Discover Kirkley

We are delighted to announce that, thanks to the generous support of Arts Council England, we will develop our work in Kirkley over the year ahead! As well as this, we now will also be partnering with the First Light Festival in Lowestoft, and will be closely working with them throughout June, as well as hopefully being at their Winter Solstice event in December.

First we would like to commemorate the closing of the previous chapter of our work in Kirkley, with the development of the Kirkley Pantry community garden, which was celebrated with a wonderful open garden event with members of the community. It has been a real pleasure working alongside the people of Kirkley on the garden, and together we have created a legacy.

In this next phase of our work in Kirkley, we invite you to celebrate Soil and Land, and all the wonders which lie beneath our feet in a variety of ways, through a series of restorative and inspiring get-togethers centred around the community of Kirkley. Work alongside us to grow, taste, share and discover through a diverse set of creative workshops, walks, and pop-ups based at the Kirkley Pantry community garden, The Kirkley Centre, and other outdoor locations, including the beach, as part of the First Light Festival.

Much in keeping with our previous garden venture, we will also be planting a number of seeds and seedlings early into our new project which should be ready to be harvested towards the end of Summer, so don’t miss out on this opportunity! 

Wild About Kirkley will run with the help of the arts collective The Third Person, consisting of artists Kasia Posen and Carrie Phoenix, who have worked on an assortment of art installations and community projects both in the UK and abroad. Since The Third Person’s formation in 2019, they have been active in various Suffolk locations, including in Kirkley. This can be seen through their work on the community project featured at First Light Longest Days of Summer 2021, as well as developing a community garden with local residents at the Kirkley Pantry. 

As for the First Light Festival, we will be offering a series of foraging and artistic walks led by The Third Person, alongside foraging expert Jon Tyler, in which we will map the plants and flowers of the area, explore architecture, and the many different colours found in nature. All of these walks will end at The Kirkley Pantry, where a selection of creative activities and tastings will be offered to our participants.

Furthermore, we will offer activities through First Light’s Planet Positive area, taking a closer look at the soil and sand between the Kirkley Pantry and First Light’s beach, diving deep into the colour, shape and forms of the ecology in the area in an exciting and creative workshop. Join us in celebrating the land we live on as a living being in its own right!

Wild About Kirkley will officially launch in April and will run for a year, while the First Light Festival and their later Winter Solstice event will take place in June, and on 21 December 2022 respectively. Our confirmed dates are as follows:

Tuesday 5th April: 1.30pm – 3.00pm – Initial group planning session, welcoming new ideas and planning for the year ahead.

Tuesday 3rd May: 1.00pm – 3.00pm – Soil and Land

Tuesday 17th May: 1.00pm – 3.00pm – Soil and Land

Tuesday 31st May: 1.00pm – 3.00pm – Soil and Land

More dates to follow..

Everyone is welcome, and no experience is necessary. To find out more, please visit https://www.suffolkartlink.org.uk/our-work/wild-about-kirkley/ or contact Kasia at kasia@suffolkartlink.org.uk or 01986 873955.

Wild About Kirkley is being delivered by Suffolk Artlink in partnership with The Third Person, First Light Festival, Community Action Suffolk and Kirkley Pantry. The project has been made possible by the Arts Council England and Suffolk County Council.