SOUND INSTALLATION: Steyning Festival

The Parish Church goes wild! Step into Steyning Parish Church and be magically transported into a Sussex wilderness. Hazel Reeves harnesses the sounds of nature to tell stories of hope. Every morning during the week, Steyning Parish Church will undergo a transformation choreographed by sound artist Hazel Reeves, using local wildlife recordings played through speakers arranged around the church. She is calling it “Soundscapes of Hope” because the sounds you hear will be of nature returning to local habitats – CLAY | CHALK | MUD – thanks to careful conservation and rewilding efforts. An inspiring way to begin your Festival day!

CLAY — an audio story of hope from Knepp Wildland, where a landscape of heavy Weald clay has become a place of renewal. Listen for nightingales, turtle doves and cuckoos, and even the quiet mewing of a young beaver hidden in the soundscape. Listen on Soundcloud.

CHALK — an audio story of hope from the rare chalk downlands and clear chalk streams of Sussex. Listen for skylarks, corn buntings and reed warblers – voices of a remarkable landscape. Listen on Soundcloud.

MUD — an audio story of hope from the tidal mudflats and saltmarshes of Chichester Harbour. Listen for the haunting cry of the curlew and the babbling of overwintering brent geese carried on the tide. Listen on Soundcloud.

This sound installation is free, and is on mornings during Steyning Festival: 

Mon 25 May – 9.00 – 11.30
Tues 26 May – 9.00 -12.30
Weds 27 May – 9.00 – 11.00
Thurs 28 May – 9.00 – 12.30
Fri 29 May – 9.00 – 12.30

Venue – Steyning Parish Church, Church Street, Steyning, BN44 3YB.

This is a collaboration with Greening Steyning.

In Let nature do the talking: Creating Soundscapes of Hope Hazel will be chatting with Matt Phelps, the Lead Ecologist from Knepp as part of the Steyning Festival – Sunday 24 May, Steyning Parish Church. Tickets £10/£5 here.