200 years of Tiverton
Heritage brought alive with printmaking, poetry, ceramics, and a wedding dress that tells a story. The ‘200 years of Tiverton’ project involved 3 strands: An exploration of Knighthayes House and Gardens (National Trust), Exploring Tiverton’s buildings and stories, and Girls into golf – an introduction to the legacy of Joyce Wethered.
The project gave local children and young people the opportunity to explore the heritage and history of Tiverton. The Heathcoat-Armory family is at the heart of the legacy. The family moved to Tiverton in 1816, and commissioned the building of Knightshayes House, now looked after by The National Trust.
“I really enjoyed the art and writing freely and making my own character, I loved it.”
A series of activities and workshops with artists, professional sports coaches and history experts connected participants to Tiverton’s rich heritage through the people and the stories they left behind. Over 500 residents were involved in this project, through local schools and drop-in sessions at partner venues.
The exhibition at the end of the project at Knightshates House featured the creative work from a culmination of two years of workshops led by a selection of Daisi’s artists. Children from Heathcoat, Rackenford and Bolham Primary Schools worked with storyteller Sara Hurley and visual artist Monica-Shanta to explore the history. The children worked with pattern and design inspired by hexagonal machine lace, the ceilings at Knightshayes and the rivets on the Mars Rover. Imagining themselves as people across history, they wrote poetry, stories, and audio plays.
The remarkable centrepiece of the exhibition was ‘Nerio’s Wedding Dress’. Nerio is the Roman goddess of strength, war and diplomacy and wife of Mars. The dress is a unique creation, telling the story of 200 years of Tiverton through fabric – from Lace to Space – the walk from Loughborough (1816), the wedding veils made at Heathcoat’s factory for every royal bride since Queen Victoria, through to the production of the parachute for the Mars landing (2020). The dress was constructed by visual artist Monica-Shanta from drawings, pattern design, stories and writing made by children in Tiverton.
The exhibition at Knightshayes House, was led and curated by Daisi lead project artists Monica-Shanta and Sara Hurley.
“Working towards a final exhibition inspired the children and made them feel special, acknowledged, affirmed. The children were enthused about their piece of pattern design going in to Nerio’s Wedding Dress and seeing it completed beautifully concluded their whole experience and put them at the heart of the story once again.”
This project was supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Mid-Devon District Council and the Heathcoat Family Trust. Daisi worked in partnership with local artists, the National Trust, Tiverton Museum of Mid-Devon Life and Silverleigh Golf Centre to deliver this project.
In January 2022 all artwork and artifacts created during the project were curated into a public exhibition at Knighthayes.
