Welcome to this week's Creative Hertfordshire newsletter,
Items that have caught our eye this week include:
Letters to Forever, transforming written grief into multisensory art
6th - 28th August 2025
The exhibition will take place in St Peter’s Church, St Albans, Hertfordshire. One of the oldest churches in England.
Ukrainian-born artist Natalia Millman, will fill St Peter’s Church with an exhibition of remarkable artworks this summer. With generous funding by the Arts Council England, this project establishes Natalia as a leading artist working in Hertfordshire. The recently refurbished church hosts an exhibition of over 200 drawings, sculptures, performances, sound recordings and videos, exploring the topical themes of grief and loss.
Alongside this powerful exhibition, Natalia welcomes local people to participate in several workshops exploring their own experiences of grief through creativity: using clay, mindfulness, movement and drawing. Natalia’s project is accessible to everyone and inclusive for the Ukrainian community in St Albans and those with dementia, and their carers. The artist lost her father to dementia five years ago and developed these artworks as part of her grief journey.
At the exhibition’s heart, stands a large structure displaying nearly 200 grief letters that Natalia invited people to write to her, expressing each person’s unique experience of loss. In response to each letter, the artist has created a beautiful drawing to capture the essence of the letter’s content. Elsewhere in the exhibition, visitors encounter a meditation on loss, a sound bath, a piece of music, small sculptures, textiles and a specially commissioned scent – creating a truly immersive experience. Beyond the building, the installation seeps into the grounds: an intimate ring of pre-loved chairs awaits, and a series of engraved plaques lie amongst existing gravestones.
Events and Workshops:
7 August - Exhibition Launch / 6-8.30 PM, St Peter’s Church St Albans
13 August - Artist Talk: Natalia Millman in Conversation with Kate Ray, Art of Grieving / 1-2 PM
16 August - Yoga for Healing / 1-2.30 PM St Peter’s Church St Albans
17 August - Change, Release & Belonging for Ukrainian community / 1-4.30PM St Peter’s Church St Albans
19 August - Mindful Clay / 1-3 PM St Albans Museum & Gallery
20 August - Caring for Carers for companions of people with dementia, in collaboration with Memory Support Hertfordshire / 1-3.30 PM St Peter’s Church St Albans
24 August - Beautiful Grief: Circle & Ritual in Grief / 1-4 PM St Peter’s Church St Albans
28 August - Performance & Film Screening “Letters to Forever” / 7-8 PM St Peter’s Church St Albans
For more information go to: www.nataliamillmanart.com
Open Stores and Guided Tours, Fri 18 Jul to Sat 20 Sep 2025 (2 months)
For the first time in five years, Dacorum Heritage is opening its doors, so you can explore its collections in a series of open store events and guided tours from July-September. With small displays of Ovaltine art and archaeological treasures from the local area, and behind-the-scenes tours, you can learn about the objects in our museum and how we look after them.
Friday 18 July The Art of Ovaltine Display and Guided Tours
Wednesday 30 July-Friday 1 August Archaeological Treasures and Guided Tours
Saturday 13 & Saturday 20 September Heritage Open Days The Art of Ovaltine and Guided Tours
For more information visit https://dacorumheritage.org.uk/news/open-store-events-whats-on-at-dacorum-heritage/
Country Frame Baskets- a two day workshop, North Herts Museum, Sat 26 to Sun 27 Jul 2025 (2 days)
Make a willow frame basket for harvesting garden produce, foraging or collecting eggs.
In this workshop you will make an ancient style of basket by constructing a frame with hoops, traditional bindings and ribs, followed by lots of weaving. You will learn the principles of strength, balance and tension that help shape your basket.
26th - 27th July, 11.15am - 2.15pm each day £80 per person
Completed baskets will be approximately 25cms diameter. Suitable for beginners. Things to bring: sharp secateurs.
About the tutor: Hazel is a contemporary basket-maker and willow artist; her inspiration comes from nature and the human condition.
Graduating in 2004 with a degree in Applied Arts 3D Media she began working professionally in 2008. Hazel works with willow and various other natural materials. She has made commissioned works for a variety of settings, including community outdoor spaces, public buildings, TV, and private clients.
She has also exhibited work on a Gold Award-winning stand at Chelsea Flower Show. For over 16 years, Hazel has taught in Herts and Bucks, as well as from her studio near Hitchin.
For more information visit https://north-herts-museum.arttickets.org.uk/north-herts-museum/country-frame-baskets-a-two-day-workshop-67ee903170cb4
Hoping for a sunny but not too hot week.
The Creative Hertfordshire Steering Group |
