Essex Cultural Diversity Project has teamed up with Diss Corn Hall, No 8 Market Place and DesignerMakers21 in Norfolk, to invite proposals for a creative project that celebrates community, diversity and identity by charting the ‘Changing Faces of Diss’.
The historic market town of Diss is located on the border of Norfolk and Suffolk, at the gateway to the Waveney Valley. Steeped in history and highlighted in John Betjeman’s 1960s film about Fair Green, it has witnessed rich social and cultural change over the past six decades. We are seeking an artist to help us explore and creatively articulate these transformations, capturing the evolution of Diss from Betjeman’s era to the present day, especially in the context of Diss’ current aspiration of becoming a Town of Sanctuary.
On the face of it, Diss appears to be a place that has changed little over the years. With the generous welcome the town has given to migrants in recent times, celebrating cultural diversity has rightly become an important goal. However, as a society we are constantly evolving and becoming more diverse, and we also want to celebrate those less obvious and more gradual changes among the local community.
The John Betjeman film is a visual and oral reflection on Diss in 1964; a snapshot in time that provides an effective starting point for this project. The opening sequence of his trip from the station to Victoria Road is a surprise and a journey of discovery. Through exploration, he learns how the town saw itself through postcards, buildings, people, and publications, and left a record of his journey for us to re-visit some sixty years later.
We are keen to use the Betjeman film as a starting point, to celebrate changes in Diss in the intervening years through the legacy of people who have lived and settled in the locality from that time. We are also interested in changes in attitudes and perceptions; architecture and the repurposing of public and private buildings; food production and community sustenance, all of which are intrinsic in the story of Diss, its people and its landscape.
Overall, this project will help us capture the voices of people who have made Diss their home, from those who have come here for transient reasons; those who have relocated and chosen Diss as their new home; to those from the many generations who have settled in the area over the years. The project should aim to uplift and provide a platform for these many different voices, especially the more marginalised communities whose voices may not often be heard.
As a project spanning several partners and physical spaces which are within walking distance, we invite the commissioned artist to also consider how they may link up the participating venues in Diss, thematically, historically and physically. The changing uses of the Corn Hall, No 8 Market Place, and No 21 St Nicholas Street in themselves tell stories that reflect change, renewal, rejuvenation and the reclaiming of public spaces. None of the buildings house their original use, but all make major contributions to supporting a diverse culture in Diss, and all should be represented within the proposal.
We welcome interest from creative practitioners from every background, working independently or part of a collective, particularly those who have a socially engaged and participatory practice. The format and content of the final piece would be shaped by the creative practitioner, their proposed project and practice, as well as the communities they work alongside. However, we would expect to see ideas of the final piece in the proposal, such as an exhibition or culmination event to bring communities, participants and audiences together to celebrate at the end of the project.
For more information, visit Essex Cultural Diversity Project
For more information click here
