We are Commoners: Day of Commoning

Full details of all bookable events on Eventbrite or follow the links below. 

This event is linked to the touring exhibition We are Commoners.

Join us for a day of commoning through craft. Share resources, ideas and learning; find creative ways to build local meaningful connections through art and crafts, and explore the reclaiming of local spaces to help our community thrive.

A mix of online and in person activities including workshops, exhibition tours and talks.

Day of Commoning: Events

Saturday 26th November

Marketplace. Long Wyre Street. All Day.
A marketplace of Colchester organisations including Bridgeway, African Families in the UK, Eco Colchester, Colchester Food Co-op, Community 360, Level Best, British Origami Society and Community Energy Colchester. Come along to hear more about their work and take part in free activities.

Blue Fashion Commons. Gallery. Drop-in activity, 11am-2pm.
Activate the Blue Fashion Commons by bringing along blue items of clothing to exchange or repair with members of Stitch & Bitch Colchester on hand to support you. Experiment with folk motifs in chain stitch, with a chance to rethink how we value clothing by sharing the skills required to alter or adapt existing items.

Mapping Your Local Commons. Long Wyre Street. Drop-in activity, 11am-4pm.
A communal activity to map the commons in our local area, exploring spaces and resources that anyone can use. We want to record the green spaces, footpaths, community gardens, playgrounds, community centres / hubs, foodbanks, libraries, repair cafes, places of sanctuary / worship as well as craft / heritage / nature / sport groups.

Exhibition Tour & Talk. Gallery. Drop-in activity, 10am, Bookable 2pm.
A tour of We are Commoners with one of the Craftspace curators. A BSL interpreter will be available. (1 hour)

Craft in Common: Stitch Workshop. Online and in-person. Bookable, 12.30-1.30pm.
Join artist Alinah Azadeh to stitch a message to reach out to people in your community, connect with them and counter feelings of isolation and loneliness. Your message could be about a cause or words to encourage community spirit, collaboration and togetherness. Taking inspiration from craftivism – a term used to describe the combining of craft and activism – make one for yourself, gift one to someone else or display it in a public space as an act of emotional unity. A BSL interpreter will be available.

Performance: Common Agency Projects. Community 360. 11.30am (with BSL), 1.30pm, 3pm.
Common Agency Projects will be performing their Commoning Action #15. Join them in Community 360’s Greensward space to explore claiming space for meeting and interaction. (1 hour)
The performance at 11.30am will have a BSL interpreter available.

Artist Talk: Freddie Robins. Gallery. Bookable, 3pm
A talk by We Are Commoners artist and Colchester’s Blackwater Polytechnic Collective member, Freddie Robins. A BSL interpreter will be available.

Image: The Blackwater Polytechnic, Tree (detail). Photo: Dewi Tannatt Lloyd.