A new nation emerges from Tyneside’s history

A performance piece and exhibition inspired by documents held in Tyne & Wear Archives opens at Newcastle’s Discovery Museum on Wednesday 17 December. A Natural Anthem is an artistic collaboration between Skimstone Arts' professional Ensemble and experienced artists from their Young Artist Collective, funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. The performances will herald the dawn of a new nation, with live music, dance and theatrical speeches from the balconies of Discovery Museum, overlooking Charles Parsons’ Turbinia.  A musical procession will lead audiences to the exhibition following the performance, where they can listen to ‘Lark Radio’ broadcasts and interviews, and look through a special archive of photographic memorabilia and artefacts from the new nation. Inspired by themes of security, propaganda, remembrance and Isaac Rosenberg's 'Returning, We Hear the Larks', A Natural Anthem explores the impact of threat, harnessing of community action during the First World War and today's fight to protect the natural world, including the demise of the lark. Members of the public will be invited to join this growing community by taking up the nation’s currency of seeds, and planting their own hopes and dreams for the future in the ‘Garden of Remembrance’, which was inspired by documents on rationing, war memorials and community action discovered during research at Tyne & Wear Archives. Artist, Emma Tilney, who is involved in the project said, “The Archives are a wealth of inspiration, especially when it comes to discovering information about how communities used their skills to work together for a common cause.  “Discovering membership cards and gardeners societies helped with our ideas around the key themes of protecting the natural world and community action.” Discovery Museum and Tyne & Wear Archives Manager, Carolyn Ball is looking forward to welcoming A Natural Anthem to Discovery Museum. She said, “Having seen the performance previously I know our visitors will find both the performance and supporting exhibition enthralling. “The Archives are a treasure trove of fascinating documents and photos and it’s very pleasing to hear how the artists’ time in the Archives has inspired their works.” A processional performance will open the exhibition at 1.30pm on Wednesday 17 December.  Further performances will take place on 23 January, 20 February and 21 March 2015, and the exhibition will run through to 28 March 2015.  All performances start at 1.30pm and run for 20 minutes. The performances and exhibition are suitable for audiences aged eight and over.