The Cornwall Workshop is an intensive residential workshop for artists, curators and writers. It provides a space for discussion, debate and the sharing of ideas and encourages critical feedback and collaboration, with the aim of fostering continuing working relationships amongst participants.
The Cornwall Workshop builds on the legacy of The Falmouth Convention, 2010, and The Penzance Convention, 2012, and addresses the need for critical activity to sustain momentum and contribute to the region’s international profile and connectedness.
The first Cornwall Workshop (15 – 21 October 2011), led by artist Mark Dion with writer Lori Waxman, provided a space for discussion of a wide range of independent and artist-led initiatives in Cornwall and aimed to expand the region’s capacity by connecting to national and international networks and debates.
The second Cornwall Workshop (18 – 25 October 2013) was led by artists Simon Starling and Hamish Fulton with writer Ellen De Wachter. It opened with communal walks devised by Hamish Fulton on the weekend of 19 and 20 October to mark the 40th anniversary of his commitment to ‘only make art resulting from the experience of individual walks’. Simon Starling took the Fulton walks as a starting point for an exploration of relationships between action, experience and documentation.
The third Cornwall Workshop (11 – 18 March 2016), organised in collaboration with LUX Artists’ Moving Image Agency and led by acclaimed British artist and filmmaker Ben Rivers, focused on artists’ moving image practices with an emphasis on analogue technologies.
The fourth Cornwall Workshop was led by internationally celebrated artist Christina Mackie in October 2017 and was shaped by her interest in materials and processes, and in observing and activating the subtle chains of association through which things relate to one another – intuitively or formally. Writer Chris Fite-Wassilak was also invited to lead a writing workshop over two days.
The fifth Cornwall Workshop took place from 11 to 18 October 2019 at Kestle Barton. It was led by Andy Holden and offered a space in which to explore a range of ideas suggested by his interests and work. A selection of writings, films and musical works framed the week-long conversation, starting with works included in The Long Revolution, a curated project at Holden’s studio space in Bedford, looking at walking and observation as methods of gently affecting change.The workshop also included contributions by ornithologist Peter Holden and experiments in sound recording with composer and artist Mira Calix.
The sixth Cornwall Workshop (4 – 11 March 2022) was led by Elizabeth Price. The workshop centered around three ideas that are embedded in Price’s work and in her practice as an artist: assembly, archive and place. The week included visits to local archives, as well as walks and dérives to enable the gathering of material, records and knowledge of varied kinds, with a view to making art: to creating ‘something in addition’. Artist and writer Laura Grace Ford wrote a short story, Notes for a Spectral Drift, for the workshop which was read and discussed by the group.
The seventh Cornwall Workshop took place from 8 to 15 March 2024 and was led by internationally celebrated artist Mike Nelson. Nelson is interested in creating large scale structures, often using constructed worlds found in literature and film to suggest new narratives that explore belief systems and the complex myriad of ideas within societal structures. The workshop sought to reflect on and immerse participants in these very particular interests and apply them to the history and landscape of Cornwall.
The Cornwall Workshop is organised by CAST with a range of regional partners and supporters. Kestle Barton hosts the Workshops, providing high-quality residential accommodation for participants and workshop leaders.
Explore the archives of previous workshops at thecornwallworkshop.com.