063 Urban Songline (Another Hurling of the Silver Ball), 2019 – Tate St. Ives, United Kingdom

063 Urban Songline (Another Hurling of the Silver Ball) | Latitude: 50.204794° N – 50.214926° N / Longitude: -5.482636° W – -5.493938° W, 2019 – Tate St. Ives, United Kingdom

Take part in a celebration of St Ives

Join in on Saturday 22 June as a two-metre-high silver ball will be rolled through the streets of St Ives! This new performance work by artist Allard van Hoorn is based on the 1000-year-old St Ives Feast Day tradition of ‘hurling’, where a small silver ball is chased through the town as part of the celebrations. Inspired after taking part in February’s celebrations, van Hoorn has reimagined the silver ball at a much greater scale, collaborating with local residents to create a unique procession that celebrates the communities of St Ives and their relationship to the town they call home.

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Community mirrored in the ball

St Ives residents have contributed to defining the route and movement taken by the giant Silver Ball. This has involved the telling of stories that resonate with the community in the present, past and future. Many of these residents take part in the performance, seeing themselves mirrored in the Silver Ball with their town and community behind them.

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Defining the route

The hurling begins in Palemon Best Recreation Ground, home to two community led initiatives, the Community Orchard and SkatePark. Then travels to the mid-point, Ayr Field, which is now a recognised open green space for the people of St Ives, following successful campaigning by locals. Many of the streets along the route have a story to tell, such as the top of Barnoon Hill which marks the edge of the historic fishing community and is a vantage point to The Island and the sea. The harbour, historically the hub of the town, holds special connections to fishing, lifesaving and leisure activities both in and on the water.

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Acknowledgements

With thanks to all the local Players who have made this performance possible and the groups they represent including: Bagas Porthia, Cormac School Crossing Patrol Service, RNLI, St Ives Community Orchard, St Ives Rugby Club, St Ives Scouts & Guides, Salvation Army Youth Club and St Ives Skatepark.

Thanks also to supporters: Cornwall County Council, Devon & Cornwall Police, Porthmeor Studios, St Ives Archive, St Ives Charter Group, St Ives Museum, St Ives Times & Echo, St Ives Town Council, our Tate St Ives Community Liaison Group, St Ives Boat Rides, St Ives Sailing Club and The Co-op and its members.

Special thanks to:

Tim Andrewes, Janet Axten (Bard of Gorsedh Kernow), Joanne Bassett, Dee and Dave Brotherton (Bards of Gorsedh Kernow), Jay Dunstan, Melanie Frankell, Mayor and Mayoress of St Ives – Cllr Tony Harris and Jose Harris, Elise Langley, Dennis Oates Snr & Jnr, Mick Paynter, Michelle Pugh, Mike Ridgeway, Morag Robertson, Neil Scott, Bob Sheridan, Suzanne Tanner, Reverend Nicolas Widdows, Senara Wilson Hodges, Sarah Hall, Andrew Perkins, Robin Langford, Clare Goode, Paul LeBas, Jonny Harvey, Iain Davidson, Heather Britten, Nathan Loxely, Nathan McManus, Peter Brewer, Laurence Eastwood, Chris Bird, David Peters, Helen Johnson, Peny Melmoth (Bard of Gorsedh Kernow), Sian Ford and Simon Ashmore.

This project was realized with generous support by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Mondriaan Fund

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Part of the project Urban Songlines, a utopian/dystopian series of collaborative translations of buildings, urban structures and public spaces into music through site-specific sound-generation. These performances are a way of connecting to places by listening to them as well as a research into how we use and experience the public domain and to what degree we can claim ownership over it, discussing notions of inclusion, becoming and belonging.