Our Proud Roots - a family exploration of our proud roots

Proudly celebrating our local landscape, environment and people, Our Proud Roots is a chance to explore and reflect on what makes our place and community special, as seen through fresh eyes and with a new perspective in our changed world.  This is a chance to re-discover nature and the wonderful effects it has on our body and soul!

Take part in Wheal Martyn’s programme of creative, hands-on family activities. Join in from home, your back garden, your own front room or out and about in nature. Why not come to Wheal Martyn to explore our special site and see our outdoor community exhibition? This summer we have a beautiful exhibition of images from people in our community, showcasing our local clay landscape #CelebrateClayCountry: Landscapes in Lockdown.

By taking part in Our Proud Roots, your creative ideas will be used to inspire a co-created arts performance by SpinDrift Dance Collective.  This will be a celebration of what makes our place and our community special – sharing Our Proud Roots. Find more activities to do at home here.

How do I get involved?

Simply download the Our Proud Roots Activity Pack below and start to get creative, using the worksheets and videos to guide you. 

Once you have completed an activity, submit your ideas with a short explanation of what inspired your creation and what you are proud of in your local area.  Maybe you have discovered kind people, tranquil places or beautiful views that have filled you with pride whilst you have been in lockdown!

Your creative ideas will be used by Suzie and the SpinDrift Dance Collective to form part of their performance of songs, dance and stories on Saturday 19^th September at Wheal Martyn.  So please send us your creative ideas, writing and artwork via email and share using #OurProudRoots on social media!

Here are the activities to download:

• Find out about the project with the Activity Pack Introduction
• Use your rambles and wonders outdoors to influence a clay creation: Clay Modelling In Nature
• Be inspired by some of the amazing art from our summer community exhibition – dive in and explore the art, get creative with your own art and writing: A Picture Tells a Thousand Stories
• Go out and about in nature or your own back garden, discovering hidden gems. Watch the 3 video tutorials with local writer Jaime Lock:
  • Exercise 1 The Haibun
  • Exercise 2 Translating Birdsong
  • Exercise 3 Collecting Names

• Use Art Tutorial Creative Writing in Nature to support the Video Tutorials with Jaime Lock
• Get crafty with printing and watch the video tutorial Potato Printing with Fiona Chivers. Use Art Tutorial Potato Prints to support the video.
• Get out and about and active as a Wild Explorer using the 3 Wild Explorer Video Tutorials with Suzie West to reveal dance, movement and clever photography:
  • Wild Explorer Activity 1 Take your feet on an adventure
  • Wild Explorer Activity 2 Big Small Colour Tall
  • Wild Explorer Activity 3 Shape Shifting

• Use Wild Explorers to support the Video Tutorials with Suzie West

Celebrate Our Proud Roots with us

Our Proud Roots will be performed in the woods at Wheal Martyn on Saturday 19^th September, as part of the Whitegold Festival of Clay.  On this day there will also be a Silent Disco Plug Back Into Your Roots and other family-friendly activities at various timings throughout the day, to allow for a safe and enjoyable day out.

Bookings for this free event will be taken online (normal museum entry charges or a Local Resident Pass apply).

We will also share events from Our Proud Roots online, so you can join in from home if you can’t get along to Wheal Martyn.