SALT: Laura Segan - Geopark Artist Residency

Degradation and Restoration

Consequences of the Proximity to the Sea

The Geopark Artist Residency programme is a series of artist residencies delivered by Artizan Collective in partnership with Torre Abbey and the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark, that aims to reveal narratives about our Geopark home through the creation of four new collections of work produced by Devon based visual artists and creative professionals. The work create will showcase aspects of our globally significant Geopark designation in new and exciting ways.

Multidisciplinary visual artist Laura Segan will be making a body of photographic and textile works that consider a specific threat unique to Torre Abbey owing to its proximity to the sea: SALT.

Salt air is one of the major factors in the degradation of the medieval render at Torre Abbey, but in other circumstances salt can also have a restorative or preservative effect. It has also been used in photographic development for decades.

Through the creation of a new body of work, Laura will consider these various characteristics of salt as part of Torre Abbey’s wider restoration story.

Laura's in-person studio residency in the Learning Lab at Torre Abbey forms part of a six-month project along with three other artists, Rachael Allain, Gill Melling and James Murch, each of whom will be independently exploring their own chosen narrative with English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark partners and associate partners, as well as audiences from across Torbay.

Opening days and times - https://www.art-hub.co.uk/post/laura-segan-geopark-artist-residency-opening-days-and-times

For more information on the wider projects visit: www.art-hub.co.uk/ex/geoparkresidencies

During her time at Torre Abbey, we invite you to visit Laura to view works in progress, and to contribute to the ongoing conversations.

This programme is funded as part of the Torbay Local Heritage Grant Scheme by Torbay Culture via National Lottery Heritage Fund Investment, and is additionally supported by Museum Estate Development Fund using public funds by Arts Council England, the Cultural Assets Fund (CAF); a government funding stream, administered by the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), to protect treasured heritage assets in England from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic alongside match funding from Torbay Council and the Friends of Torre Abbey (FOTA). The Geopark Artist Residencies are coordinated by Artizan Collective CIC in partnership with Torre Abbey and the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark.