Pop Up Exhibition at Starcross and Topsham

We had a great two days sharing ideas, thoughts and artworks from the Exe Box and online activities in Starcross and Topsham over the weekend. Participation and interest exceeded our expectations and we enjoyed hearing the enthusiasm, first-hand knowledge and love for the estuary from so many people.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed, supported and made it possible including Teignbridge Council and Exeter City Council. And we were lucky with the weather too.

The exhibition included many of the items that we received, either on the boards themselves or in the boxes connected to them. There was ‘technology’ in the form of recorded voices from Letters to the Sea and Jon Seal’s film around the Exe shown on a laptop. The A frame constructions, which were designed with Covid restrictions in mind, allowed us to ‘hold a space’ as well as providing desks to sit and write at. The estuary table, a 3 dimensional model of the estuary depths below the high tide mark was a popular discussion point with many contributors marking points of personal knowledge or experience directly onto the glass.

This was a fine way to collect knowledge and information from those who know the estuary well and raises the question of how best to share knowledge of the estuary with others who would love to get to know it better.  This event was primarily to share back to the estuary community the contributions from the Exe Box and the online activities. While this doesn’t pretend to be a comprehensive survey by any means, it does give us a view of the interests and concerns of people around the estuary.  These are subjects that Tidelines can take forward and explore by bringing the community from whom the questions arise together with academics, researchers and specialists to actively research together. One of these areas is water quality and water monitoring (see Body of Water day for more info)