Free Reading – at The Poor House Reading Rooms
Join us for a session with artists Melanie Jackson and Laura Eldret.
The morning will include an opportunity to explore artists’ publications in the archive, time to read, and the invitation to contribute to a collaborative micro-publication for inclusion in the exhibition From and To at Bridport Art Centre.
The Poor House Reading Rooms* is an archive, and a space for reading, writing and art publishing based in a former church poor house in a rural setting near the Jurassic coast in Dorset. The reading rooms house modern and contemporary artists books, publications and contemporary editions, and hosts residencies, research visits and publishing projects. The Poor House Reading Rooms is convened by Dr Melanie Jackson.
Historically rural reading rooms were philanthropic institutions providing free access to reading materials such as newspapers, magazines and books that were not easy to access due to social class, gender and funding – as alternative to pubs and a means of moral improvement. Free reading is a self-directed practice, often used in schools, where readers choose their own texts and engage with them openly, without set interpretation or instruction.
Free Reading is part of the associated events programme for From and To, an evolving exhibition by Laura Eldret at Bridport Arts Centre, exploring ideas of creativity, freedoms and collaboration.
Event info:
- Arrivals from 10am. Tea and coffee will be available throughout, please feel free to bring your own lunch.
- Please note Poor House Reading Rooms is a private residence and access to the archive is via stairs only.
- We would like to be able to facilitate car pooling to aid climate and access, please state where you are travelling from or if you can only make it to a train station etc when booking.
- For those who wish to, following a lunch break, we will be returning to Bridport Arts Centre, where the micro-publication will be put on display and participants are welcome to continue the conversation there.
Free event. RSVP essential
*Full address will be shared with attendees. It is approximately 10 mins drive from Bridport.
Image: More Than Ponies, Traversing Terrains, 2020.
This event is a From and To event in partnership with Poor House Reading Rooms and More Than Ponies.
From and To is one of 60 new projects commissioned across the UK as part of Our Freedom: Then and Now, a new UK-wide, locally-led arts and creative programme, reflecting on what ‘Our Freedom’ means to communities following the 80th anniversary of VE/VJ Day. It is delivered in partnership with Libraries Connected and Open Eye Gallery, supported using public funding by UK Government through Arts Council England.
