Risky Cities is proud to announce our five commissioned artists for our Flow of Words sharing events

Dr Kate Smith of the University of Hull’s Risky Cities project looks forward to the ‘Flow of Words’ sharing events, featuring newly commissioned works by five different artists.

Participants take part in a Risky Cities community writing workshop at Preston Road Freedom Centre image: Anete Sooda

Throughout August 2022, we ran creative writing workshops with community groups around Preston Road with writer Maureen Lennon. Inspired by the histories of flooding in Hull, and we explored how these stories can build resilience for the future.  Our commissioned artists have been invited to respond to this creative writing material, and will transform them into poetry, live music, visual arts and projections in two sharing events featuring artists, communities and the Risky Cities team. Our sharing events will include BSL interpretation.

Our sharings are taking place from 7pm on Thursday 10th November at the Gulbenkian Centre on the University of Hull campus and from 7pm on Friday 11th November at Preston Road’s Freedom Centre.  Tickets are free, and can be booked via eventbrite.

Introducing the Flow of Words artists

Lisa Coates and Graziana Presicce

Lisa J Coates (mezzo soprano) and Graziana Presicce (pianist) are a classical duo who take a multi-disciplinary approach to their performance, combining music with poetry and visual art. Their performances champion the work of historic and contemporary women composers, alongside works from the more familiar repertoire. Recent collaborative projects include Mahogany Opera’s Snappy Opera Festival and working with dementia charity Lost Chord.

For Flow of Words Lisa and Graziana will take inspiration from the community texts to explore the theme ‘Home’, with an emphasis on live performance responding musically and poetically with supporting background visuals.

Emma Garness

Passionate about painting, Emma has a background as a scenic painter, muralist and street artist. Working with community groups on art projects is essential for her art practice, with the idea that artwork is accessible to everyone.

For Flow of Words she is creating ‘The wateriness within us’, a 3D artwork created from two front doors. The inspiration and the images that were conjured up in my mind from the creative writing will be collaged together to give a sense of narrative and interest into what this community feels about flooding and what small things we can do to help.

Layla Jabbari

Layla is an illustrator based in Hull. She likes to tell stories about people she meets and show the people around her in an engaging way, with humour and compassion. For this project she has worked on a map plotting the stories around Hull. The focus of the map, instead of being in the city centre, moves out to where people live and interact: often this is along the waterways. The experiences people have of water entering their lives uninvited, causing chaos, is fascinating and the resulting tales – funny, imaginative and at times sad – have been a pleasure for her to work on.

Sarah Johns, Martin Lewsley and Jay Moy

Artists Sarah Johns, Martin Lewsley, and Jay Moy will create ‘Waterwords’, an audio-visual performance piece incorporating live movement performance, pre-recorded and live processed audio, and live manipulated projected visuals.

Through the character of “Water”, we narrate an immersive story of Hull, a city
born of water, with water at the heart of its development, and its ongoing relationship
with water directly affecting its future.

Dave Windass

Dave Windass is a writer, artist and producer. For Flow of Words, he will create a dramatic soundscape that integrates pieces of work written by communities. These words, voiced by actors Matt Sutton and Rachel Dale, will be combined with field recordings, live guitar and saxophone to present a creative and emotional journey, an orchestra of voices, that incorporates the unique rhythmic patterns that echo the physical and emotional effects of tidal surge, flooding and environmental change.