April 2024
Leaf-Printing: A Day of Art with Nature
27th April
10AM-4PM on Saturday. One-day workshop with Molly Palmer.
About the event:
Join us for an exploration of the natural world using found materials to make art. In this workshop, you will be taken on a nature walk exploring the grounds of Braziers Park. Together, we will forage for materials to make art with, such as leaves, flowers, and mushrooms.
After a refreshing break with some freshly foraged herb tea, we will shift gears and observe and draw our found materials.
We will then dive into the world of leaf-printing. You will learn how to create intricate prints using actual leaves, using a range of techniques including mono-printing and gelli- printing.
In the final part, we will experiment with different materials such as paints, natural pigments, textiles, and pencils, to develop prints into multimedia pieces.
No prior experience with drawing or printing is necessary – this workshop is suitable for artists of all levels. Whether you are an experienced creator or just starting out, you will leave with new skills and a deeper appreciation for the beauty of the natural world. The workshop will be based in and around a beautiful historic outbuilding close to the woods and orchards of Braziers Park.
About the facilitator:
Molly Palmer is a queer Disabled artist, maker, life model, and life drawing teacher.
She creates pieces using natural materials, including foraged berry dyes, mushroom ink, leaf prints, spore prints, textiles, and clay. She is fascinated by the seen and unseen, boring and beautiful, the domestic, the perfectly imperfect.
May 2024
Spirit of Place
4th May
11AM-5PM on Saturday. One-day arts retreat with Nor Greenhalgh.
About the event:
Welcome in the May amongst fellow creatives.
While making artwork can be challenging and difficult to get started on, it’s amazing what can be achieved in a short time given a focussed atmosphere, group support and an inspiring setting. By riffing and playing together through a series of highly structured exercises and invitations around the grounds of the magical Braziers Park estate and woodlands, we will make space for the unexpected and allow new ideas to emerge as if by magic. You will learn a series of techniques that can be used at home to overcome creative blocks and get started on your own projects.
Materials will be provided, but you are encouraged to bring your own too in whatever media you prefer to work. This workshop is especially aimed at visual artists but all are welcome, at all levels of ability including beginners and those unsure how to get started. This will be a safe space free of pressure or performance.
About the facilitator:
Nor is an artist with over 10 years experience facilitating participatory workshops and creating site-specific work with community groups. Her creative practice spans placemaking and decorative art, with an emphasis on found materials and local history.
What previous workshop participants have said:
“Thank you so much for this experience. I would love to learn more. Nor is a great presenter and teacher. I felt safe and comfortable in the group.”
“I do think it’s nice to start out softly and Nor has a way of making people feel really safe and comfortable with being vulnerable.”
“Great workshop, thank you!!”
Enchanted Landscapes: Exploring British Folktales
5th-6th May
10AM Sunday-2PM Monday. Creative Celebration with Victoria Snaith.
Explore the mystical intersection of place and folklore through theatre and performance: for professional and amateur theatre-makers, educators, folklorists and storytellers. The workshop will include an intensive day of creativity, and an opportunity for public sharing and celebration the following day during Braziers popular May Fayre.
About the event:
We will delve into how British folktales are deeply intertwined with the landscapes that gave birth to them. We will investigate how these ancient stories continue to echo in our modern world and shape our perceptions of the spaces we inhabit.
Activities will include:
- Exploring Folklore and Place: Participants will engage with British folktales, examining how these stories are not just products of imagination but also reflections of the land and its history.
- Immersive Storytelling: Through hands-on activities, we will explore how immersive theatre can bring these folktales to life, allowing stories to unfold around the audience, engaging them directly with the narrative.
- Creating New Narratives: Workshop attendees will collaboratively develop short immersive theatre pieces that integrate elements of folklore with contemporary themes, particularly focusing on how ancient beliefs and magic find relevance in our current landscape.
About the facilitator:
Victoria Snaith is a theatre-maker and visual artist creating work that explores the space where nature and metropolis meet. Mythology and folk lore offer space to pose questions about our contemporary world, and she uses these timeless stories and characters to reframe the expectations and schema we have created for ourselves. Her work is often multi-media and site-specific ; working alone and with others to create installations, performance art, and audio that can be experienced in non-traditional spaces. This has led her to present work in fields, forest, caves, crypts, and abandoned warehouses; further expanding the notion of what art is and what art can be.
Braziers Park May Fayre
6th May
11AM-4PM Bank Holiday Monday. May day celebrations at Braziers Park.
About the event:
Once again Braziers Park will be open for our annual May Fayre open day. As ever there will be live music throughout the day, children’s activities, bar, food, tea room, entertainment and most importantly – the May Pole!
