Od Arts Festival returns, from May 26 to 28, with a packed programme of art and community activity! The festival takes its name from the Od: [Od pronounced Odd] a crooked stream that meanders through the neighbouring villages of East and West Coker, Somerset, UK. Led by Coker-based OSR Projects, Od Arts Festival 2023 – Still & still moving, takes its title from T.S Eliot’s poem East Coker, the second of his famous Four Quartets:
…Love is most nearly itself
When here and now cease to matter.
Old men ought to be explorers
Here or there does not matter
We must be still and still moving
Into another intensity
For a further union, a deeper communion
From sunken lanes and smugglers paths to virtual journeys through computer generated worlds, Od Arts Festival 2023 – Still and still moving will explore the movement of bodies through space, both real and imagined.
The festival will disrupt the surface stillness of its rural setting, with lively creative and community activity. Art will respond to the different ways we navigate, move in and connect to the world around us, from ancient way-making and international trade to the almost imperceptible slow motion of plants and rocks.
Expect intriguing works in unusual locations across the two villages, providing an opportunity to meander and explore at your own pace. Participating artists will be announced over the next few weeks alongside further information about workshops and events. Activities will include monument making, bookbinding and a silent disco… just to name a few!
The festival is free and open to all. Come along, walk with us, stray off the path and discover new ways to think about the journeys we make.