Interactive boat at heart of River Don art exhibition

BBC News

13-03-2025

A new exhibition explores the "cultural and environmental significance" of the River Don in Sheffield.Curator Amy Carter-Gordon said the fæthm [fathom] exhibition at the Kelham Island Museum "explores people's relationships with the Don and the local environment".A joint venture between Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) and the River Don Project, the exhibition will include an "ambient podcast" which can be downloaded while walking along the river to where Professor David Cotterrell's boat installation will make its debut at Ball Street Bridge.The installation - BIDE - features a traditional Yorkshire coble "in distress" at Kelham Island weir, flooding and then bailing itself out again.
"The idea is for people to listen to very slow, calming audio and spoken word, mixed with beautiful nature sounds, for the purpose of well-being and relaxation," explained Ms Carter-Gordon.It encourages a sense of connectedness to the river, and has been designed for both wakers and those who might be unable to get outdoors, she added.At the main exhibition at Kelham Island Museum, visitors will find experimental films and soundscapes, alongside prints of figs from the trees along the Don and drawings by Joanna Rucklidge "exploring the juxtaposition of the river's wildlife with plastic litter on the riverbank".The four-day show in the museum's upper gallery also includes Joanne Lee's visual essays about the "cyclical processes of the river throughout its history and future using found objects" and Dr Rose Butler's photographs capturing riverside silt, fig leaves, hemlock - and remnants of a rave along the river.
The Don runs nearly 70 miles (113 km) through South Yorkshire via Sheffield's Don Valley, Penistone, Rotherham, Mexborough, Conisbrough, Doncaster and Stainforth.It was re-routed in the 17th century to allow for the draining of Hatfield Chase, and was once one of the most polluted rivers in the country. However, habitats have been improved, with two sites now providing refuge for fish and wetland birds, and fish populating the river once again.Visitors to the exhibition can also learn about about the health of river at a live water testing lab, testing samples from the Don using equipment from the university's biomolecular sciences research centre.
Alban Krashi, from The River Don Project, said the exhibition would provide "a unique opportunity to explore and understand our relationships with nature"."We see the River Don and its surrounding bio-region as an ecological citizen interacting with human citizens whose growing awareness of the needs and wants of the river can inform and enhance their own 'ecological citizenship'," he said.The exhibition runs from Thursday 13th until Sunday 16th March, at Kelham Island Museum's upper gallery, and on the river near Ball Street Bridge.
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