at Poor House Reading Rooms, Dorset *
FREE, limited capacity, rsvp essential
*full address will be shared with attendees it is approx 10 mins drive from Bridport.
Join us at The Poorhouse Reading Rooms 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 pack 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.
This event is a From and To... event in partnership with Poor House Reading Rooms and More Than Ponies.
From and To… has been commissioned by Bridport Art Centre as part of Future Arts Centres’ UK-wide programme ‘Our Freedom: Then and Now'’, reflecting on what ‘Our Freedom’ means to us in the present day, as individuals and within our communities. Supported by the DCMS, Arts Council England and Libraries Connected.
image: More Than Ponies , Traversing Terrains , 2020.