Community icons from Margate and Cliftonville feature in an art exhibition opening at Dreamland next weekend.
‘Shrines’ depicting people in the community have been created by Ramsgate artist Carson Parkin-Fairley and local community groups and individuals who nominated themselves, or were nominated, to be icons.
Icons of Margate & Cliftonville runs from 20 July to 5 September and will be displayed in the Dreamland entrance off Marine Terrace.
The exhibition, funded by Arts Council England, includes four works by Carson with the rest created by people in the community under her guidance.
The exhibition’s aim is to offer visitors an intimate glimpse into the lives and stories of local people, while the creation of each of the shrines provided the participants a chance to consider and celebrate what they love about themselves and what’s important to them.
Carson Parkin-Fairley works across mediums such as collage, painting, sculpture, and installation exploring themes of self-identity, worship, and emotional connection, often celebrating people and their everyday lives.
Her previous project, Icons of Ramsgate, was created with groups including East Kent Mencap, Pie Factory Music, and The Screaming Mary Club .
Carson comes from a creative family being the granddaughter of Molly Parkin – a painter, novelist and journalist, who became most well-known for her work on Nova magazine, newspapers and television in the 1960 – and daughter of artist Sophie Parkin.
Carson said: “I didn’t feel proud of myself until I was 30, and this project is a way of reclaiming our stories and celebrating them. We are all many things, and we all deserve to be celebrated. We are all icons.”
Under Carson’s guidance, more than 50 community members from six diverse groups have created personal shrines reflecting their unique experiences. The reflect intimate portrayals of individual journeys, highlighting the community’s diversity and shared humanity.
Carson’s four icons, chosen by the community, are:
Dario Colombo who co-runs 101 Social, a curated social space in Cliftonville, home to a nurturing programme of varied events including the 101 Soup Kitchen providing freshly made healthy food to the community every Sunday;
Sammy Clarke of WhereElse who brings musical culture to the communities of Margate:
Kathy Green, aka Glasgow Kathy, a wonderful character of Northdown Road
Rory Waitt, founder of Wilderness to Wonderland which is a volunteer gardening group transforming public spaces in Margate since 2021.
She also worked with East Kent MENCAP, Kent Young Carers, Margate Arts Club, and ARK Cliftonville as well as holding an open workshop, allowing anyone interested to apply and take part.
Sophy who took part in the Margate Arts Club workshops said: “While the project was therapeutic it actually felt like anti-therapy. A lot of the time in therapy you are discussing the difficult things in your life and times that you found hard and for me I spent the time looking at photos of amazing times in my life and people I loved. It was the best therapy I’ve ever had!”
Another Margate Arts Club participant, Bernadette said: “I enjoyed the group experience in making the art. Our work was very different in terms of content, there was a shared purpose, support and camaraderie. I felt like I rediscovered I had a creative side that had been ‘lost’ all these years and I found working with Carson inspiring and energising.”
Eddie Kemsley, CEO Dreamland Margate, added: “We are thrilled to host the Icons of Margate exhibition at Dreamland this summer, featuring colourful works of art created by members of the Margate community.”
