see here now – the PLACE Collective

Two women lean over bottles and stones placed on a table

Small Water – Anne Waggot Knott

Posted on May 27, 2025June 5, 2025 by PLACE Collective admin in exhibition, SeeHereNow

When Anne Waggot Knott discovered that many of Manchester’s residents don’t know where their drinking water comes from, she set about making work that laid bare the origins of the water that nourishes the city. In this blog, Anne shares the background to the creation of her artwork ‘Small Water’, which features in the See Here Now exhibition.

Cumbria’s water supply feeds and nourishes not only the immediate fells and surrounding region but great swathes of urban north west England. This may seem like a simple statement, but many people do not know about the origins of their drinking water, or what the journey entails.

The commoditisation of our water and its transport out of Cumbria to slake the thirst of the city starts to represent a very real threat to the human and the more-than-human.

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An art exhibition showing a wooden piece and images behind

Review of ‘See Here Now’, in Ecoartscotland

Posted on April 24, 2025April 25, 2025 by somewhere nowhere in environment and climate, exhibition, SeeHereNow

When environmental change is happening at planet-wide scale, and in cumulative increments of time, we can be psychologically and culturally distanced from perceiving it ‘here’ and ‘now’. The exhibition … is a compelling effort to bring the meanings closer.

So begins the review of the See Here Now exhibition currently showing in the gallery at Grizedale Forest, written for ecoartscotland by Dave Pritchard, an independent consultant in environment, culture, heritage and the arts.

In this review, Dave highlights some of the work that particularly struck him when he visited. He also asks about what art and artists can or might ‘do’, and shares some questions that arise from this exhibition: If things feel urgent, does the art also need to be urgent, or might it paradoxically be slow? and: What might an exhibition, or individual artworks, urge others to do?

To read the full review, visit ecoartscotland.net here.

We recommend making a brew before you do – while you’re on that site you’ll almost inevitably want to delve deeper. Ecoartscotland is a rich resource, focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics and commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer, and research associate at Gray’s School of Art.

Huge thanks to Dave for the review.

A woman stands among grass and heather in a flat landscape, holding an object covered in white fur

_{This image from ‘Hakoto’ by Collins + Goto Studio is one of the pieces featured in Dave Pritchard’s review.}

_{Header image shows Sea sediment pigments, created by Naomi Hart (more on this here)}

SEE HERE NOW EXHIBITION

Posted on April 7, 2025April 25, 2025 by somewhere nowhere in exhibition, SeeHereNow

The See Here Now exhibition is in full swing in the gallery of Grizedale Forest. What a week! A joyful install, with perfect weather.

The preview was buzzing, with 25 of the exhibiting artists celebrating the launch. We were welcomed by Hazel Stone, National Curator of Contemporary Art at Forestry England; and a fascinating hour of conversation with five of the artists; then the evening fell into full swing.

For now, here are some images of the exhibition and the preview. There’s more on individual pieces in a series of blog posts, and you can find out more about the See Here Now exhibition here.