Harriet Plewis North Sea Observatory Artist Residency
The North Sea Observatory (NSO) will host Harriet Plewis as artist in residence in this stunning building.
About the space
The NSO opened in 2018 and is open all year round. A purpose built and accessible marine observatory, it includes exhibitions on the local area, a multi-purpose gallery space, café, public toilets, and car park. It is located overlooking the beach at Chapel Point near Chapel St Leonards.
About the residency
Following on from the success of pilot exhibitions within the NSO gallery space, Lincoln Museum are pleased to host this artist residency for the local community and any visitors enjoying the space. A brief went out seeking applications from artists who are interested in responding to the space, the human relationship to the coast, and whose practice centres on community participation. Harriet Plewis has been selected to be our artist in residence at the NSO.
About Harriet Plewis
Harriet Plewis is an artist and educator. Her activity is rooted in performance, critical pedagogies and the moving image. Her work looks at expanded reading, the mechanics of solidarity, and the conditions for co-creation. In collaboration with others, she makes Reading Rooms, which are homages to texts in the form of temporary venues.
For her NSO residency, Plewis will write a ‘ruttier’ for the building and its coastline. Ruttiers were ancient poems (spoken or sung) containing navigational instructions that sailors learned by heart and recited from memory to guide them across the seas. Particularly explored by poet Dionne Brand in her work A Map to the Door of No Return, this ancient, pre-cartographic form will see Plewis and participants think through non-standard ways of learning, memorising, archiving, and commemorating.
The residency takes place 31 July – 22 October 2023. Details of the residency and workshops will be shared here, and via our social media channels as they develop.
A collective performance of the ruttier will take place at the NSO during sunset at the end of the residency on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 October. Booking information below.
Join Artist in Residence, Harriet Plewis, at these free drop-in sessions during September;
- Wednesday 6 September
- Saturday 9 September
- Wednesday 13 September
- Wednesday 20 September
- Sunday 24 September
- Wednesday 27 September
These sessions will be a chance to think through non-standard ways of learning, memorising, archiving, and commemorating.
Free. From 10am to 4pm.
Where? At the North Sea Observatory, in the gallery space.
Please note: the artist will be in the gallery on set dates listed above, not continuously throughout the residency period. We apologise for any inconvenience to visitors to the NSO caused by the temporary closure of the gallery space - exciting things are happening behind the scenes!
Ode Offshore Closing Events
Friday 27 October and Saturday 28 October from 5 - 6.30pm
Join Harriet Plewis at the North Sea Observatory Gallery space to mark the end of her residency.
The ruttier, Ode Offshore, will be performed at sunset with the Seascape Cafe remaining open for refreshments during the event.
The events are free to attend, however spaces are limited so we recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.