This is a FREE Ticket Only event. Parking is charged at £5 per vehicle. We have limited parking space and want to encourage travel via public transport where possible (we are easily reached from Reading or Oxford by the X40 bus service). Apologies no dogs, except assistance dogs.
The Fight for the Thames: How ordinary people took on the polluters to save our rivers.
12th May
11AM-1PM on Sunday. 2024 Glaister Lecture by Jo Robb. Free event with optional lunch.
About the event:
Jo Robb is a Henley Mermaid, a District Councillor and South Oxfordshire’s River Thames Champion. A year-round river swimmer, Jo first became aware of the scandal of sewage dumping in 2019 when she and her swimming friends saw “rag” (plastic from sanitary pads) dangling from trees lining the banks of the Thames.
She and the Mermaids – five ordinary middle-aged women who share a love of river swimming – have been campaigning ever since for cleaner rivers, better access to our waterways, an end to pollution, and for our water to be brought back into public ownership. Early on, it became clear that neither the river charities nor the Environment Agency were interested in this scandal, and that it was going to be up to ordinary people – swimmers, anglers, rowers, kayakers, walkers and people who care about rivers – to sound the alarm.
Linking up with groups across the country, from Windrush Against Sewage Pollution to the Ilkley Clean River Group in Yorkshire, Matt Staniek in Windermere and SOS Whitstable, a national grassroot (or should we say, “water level”) collective began to form. Using the skills of retired mathematicians and water industry workers, together they began to form a picture of the scale of illegal sewage dumping by water companies into England’s rivers.
In 2020, the Mermaids swam the English Channel, attempted the Bristol Channel in 2021 and in 2022, they swam length of the Thames from near its source at Castle Eaton to Henley, to raise awareness around the polluted state of the Thames.
Women and in particular, middle-aged women who swim, have been central in this campaign – there is something powerful about ordinary women putting their bodies in water and speaking up for the rivers they love. Swimming in nature brings about a profound shift in perspective – what Roger Deakin calls the “frog’s eye view” – and a deep desire to protect rivers and nature. The campaign has taken Jo and the Mermaids to the Houses of Parliament, speaking on panels with Feargal Sharkey and members of the House of Lords, onto national television and into the national press.
As South Oxfordshire’s River Thames Champion, Jo worked with London Waterkeeper to get Thames Water to provide real-time sewage discharge alerts two years ahead of schedule. She also led efforts to get Bathing Water Status for the River Thames at Wallingford, Henley and Pangbourne.
Kids Go Wild!
19th May
10AM-Noon on Sunday. Forest School session with Charlotte Allchin.
About the event:
A monthly fun-filled Forest School session led by qualified Forest School leader Charlotte Allchin in 55 acres of meadows and woodland. Suitable for all ages and whatever the weather – Dress accordingly, may get mucky! Varied activities outdoors in nature. One adult only may attend with each child or family group. Limited places. NB: All dates for 2024 now bookable.
Expand and Embrace: Wider Community Weekend
24th-27th May
4PM Friday-4PM Monday. A weekend with the Braziers Park community.
About the event:
Are you ready for something new? To stretch yourself and grow a little? We invite you to expand and embrace!
This three-day programme with the Braziers Community is an opportunity to connect, share, and have fun while meeting new people. As part of our wider community programme, participants are encouraged to contribute by sharing their skills and ideas through workshop sessions, and also contributing to the everyday work of living as a community.
Sessions offered so far include a wildlife walk, early morning yoga, how to have difficult conversations, and something mysterious… and we have several musicians living here at the moment, so expect some music-making at some point.
For more information, please email education@braziers.org.uk.
June 2024
Heather’s Woolly Workshop
23rd June
10AM – 4PM on Saturday. One-day workshop with Heather Banyard.
About the event:
On this course, held in the lovely grounds at Braziers Park with the beautiful Grade 1 listed barn on standby for rainy moments, Heather will lead you step-by-step through the basics of spinning using a Basque-style spindle.
First, you will be shown how to card your wool so it is ready for spinning, and then you will be guided how to draft and spin the wool to make colourful yarn. Heather will be on hand to answer any of your questions. You will also have the opportunity to try your hand at a spinning wheel and/or weave using a loom, time permitting.
All materials provided. There will be plenty of coloured wool on hand for you to mix and match, but if you have some wool you would like to try out, feel free to bring it along. If you want to keep your spindle after the course, spindles will be offered to participants at a discounted price of £8.
