WVRF 2022’s inspiration was Human⇋ Nature. After two years of pandemic distancing, we asked: How has our relationship with nature changed ? Who are we as part of the natural world ? What is in our nature ? What next ? And what can we do now ?
Our festival ensemble The Bikesplorers traversed the valley by bicycle, camping and popping up with their show. There were street parades and picnics, performances, walks and workshops up and down the valley, from Monmouth to Ross-on-Wye. Tintern Abbey hosted The Three Realms sound installations, including a bespoke soundscape by Chris Watson that started with a blackbird singing in the Abbey and ended in the depths of the ocean, and Symonds Yat was alive with the sound of The Whistlers, a mysterious tribe who communicate only by whistling…
More than 20,000 people came to see us this year, happy to be able to get together again. Our local Creative Community Champions and outreach programme ran 169 workshops and participatory activities, with over 6000 participants.