The Golden WYRM

As Old as the Hills

Somerset Art Week

As Old as the Hills
Opening: 21 Sep 2024, 10:00 – 17:00
21 Sep 2024 – 6 Oct 2024

Zig Zag Building

Morland Road,
Northover
Glastonbury
England
BA6 9FT
United Kingdom

Community art project rooted in environment and heritage, culminating in an immersive contemporary art exhibition plus events for Somerset Art Weeks Festival

About
Community art project rooted in heritage and environment, culminating in an immersive contemporary art exhibition plus events in the iconic Zig Zag building, Glastonbury for Somerset Art Weeks Festival (21 September – 6 October).

As Old as the Hills, curated by artists Fiona Campbell and Jan Ollis, looks at the ancient layered history of Mendip and the Somerset Levels – interdependent landscapes which have shaped and been shaped by humans for millennia. This unique mix of land and water provides fertile soil for artists. The project features ten artists working in a range of disciplines, from large-scale sculptural installations, textiles and assemblage, to photography and performance. Some are local to Somerset, others from across the country. They have come together to celebrate this ancient place, its biodiversity, the value of art and environment, while offering new narratives responding to challenges of our time and the future. Artworks respond to climate change, focusing on local floods and water pollution.

As Old as the Hills provokes thought about global and local issues. It investigates deep time, ecology, life’s precariousness/persistence, transformation, adaptation, and legend of the landscape. It looks back to look forward, taking a positive approach to explore solutions. The exhibition takes place on the top floor of a vast disused space, an iconic example of Bauhaus architecture, which once housed the Morlands leather factory.