Portland Purbeck

Memory Place Story Community Heritage Stone

With a new expanded project building on 8 years’ research on Portland through Heart of Stone, the 2025 project is finally happening across Purbeck and Portland gathering and inspired by Dorset stone and local voices.

In Purbeck I am research and developing a new spoken word and film and music performance with site response residencies to be shared at Sandy Hill Arts. This project is funded by Arts Council England, working with Laura Burrow (director consultant), musicians Julia Macara (Wildworks) Emily Burridge Cello (Dorset Rural Music School) and Adrian Cooper film-maker (Common Ground). We are partnering with Burngate Stone Centre, Langton Matravers Museum, Planet Purbeck and in collaboration with National Trust Corfe Castle. We are kindly supported by a Sanctuary R&D in Sterling Studio Lighthouse Poole in June. Sharings will be 22nd 23rd July.

In Portland we have continued a series of oral history and heritage community conversations in partnership with Portland Museum to share memories and stories of Portland stone and quarries, life in lived memory and the heritage of this unique natural and industrial landscape. And launching a Portland Poets festival with nature writing and poetry competition inspired by the words of Portland Poets Skylark Durston, Bob Woolage, George Davey and Boy Male.

The New Portland Poets Society? Coming soon…for nature writers and poets to write/ perform/ come together around the same themes they loved of nature, walking, stone and the isle!

WRITING PACK FOR PORTLAND POET’S FESTIVAL ENTRIES

Dorset Songs of Stone/ PURBECK