DALES COUNTRY MUSEUM, Hawes, North Yorkshire, UK
CRY OF THE CURLEW
1 February – 11 April 2024
The Cry of the Curlew is a celebration of the Curlew and the upper Dales landscapes to which they have returned to breed every year since time immemorial. The graceful and elegant Curlew has iconic status in the Dales because of the impact made by the birds’ annual reappearances, their engaging presence whilst with us, and the absence felt when they depart.
They leave us with the hope and expectation of seeing them again next year, but their survival is increasingly challenged. The exhibition highlights the issues facing the Curlew today through the stunning photography of Paco Valera, insightful poetry and prose by Barbara Murray, and inspiring artwork by local artists Sally Zaranko, Hester Cox, Judith Bromley and Robert Nicholls. Invited Swedish artists Emily Berry Mennerdahl and Jonas Böttern of Hillside Projects also feature, as well as the poetry of Alastair McIntosh and music of Loriana Pauli.
Artists Sarah Smith, Susan Harrison and June Gersten-Roberts have also been working with schools in the Craven area, exploring the plight of the Curlew. The children have created posters and poems that will feature in the exhibition and we hope spur people into action.
At a moment in history when many species including the beloved Curlew face the prospect of extinction, the exhibition highlights the wide-ranging custodial work taking place in and beyond the Dales to ensure that their chain of continuity is not broken in our time.
Paco Valera says “Our work aims to let “what is” speak for itself through photographic images, poetry and prose. To invite a closer look; to really see and to connect with what is there, and to awaken feeling, meaning and significance in the human experience, perhaps by a sense of renewal, and replenishment.
