Sound artist Rachael Hales will be presenting her audio-visual installation exploring the experiences of local people during the First World War, through the lens of local folk traditions and practices. Rachael will be presenting the findings of her research into Rapper Dancing, Clog Dancing and Children’s Song on Tyneside during the First World War, alongside the three audio-visual artworks that she created in response to this research. This project is part of Decoded 1914-18, commissioned by Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums and the Newcastle Institute for Creative Arts Practice, which involved seven artists producing creative responses to the First World War collections held by Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums.

The event is presented as part of the Heritage Open Days at Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum: The Chantry, Bridge Street, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 1PJ.

About the Installation:

Sing and Dance for King and Country is an audio-visual installation exploring the experiences of the people of Tyneside during the First World War, through the lens of local folk traditions and practices. It explores how various folk practices – including rapper dancing, clog dancing, and folksong – can be used to investigate the experiences of war of three groups of people: the rapper dancers of the North East, female munitions workers, and children. Move through the installation in the footsteps of the singers and dancers of 100 years ago, uncovering forgotten and untold stories of how the ordinary people of Tyneside danced and sang their way through the First World War. This installation was presented in collaboration with Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums at the Discovery Museum, Newcastle Upon Tyne in February 2015, and at the Chantry Bagpipe Museum, Morpeth in April 2015 as part of the Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering.

About the composer:

Rachael Hales is a sound artist, composer and performer, currently studying for a Ph.D. in composition at Newcastle University. Her work investigates ways in which environmental and everyday sounds can interact with musics of place, particularly folk and traditional music, to perform, represent or portray a sense of place. Recent work has included a commission for the Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering, exploring the Anglo-Saxon history of Morpeth; an audio-visual piece portraying Rachael’s experience of the High Level Bridge in Newcastle Upon Tyne; and a sound installation entitled ‘Listening to the Border: a sonic exploration of the construction and performance of identity in the Scottish borders’. Rachael is also a busy folk musician, performing regularly at ceilidhs.