DIY Structures, Plotlands and Building Differently

Dreamspace: Pending Approval. DIY Structures, Plotlands and Building Differently
Hosted by Fran Edgerley and Shaun C. Badham
Friday 14 August | 7.00–9.00pm

Dreamspace: Pending Approval, an ambitious collective art project exploring making, learning and landscape in South Essex commissioned by Estuary Festival and Hadleigh Farm Estate.

From Wednesday 12 August until Sunday 16 August we will be gathering around the campfire for five evenings of conversation, storytelling, music and shared experiences. Set beside an industrial hangar on a working farm, overlooking rolling fields, Hadleigh Castle and the Thames Estuary, each event explores our relationship with landscape, creativity, community and making.

DIY Structures, Plotlands and Building Differently

How can artists create spaces that bring people together?

This evening begins with a series of short films and interviews showcasing artist-led projects that have designed and built structures for gathering, learning and community activity.

The screening is followed by a conversation led by Fran Edgerley, drawing on her experience with Assemble and House of Annetta, exploring material care, collaboration, site responsiveness and political awareness in socially engaged practice.

The discussion will also revisit the South Essex Plotlands (1890–1949), England's remarkable self-build movement, considering how their disappearance through compulsory purchase and managed decline has influenced our relationship with housing, architecture and making today.
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For more information on Dreamspace: Pending Approval see The Estuary Festival website

About the speakers

Shaun C. Badham is an artist born and living in Essex. He received a BA Fine Art from University West of England in Bristol and MFA Fine Art from Goldsmiths, University of London. Often responding to the socio-political, historical and human attributes of a given site, Shaun instigates long-term collaborative projects that are realised across different mediums, from local community actions to large-scale sculptural installations. Notable projects include, I’M STAYING (2014 to present), MORNING (2014 to 2018), PLOT (2018 to 2021) and EDGELANDS (2022 to 2025). With a research led practice and an emphasise on process, moments of public activity tend to facilitate investigation and dialogue surrounding the project, whether that’s via an exhibition, sculpture, group walk, a book or a workshop.