Environmental Panel to Launch at Corn Exchange Newbury

Exploring the importance of our landscapes, Corn Exchange Newbury with 101 Outdoor Arts will host the panel talk, Be More Giant, on Monday 3rd March. The talk will be a collaborative exploration of how society can reclaim and celebrate our landscapes through collective art experiences. Grounded in community rituals and influenced by ancient traditions, the panel aims to investigate how art, play and mythmaking can help people to form deeper connections with both the natural world and one another. 

Leading the panel will be Becca Gill (Forever Me, Heartfelt), Artistic Director of Radical Ritual; a brand-new company creating bold, inclusive rituals that connect people through art and collective action. Joining her will be fellow member of Radical Ritual and Consequences, Grace Emily Manning. Consequences is the debut artwork for Radical Ritual launching in September 2025.

Completing the panel will be writer and illustrator Nick Hayes, whose Sunday Times bestseller, The Book of Trespass calls for more public access to nature, and Nick Llewellyn who runs Access All Areas, promoting inclusive cultural performance by neurodiverse artists. Sita Brahmachari (When Secrets Set Sail, Kite Spirit) is an internationally celebrated author whose work focuses on community cohesion and environmental protection. Dr Zakiya McKenzie will also join the panel, who is a writer and cultural historian. Dr Zakiya was writer-in-residence in 2019 for Forestry England and in 2021 she was artist-in-residence at Studio Voltaire in London. 

Simon Chatterton, 101 Outdoor Arts Strategic Lead comments, We’re delighted to be working with such an exciting group of writers, artists and thinkers on the Be More Giant event. Arts in public space has a key role to play in celebrating place and connecting communities with the natural world. 

Based on a former US nuclear airbase outside Newbury, the Corn Exchange Newbury’s 101 Outdoor Arts has grown to be a unique powerhouse of creativity, supporting the creation of hundreds of performances and installations destined to be showcased at festivals, major arts events and cultural programmes both across the UK and internationally. With the support of Arts Council England and Greenham Trust, 101 Outdoor Arts has become a world-renowned centre for artist development, hosting hundreds of artists each year to create their performances and take advantage of the centre’s unique facilities, which include residential accommodation and scenic fabrication facilities. 

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