A temporary new community was established for the weekend at Morton Castle near Thornhill and over 60 artists and performers contributed to the event, which had the themes of hospitality, journeys, generosity and inventiveness.
Five fireside conversations were initiated by artists, scientists, visionaries and people who work with the land and let people talk about subjects of every kind. There was also a 100 foot ‘River of Fire’ barbeque and a performance by Annandale eco poet David Borthwick exploring the origins of place names.
Another star attraction was the urchin wooden sphere, which was set afloat on the loch. It was created by Jenny Hall and Tabitha Pope of Craftedspace in Wales and is described as a ‘floating inhabited sculpture’ or a ‘contemplation chamber’. Jenny said: “The EAFS experience was unlike any festival I have ever been to before. It was shaped by the stunning beauty of the land itself. “I was moved by everything that EAFS enabled. It was an incredible and unique weekend.”
Matt Baker, locally-based artist and co-curator of EAFS, said: “This was a weekend where there was a real sense of coming together of a people in a spirit of positivity and openness to conceiving of a different future – a creative and co-operative vision.”
Photos by Colin Hattersley
