Work News

Melanie Stidolph

Arts Council England grant

Absolutely delighted to be awarded an Arts Council England project grant!

The next dawn, the next spring will be based on a filmed performance around a rock pool in Cornwall, where a group of women will sing into the dusk and with the dawn. 

The next dawn, the next spring will bring together women who are childless not by choice in a supportive space. The performance will be developed through workshops held at Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange as part of the exhibition We Are Floating in Space, 11 February – 3 June 2023.

Scenes of women around the edge of the pool will be interspersed with images of limbs aligning with natural forms, seaweed and rock forms. These passages are symbolic of regaining joy, of being back in the world, aligning with nature, rather than being at odds.

The film and its future screenings are motivated by my experiences of infertility and childlessness and aim to give a platform for people who are childless not by choice, to give a voice to unheard experience and support moving to acceptance and joy.

This production is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and with the support of Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange.