You are invited to BANJO ON THE BANJO on Saturday 3rd August 2019
From 1pm across banjos surrounding Parsloes Park and then
2pm in Parsloes Park, Becontree
Banjo: a round ended pedestrian cul-de-sac native to the Becontree Estate.
BANJO ON THE BANJO is a musical performance event located on various banjos across Dagenham’s Becontree Estate culminating in Parsloes Park, as part of Living Together.
This event coincides with the 100 year anniversary of the Addison Act (Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act, 31st July 1919 - named after the then minister for Housing
MP Christopher Addison, who cut the ribbon at the official opening of Becontree in 1935.); a Parliamentary Act which, among other things, gave the London County Council powers to build housing beyond the county of London, signalling the birth of Becontree and the start of a long tradition of state-owned housing, which would later evolve into council estates.
Join us to see resident and experienced banjo players, performing a new composition for Becontree. Following an open call for both unwanted banjos, banjo players and residents wanting to learn how to play the banjo, 21 people who live and work across Becontree have been learning to play the banjo with musician and teacher Ed Hicks. They will be joined by a group of more experienced players to perform a new piece of music, written by Ed Hicks in response to the banjos of Becontree and the estate itself.
A map showing locations will be updated and available online from the end of July at:
For more information, contact Verity on:
hello@verityjanekeefe.co.uk — 07817 302637
Free. No booking necessary.
You are all welcome to join us at The White House for The White House Party from 4pm-7pm. Full information can be found here.
Living Together is a new project by artist Verity-Jane Keefe in partnership with Create London and London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Living Together will develop over 2019, leading to a larger scale programme celebrating the centenary of Dagenham’s Becontree Estate in 2021. It will look at the past 100 years of social housing through the lens of Becontree, once the largest social housing estate in the world; looking at the past, the present and into the future.
ABOUT VERITY-JANE KEEFE:
Verity-Jane Keefe is a visual artist working predominantly in the public realm to explore the complex relationship between people and place. Her work encompasses working with moving image, text, installation and utilises archival and research methodologies.
She is interested in the role of the artist within urban regeneration and how experiential practice can touch upon and raise ambitions of existing communities. She has an ongoing, accidental love affair with Outer London and has been working in Barking and Dagenham for over 10 years on self-initiated commissions, including The Mobile Museum, and in partnership with the borough’s Heritage, Planning Policy and Regeneration departments. Her practice celebrates the everyday qualities of places, uncovering and celebrating, documenting, archiving and responding to changes within the built environment and setting up platforms to share experiences of these changes.
@veritykeefe
ABOUT ED HICKS
Ed Hicks is one of the UK’s leading banjo players. Ed works as a musician, educator, performer and irreverent folk-music activist in London and beyond. Ed has worked as a banjo teacher and folk music workshop leader for the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) for eight years and was a lead tutor on their Full English project. He has trained in music workshop leading with Spitalfields Music, EFDSS, Music for Change, Musicleader, Sing Up, Folk Arts England, Platform for Arts and the Discover Centre.
In 2012 Ed set up the Trad Academy, a folk music school based in London designed to help anyone and everyone make music.