Excavation experts and creative professionals will be uniting at a medieval site in Cookham for a two-way celebration of culture and heritage.
The Cookham Abbey monastery, led by Queen Cynethryth in the eighth century, is being excavated by archaeologists from the University of Reading, who returned to the site this month.
The team’s staff and students have been excavating the site every summer since 2021.
In addition to this year’s excavations, a two-day symposium, known as Digging the Bigger Picture, will see leading artists and archaeologists explore creative collaborations and new ways of working together.
The event will be accompanied by an art and archaeology display entitled ‘Work in Progress’.
Phyllida Shelley, an artist-in-residence at the excavation site ,and Keith Abbott will lead the symposium on Wednesday, July 31 and Thursday, August 1 at The Parish Centre and Paddock at Holy Trinity Church in Cookham.
Highlights of the symposium, which will be livestreamed, include keynote talks by Dr Antonia Thomas from Orkney, who is the course leader of the archaeology and contemporary art MA course at the University of the Highlands and Islands.
Professor Sarah Casey, a professor of fine art and its histories at University of Lancaster, will also be giving a keynote talk.
This will be followed by a guided tour of the Cookham Abbey excavation site with fieldwork lead Professor Gabor Thomas.
A panel discussion on developing future collaborations between archaeology and art will then take place.
Phyllida said: “This symposium brings together archaeologists and artists, offering a valuable opportunity to learn from each other’s methods.
“By learning about and discussing different ways artists have worked with archaeological research projects, we explore how these collaborations can enhance archaeological research, enrich artistic practice, and deepen public engagement with local history.”
On the second day, 20 archaeologists and artists will attend a half-day workshop to produce artwork directly on the archaeological site and create work inspired by the excavations.
Last year, five professional artists were invited to join Phyllida at Cookham Abbey to create artwork inspired by the excavation of Cookham Abbey.
Alongside the symposium, an exhibition entitled ‘River & Earth: Contemporary Art Meets Ancient Ground’, will display artwork produced by the group of artists inside Holy Trinity Church, which is adjacent to the excavation site.
Phyllida will also run the Down to Earth programme which features a series of five creative engagement workshops which are taking place during the excavation season in Cookham.
As part of the session, people from the wider community are invited to explore archaeology through drawing and printmaking, inspired by discoveries made from the excavation.
The workshops are open to everyone, and no previous experience is necessary.
For more information about the symposium, visit: www.cookhamabbey.org.uk/events/
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