The River Exe and flooding will be the topic of conversation at Exeter's RAMM

The River Exe and flooding will be the topic of conversation at a special event on Friday 10 November at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery in Exeter.

Local residents living in flood risk areas have been invited.

‘Conversations Between Floods’ forms part of a special public programme of artist commissions linked to the Exe Riverside Valley Park and has evolved alongside the flood defence scheme currently being delivered by the Environment Agency.

The free afternoon event (1:30pm – 5:30pm) is open to all. Tickets have gone quickly but some are still available.

Speakers include author of ‘Taming the Flood’, Jeremy Purseglove; British artist Tania Kovats who is currently undertaking a commission responding to the River Exe; Katrina Brown, Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Exeter; Photographer Matilda Temperley, whose book ‘Under the Surface’ captured flooding in the Somerset Levels in 2015; and artist Anne-Marie Culhane who has been developing a community orchard along the River Exe. There will also be contributions from engineers and ecologists from the Environment Agency.

Among the topics that the panel will be exploring will be the history and context of flooding in Exeter, the ecology of flooding, the aesthetics of flooding and how our responses to flooding are evolving. There will even be a performance of a song by Laura Loft, commissioned by artist Tania Kovats as part of her project, and a chance to see Orchard Box, an artwork by Anne-Marie Culhane.

‘Conversations Between Floods’ is hosted by Exeter City Council, University of Exeter, Environment Agency and Devon Wildlife Trust. The event will end with a panel discussion, and food and drink will be served to allow for informal conversations to continue.

Exeter City Council’s Deputy Leader, Councillor Rachel Sutton said: “Artists are skilled creative thinkers and open our eyes to new possibilities. We want everyone in Exeter to have the chance to be inspirational and creative, because it makes us feel better and more connected to others and our wonderful city. With the flood defence scheme in full swing, Tania’s commission brings the history of flooding back into people’s consciousness as a powerful symbol of what we cannot fully control.”

‘Conversations Between Floods’ forms part of EXE, a public commission for Exeter by artist Tania Kovats. The other element of the commission is a limited edition artwork by Kovats, in the form of a newspaper containing a range of drawings, maps, research and writing by the artist interspersed with historical images and material gathered from the Environment Agency’s Flood Defence Archive. The newspaper has been delivered to 1,000 households who may be impacted by flooding in Exwick, St Thomas and along the river from Cowley Bridge to Countess Wear and is intended to stimulate discussion. Copies of the newspaper are also available to pick up from Exeter Phoenix, Devon Wildlife Trust and the Forum at the University of Exeter.

Tania Kovats is an internationally renowned British artist based in Devon. Her work is held in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, Arts Council England and British Council and she has been commissioned to produce public work by the Natural History Museum, National Trust and Hull City of Culture.

Kovats’s art practice is primarily an exploration of landscape, taking the form of sculpture, drawing and writing, and she frequently works in the public realm. Her work has a particular focus on the poetic and psychological nature of water as a connective element in the landscape, in conjunction with environmental and cultural concerns.

She said: "There is a time between the floods when we don’t want to speak of them. The river is not a place, it is a restlessness and energy that passes through a city partly forming the city’s landscape, history, and ecology. We live and work next to these large natural forces that can’t always be controlled.”

To book your tickets visit eventbrite.com and search for ‘Conversations Between Floods’ or cick here.