Good Tidings is a new artwork and ritual created by artists Simone Kenyon, Rebecca Lee, and Bethany Wells with the people of Sheppey.
Exploring historic working-class community traditions on the Isle of Sheppey, the artists have worked with intergenerational groups of local people to co-create a new ceremonial tradition for the port town of Sheerness – a place defined, and often stigmatised, by its industrial heritage and proximity to the sea.
Inspired by the island’s rich working-class history and the overlooked stories and experiences of local people, the project seeks to rediscover and celebrate Sheppey’s unique community identity, establishing a new ceremonial tradition that can be passed on to future generations.
The project culminates in a public enactment of the new tradition, which marks the passing of time and tide and casts off good tidings for Sheppey, between the high and low tide on 9 August 2025. A buoyant net, tethered between land and sea, will weave together voices, stories and history from the folk of Sheppey and be cast off on the tide to a collaboratively written song.
Good Tidings has been commissioned by Cement Fields and funded by Historic England’s Everyday Heritage grant programme, Arts Council England, Kent County Council, and The National Lottery Community Fund. With additional generous support from Sheppey Matters.
Simone Kenyon is a UK based artist, dancer and producer. She creates works that encompass dance and somatic practices, environment, ecology, walking arts, participatory events and workshops for both urban and rural contexts.
Her solo practice explores walking as a choreographic practice, sensory experiences and our perceptions of environments.
She has a wide breadth of knowledge and skills informing how she creates work for and with specific places and people. This includes facilitating and running workshops for her research projects, Feldenkrais and walking workshops and for other artists and organizations.
She often works in collaboration with other artists and specialists, including her work with dance artists Neil Callaghan. Their recent works have been shown at Fierce Festival, Birmingham, The Hayward Gallery and Sadlers Wells, London and has toured internationally in China with Forest Fringe.
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