It’s not often we get asked to make land art to appear in a music video, but Leeds based collective Commoners Choir asked us to do just that in summer 2020 after seeing our field art such as the portrait of Greta Thunberg and a big thank you to the NHS made near our studios in Cragg Vale near Hebden Bridge. Commoners Choir, a radical choir melding political singing with political activism (they put the oi in choir!) were founded in 2015 by Chumbawamba band member Boff Whalley. They got to know us through our good friend Dusty who along with the lovely Lou (who actually worked on this piece of land art) has helped us on many projects over the year, from sand drawings and sand sculpture workshops to land art and especially on the project ‘The Fallen 9000’ in 2014 to commemorate International Day of Peace in Normandy.
Just up the road in Cragg Vale overlooking the rolling hills of West Yorkshire they were filming their latest song ‘Kaveh’s Heart Song’ a beautiful tune about Kaveh, a refugee from Kurdish Iran – after he came to the UK and received help and assistance to get back on his feet, he trained to become a heart surgeon to give something back to the country that had given him another chance.
We made a giant land art heart at Aaron’s Campsite on the hillside above Cragg Vale to commemorate Kaveh’s achievements and provide a backdrop to the music video they were shooting.
Jamie is a qualified CAA drone pilot and films a lot of our sand drawings and land art so he took the shots from above.
The members of the choir all gathered (at a social distance) to sing together and film the video for the song. They have been rehearsing and meeting over the internet due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but it’s great to see they are still working together and producing fantastic heart felt art to provide hope and perspective in a shutdown world.
There are some great organisations that offer support and solidarity to and between refugees, asylum seekers and migrants:
Bradford – Refugee Action – https://www.refugee-action.org.uk/ref…
Calderdale – St Augustine’s – https://www.staugustinescentrehalifax…
Leeds – Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (PAFRAS) – https://pafras.org.uk/
Racism is still a daily reality in the UK, which adds to the stress of arriving in a new country and dealing with the circumstances that forced you to move. There are groups who take action against racism and fascism and offer support and solidarity to those who experience them.
Calderdale – Calderdale Against Racism – https://www.facebook.com/groups/38069…
Leeds – Black Lives Matter Leeds – https://www.facebook.com/BlackLivesMa…
Leeds Anti-Fascist Network – https://www.facebook.com/leedsafn/