As a Braziers Park resident, Heather has been spinning wool intensively for the last year and a half. She enjoys the rhythmic process of spinning and wishes to pass on her enthusiasm to others. As well as spinning, Heather is a keen wildlife enthusiast and monitors the wildlife at Braziers Park.
For more information, please email education@braziers.org.uk.
July 2024
The 2024 UK Communities Conference
18th-21st July
Calling all communards, aspiring communards, and supporters of communal living!
The UK Communities Conference will return to Braziers Park on 18th–21st July 2024. By popular demand, we are adding an extra day this year. Our theme will be ‘Expression’.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Kids Go Wild!
21st July
Sunday 10AM-Noon. Forest School session with Charlotte Allchin.
About the event:
A monthly fun-filled Forest School session led by qualified Forest School leader Charlotte Allchin in 55 acres of meadows and woodland. Suitable for all ages and whatever the weather – dress accordingly, may get mucky! Varied activities outdoors in nature. One adult only may attend with each child or family group. Limited places. NB: All dates for 2024 now bookable.
The 2024 Reunion
29th July – 1st August
About the event:
Stefan and Ranka invite you to the reunion of former Braziers Park volunteers and residents (also known as the house team in the past).
This invitation is open to anyone who has volunteered or been a resident at Braziers Park in the past. It will give you a good opportunity to visit Braziers Park again and to renew friendships with others. Some sessions will be arranged in due course but the principal aim of this event is to enjoy friendly chatting, excursions and just being together in the beautiful place you once stayed. Of course you can bring your family or friends too.
Please note that the fee (£32 a day per person) is on a half-time working basis. Each participant will be expected to work alongside others at Braziers Park every morning (or afternoon if preparing dinner). If you have any enquiry (e. g. referring the participation of families with children), please contact admin@braziers.org.uk or stefan.preiss@gmx.net.
August 2024
Braziers Park International Film Festival
30th August – 1st September
About the event:
Join us for a weekend of cinema, conversation and community.
The festival features several programmes of international films, plus special focus programmes, expanded cinema events and discussions. Screened inside Braziers’ historic 17th century barn, the programmes include documentary, animation, fiction and contemporary artists’ film & video. Curated by artist Nick Jordan, the programme is selected from an open call by a team of artist-filmmakers, who run the festival as a not-for-profit collective.
Screenings are followed by group discussion and Q&A with attending film-makers, who are invited to Braziers.
For pictures and more information visit: https://biff.braziers.org.uk/
September 2024
OM & BASS
13th-15th September
8AM Friday-11PM Sunday
About the event:
3 days and 2 nights of pure wellness, incredible music and good energy.
Over 150 expert-led workshops including yoga, dance martial arts, gong baths, sound journeys, cacao, ceremonies, chanting, music, artists, poetry, live performances, meditation, breathwork, tai chi, qi gong, fires and many more.
Kids Go Wild!
22nd September
Sunday 10AM-Noon. Forest School session with Charlotte Allchin.
About this event:
A monthly fun-filled Forest School session led by qualified Forest School leader Charlotte Allchin in 55 acres of meadows and woodland. Suitable for all ages and whatever the weather – dress accordingly, may get mucky! Varied activities outdoors in nature. One adult only may attend with each child or family group. Limited places. NB: All dates for 2024 now bookable.
October 2024
Kids Go Wild!
20th October
Sunday 10AM-Noon. Forest School session with Charlotte Allchin.
About this event:
A monthly fun-filled Forest School session led by qualified Forest School leader Charlotte Allchin in 55 acres of meadows and woodland. Suitable for all ages and whatever the weather – dress accordingly, may get mucky! Varied activities outdoors in nature. One adult only may attend with each child or family group. Limited places. NB: All dates for 2024 now bookable.
November 2024
Kids Go Wild!
17th November
Sunday 10AM-Noon. Forest School session with Charlotte Allchin.
About this event:
A monthly fun-filled Forest School session led by qualified Forest School leader Charlotte Allchin in 55 acres of meadows and woodland. Suitable for all ages and whatever the weather – dress accordingly, may get mucky! Varied activities outdoors in nature. One adult only may attend with each child or family group. Limited places. NB: All dates for 2024 now bookable.
December 2024
Kids Go Wild!
15th December
Sunday 10AM-Noon. Forest School session with Charlotte Allchin.
About this event:
A monthly fun-filled Forest School session led by qualified Forest School leader Charlotte Allchin in 55 acres of meadows and woodland. Suitable for all ages and whatever the weather – dress accordingly, may get mucky! Varied activities outdoors in nature. One adult only may attend with each child or family group. Limited places. NB: All dates for 2024 now bookable.