In 2015 Susan Bickford initiated a pilot program inviting 10 local artists; dancers, musicians, visual and media artists to retreat at a river camp in Sheepscot Village at the reversing falls. The goal of this group was “not to impose ourselves on this natural wonder, but to listen, immerse ourselves and become part of the concert of nature that is always already going on”. This group considered the season, weather, moon, tides, sun, insects, birds and fish. “We forged alliances with landowners, and ‘performed’ for three days using the still point at the falls as our proscenium. We shot our exploration from 5 perspectives including two on boats, overhead and underwater. The 5 screen video installation of 5 synched simultaneous projections is available to be exhibited as a gallery show, from 2015, 2018 and 2019.
Our Miro Board:
Conceived as a performance for video, it became clear to the participants that this could be viewed live and would be valuable to stage as performance.
Video from 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Since then we have migrated through sites along the waterways of Midcoast Maine deepening our connection to each place and broadening our relationships through seasons over time. A collective of 20 artists across disciplines iincluding, dance, music, story telling, visual art, yoga, videography, photography, printmaking, cooking, astrology, forest therapy, writing and foraging retreat for 4 days to create an original piece inspired by the place. On the final day each year we welcome the public to participate in a performance in nature which culminates with a foraged feast. Please contact sbickford@tidewater.net for more information about attending or to inquire about participating as an artist. We are currently seeking future locations and diverse bodies and voices to join our collaborative.
—From Susan Bickford’s website