FROME composer, Helen Ottaway, will be showcasing work she created last year in Sri Lanka, at an evening hosted by Silk Mill Gallery.
Helen was sponsored by Inside Out Dorset to take part in the Sura Medura international artists’ residency in Sri Lanka. She spent six weeks in Hikkaduwa on the South West coast of the island, collecting sea sounds, drawing music on the beach and creating music for a magical musical box.
Helen will share the evening with Glastonbury-based artist Melanie Ottaway, who will share her experience from her residency in Denmark. Melanie was invited to collaborate with Reflektion Teatre, Denmark and its director, Bjarne Sandborg. She spent two years visiting and working in Aarhus, Denmark, creating two solo performances and a film about drowning.
Through film, sound installation, demonstration and specially prepared talks, Melanie and Helen will take you through the process of creating original site-specific work in response to Sri Lanka and Denmark.
Helen has lived in Frome for the last 22 years and has during that time presented concerts, exhibitions and installations in Frome and surrounding area, as well as working nationally and internationally. She was composer-in-residence for Frome Festival in 2006 and has written music for Frome Youth Choir and Frome Town Youth Band, as well as creating projects for Frome schools.
The presentations will start promptly at 7.30pm, this Thursday, 25th October, and will last an hour followed by a Q&A with the artists. Latecomers will be admitted at the interval (8pm). Tickets cost £7 on the door. Refreshments available. The nearest car parks are in Vicarage Street and Saxonvale, both free after 6pm. The Silk Mill is a fully accessible venue. Disabled parking can be arranged on request.
For further info visit silkmillstudios.co.uk or phone 01373 467201. For more about the artists’ work visit www. helenottaway.blog and www.melaniethompson.me.uk
Above: Helen Ottaway, Indian Ocean (photo Lorna Rees). and Melanie Thompson.
