers from Hall For Cornwall’s Youth Dance company
This project is the beginnings of a much larger scale production and engagement programme by GRIT for a future work called NOT MINE.
