3–6pm, Saturday 18 May
Hayley Wood, Cambridgeshire (pick up at 2pm from Cambridge Station)

Join us for the first part of ‘False Economy’, a series of events curated by Taylor Le Melle. 
 

From various encyclopaedic entries on coppice and drought: 

Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees. 

The widespread and long-term practice of coppicing has been of significance in many parts of lowland temperate Europe.  

In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level, known as a stool.  

Typically a coppiced woodland is harvested in sections or coups on a rotation. A regularly coppiced tree will never die of old age; some coppice stools may therefore reach immense ages. 

Drought is a shortage of water over an extended period of time. Droughts are a normal part of a climate cycle. They occur in all climate zones. Drought can be short or span years.  

Socioeconomic definitions of drought associate the supply and demand of some economic good with elements of meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural drought.  Its occurrence depends on the processes of supply and demand.   

Drought definitions are of two types: (1) conceptual, and (2) operational. Conceptual definitions help understand the meaning of drought and its effects. 

Mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book, Hayley Wood was the first site to be purchased by the Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Naturalists' Trust in 1962. There are many ancient coppice stools in the wood; coppicing was practiced from at least the 13th Century.

The afternoon will feature a visit to Hayley Wood and readings from Daniella Valz Gen,
Evan Ifekoya and Priya Jay.

A bus will pick guests up from Cambridge station at 2.00pm and take them directly to Hayley Wood. You are invited to explore the wood at your own pace. Readings will begin at 4.30pm. The bus will pick guests up from the wood at 6pm and return them to Cambridge station.  

Practical Information

You are encouraged to bring snacks and water, comfortable footwear, layers and waterproof clothing. The ground at Hayley Wood is flat, but uneven in places. This event will take place entirely outside and will proceed rain or shine. There are no toilet facilities in Hayley Wood. 

Bookings

To book your place, please click here. 

Places are offered on a pay-what-you-can basis with contributions going towards travel bursaries for the upcoming ‘Network+Contact’ symposium on 30 May (suggested contribution: £5). 

For information on the other events in the series, please click here.

Travel Bursaries 

There are a limited number of travel bursaries up to £30.00 available. If in need of a bursary to cover your journey to Cambridge station, select a free ticket on eventbrite and email Wysing’s curator John Bloomfield at
john.bloomfield@wysingartscentre.org with a few sentences to voice your interest in the programme (we are not looking for you to detail your need). Bursaries will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.  

Access 

If you have questions about access needs for the performance, please email Wysing’s Head of Operations, Ceri Littlechild, on ceri.littlechild@wysingartscentre.org 

The 2019 Curator in-Residence is supported by Art Fund.  

Biographies

Daniella Valz Gen is an artist and a poet born in Lima and living in London. Their work explores alterity and liminality with an emphasis on embodiment. Daniella practices tarot and ritual, and teaches Expanding Writing workshops. Recent publications include Subversive Economies (PSS Press), E.R.O.S Journal, SALT. Magazine, Montez Press Calendar Series, Paperwork Magazine and The Happy Hypocrite. 

Evan Ifekoya’s practice explores ‘multiple scales of space and time’ through moving image and sonic installations. Blackness in abundance, a queer reconstituting of the body and the reparative potential of art propels  their thinking.  

Ifekoya’s recent work has been presented at: De Appel Amsterdam, La Casa Encendida Madrid Somerset House London and Tyneside cinema Newcastle (2019), Gasworks London and Camden Arts Centre (2018) Contemporary Arts Centre New Orleans as part of Prospect 4; Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, KW institute, Berlin; New Art Exchange, Nottingham; Plymouth Arts Centre; ICA and Serpentine Galleries, London; Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridgeshire; (2017); Transmission Gallery, Glasgow; and Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town (2016). This year, Ifekoya was awarded the Kleinwort Hambros Emerging Artist prize. 

Priya Jay is a researcher using curatorial, artistic and herbalist methods to develop a practice that is healing and experimental. She facilitates spaces of co-inquiry, honours embodied knowledge and is interested in non-linear pedagogies. Priya was most recently part of Arts Catalyst and The Otolith Collective's Undisicplinary Residency for her project 'co-scripture', and is currently a recipient of the 2018 Peer Forum at Camden Arts Centre. Priya has worked with Autograph ABP, Iniva, Barbican and Wellcome Trust, and is currently based in London.

Taylor Le Melle is a curator and writer based in London who has programmed at: Serpentine Galleries, ICA London, Cafe Oto, Chisenhale Dance Space, Arcadia Missa, and Assembly Point (all London), L’IceBergues with Contrechamps Ensemble (Geneva) and McKenna Museum of Art (New Orleans). Taylor’s writing has been featured in: Art Monthly, Flash Art. Taylor was the Autumn/Winter 2018 Writer-in-Residence at Jerwood Visual Arts.  

Taylor also co-runs PSS with Rowan Powell. Together they have published projects by Daniella Valz Gen, Victoria Sin and Rehana Zaman (upcoming, 2019).  Since April 2018, Taylor has been co-director of not/nowhere, an artist workers’ cooperative that hosts workshops, screenings, exhibitions and other events. not/nowhere’s mission is to ensure that local artists who use new media in their work can access film and media equipment, acquire skills to nourish their practices, and take pleasure in expressing themselves creatively.