Port to Port by Sophie Giller
Presented by The Art Station in partnership with First Light Festival, SPILL Festival and Hamilton Mas.
Port to Port is an ambitious, travelling installation project by artist Sophie Giller, produced by The Art Station in collaboration with First Light Festival, SPILL Festival and Hamilton MAS. Over the next 12 months, the artwork will journey between three Suffolk coastal towns – Lowestoft, Ipswich, and Felixstowe – growing and transforming at each stage.
The beautiful centre-piece of the project will be a large-scale installation composed of sail-shaped patchworks. Each sail will be created through community workshops, where participants are invited to contribute personal memories, images, and favourite objects. These elements will be printed, collaged, drawn, and stitched onto textiles to form richly layered and deeply personal patchwork pieces.
Rooted in the heritage of Suffolk’s port towns, Port to Port celebrates both the region’s maritime past and the collective experiences of the people who live there. Drawing on traditional crafts and storytelling, the project creates a moving visual archive of place, memory, and identity.
As the installation travels from one port to another, it will evolve to reflect the unique stories and contributions of each community – becoming a dynamic portrait of Suffolk’s coastal life and culture.
Artist Sophie Giller has led workshops in Lowestoft, in partnership with Suffolk Artlink, Suffolk Refugee Support and East Coast College; inviting community members of all ages to bring their personal history into the work through drawing, tile-painting, printing, collage, and sewing. The final sail forms will be exhibited in outdoor and indoor spaces in each port town, free and open to all.
See Port to Port at the Battery of Ideas:
Thursday 12 June 11am – 3pm
Friday 13 June 11am – 3pm
Saturday 14 June 1pm – 4pm
Monday 16 June 11am – 3pm
Tuesday 17 June 11am – 3pm
Wednesday 18 June 11am – 3pm
Thursday 19 June 11am – 3pm
Friday 20 June 11am – 3pm
Saturday 21 June 2.30 - 5pm
Sunday 22 June 11am – 4pm
Monday 23 June 11am –3pm
Tuesday 24 June 11am – 3pm
Wednesday 25 June 11am – 3pm
Thursday 26 June 11am – 3pm
Friday 27 June 11am – 3pm
Saturday 28 June 11am - 4pm
FREE, no booking required