Filiz Taylan Yuzak

I am an artist living on the edge of The New Forest. I use folklore, folksong, old customs, games and rituals to explore contemporary issues particularly social and economic disparity. Country living can be a strange mix of bounty and hopelessness but when people have access to their own strong and sinuous roots, their own history and stories they have anchorage and hope. I seek the stories that connect us and as an artist I’m thinking of different ways of pinning them up on the metaphorical village hall notice board for all to see. Alongside my own practice I run drawing workshops as The Village Hall Draw and community workshops around the New Forest working with Culture in Common and Hampshire Cultural Heritage amongst others.

I am a Wiltshire-based visual artist and consultant working with people and places through commissions, projects, residencies, walks and workshops. I work with media of relevance to each place, its ecology and heritage, from ‘natural’ and recycled materials, to photographs, text, sound and video. Previous Hampshire residencies have included working with Spud (New Forest), John Hansard Museum (Southampton) and Andover Museum. My consultancy work includes writing for publication, mentoring for emerging artists/creatives, and advisory work/professional development for the arts/heritage and environmental sectors. Access and inclusion is key to all my work, with a particular focus on the value of queer and neurodivergent voices/experiences.

Chuckie McEwan (she/they) is a BIFA Longlisted and BAFTA recognised film producer, with 15+ years experience. Her commercial clients include CHANEL, Virgin Media, Red Bull and XBox. Chuckie co-founded Grey Moth Originals, which actively facilitates industry access routes for underrepresented filmmakers. To date the initiative has invested over £100k from commercial company profits, and completed 20+ shorts and one feature. She has lectured at UAL, University of Southampton, and Met Film School, and hosted filmmaker events and workshops with Girls in Film, BBC Comedy and BAFTA Connect. She is an alumni of the BFI x NFTS Beyond Shorts talent development programme, and is currently developing a feature film with the BFI.