‘Ground-breaking’ community art installation at Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral will host a ground-breaking multi-dimensional community art installation later this month, inspired by the theme of pilgrimage and coffee. Pausing to drink coffee echoes the rhythm of pilgrim steps and prayer.

‘Pilgrim Grounds’ will see the creation of a giant labyrinth in the Nave from used coffee grounds and other coffee-related sustainable materials. The project will start on Thursday 23 January and will run until Wednesday 29 January.

Everyone of any age and ability can participate in making an individual art ‘tile’, with the help of local artists, art students and craftspeople between 11am and 4pm.

Winchester Coffee shops will be participating by saving their coffee grounds and there are two ways to get involved. You can pick up a special packet of dried grounds and come to the Cathedral to create your ‘tile’, or select a few words from your coffee conversation and text them on the designated number where they will be projected in the Cathedral and woven into poems to be performed at the Labyrinth Experience.

As the labyrinth develops over seven days and reaches completion, visitors are invited to come back and see what’s been created. It is estimated that over 1,000 tiles will be required to create the labyrinth, so visitors are strongly encouraged to participate. Students from the Art School will create a suspended ‘steam’ installation rising from the coffee grounds art below.

A special workshop will be held on Thursday 23 January for those wishing to take part, with a nominal fee of £5 to cover the cost of materials.

On Saturday 25 January, visitors are invited to create their tiles in collaboration with an immersive musical performance in the Cathedral from 12.30pm – 1.30pm.

Finally, on Wednesday 29 January from 7 - 9.30pm all are invited to gather for a labyrinth experience to celebrate its completion, to walk through the coffee art tiles which make up the labyrinth and spot your own. There will performance poetry created from the collected words from  coffee conversations.

Artistic Director of the project, Gill Sakakini, said: ‘This is an engaging collaboration where everyone can make their mark at the start of the Year of Pilgrimage by participating both in the making and mindful walking of this giant labyrinth’.

The Very Reverend Catherine Ogle, Dean of Winchester, said ‘Pilgrim Grounds comes at the start of the cathedrals’ Year of Pilgrimage as a creative opening to a yearlong event.  Labyrinths are an ancient Christian form of mindful journeying, with a purpose and destination, leading into prayer.  I am excited by the scope of Gill Sakakini’s ambition to lead a community arts project in the cathedral that combines art, music, spirituality and coffee!’

Anyone wishing to take part in the project should visit the Cathedral website for more information about how to get involved.