The River

A Long-Form Creative Programme

There is a moment, often overlooked, where a river is almost nothing.

A gathering of dampness in the peat. A slight movement between stone and moss. A suggestion rather than a declaration. Something beginning quietly, before it can yet be fully named.

This programme begins there.

Not only with the river itself, but with the idea of beginning something slowly, allowing it to gather over time, and resisting the urge to complete it too quickly. It has been shaped around a different way of working, one that values return over novelty, depth over immediacy, and attention over outcome.

At its centre is the River Derwent in Derbyshire.

From its source near Swains Greave to its meeting with the Trent at Shardlow, the river provides the physical thread that holds the year together. But what unfolds is not simply a journey along its length, it is a sustained engagement with place, built through repeated visits, changing conditions, and a growing familiarity that begins to reveal something more than a single encounter ever could.

This is not about chasing images. It is about staying long enough for something to begin to form.

A Year of Returning

Over the course of the year, a small group will return to four carefully chosen locations / zones along the river, revisiting each one across changing seasons and conditions. Each return offers something different, not only in the landscape itself, but in the way it is met and responded to.

The same stretch of water does not remain the same.

Light shifts. Growth advances and recedes. Weather changes the tone of a place entirely. And just as importantly, those returning are not the same either. Their attention has shifted, their awareness deepened, their understanding altered through what has already been seen, made, and reflected upon.

It is within this rhythm of return that the work begins to take shape.

Photography forms the foundation of the programme, but it does not stand alone. Writing, field notes, sound, sketching, and other forms of response are encouraged where they naturally arise. Place rarely reveals itself in only one language, and allowing these different forms to sit alongside one another often brings a deeper coherence to the work as it develops.

Between field days, the programme continues through monthly online gatherings.

These are moments to pause, to reflect, to share work in progress, and to consider what is emerging, what is resisting, and what may need to be approached differently. They are not simply reviews, but extensions of the practice itself.

Alongside this, a series of smaller interludes are woven through the year. These are simple but deliberate provocations, invitations to step slightly outside familiar ways of working. To listen before photographing. To remain within a limited space. To respond without the camera.

Over time, these small shifts begin to gather.

Ways of Entering the River

There is, of course, the river itself.

The Derwent, followed slowly over time, returned to in different seasons, different conditions, and different states of attention. For those able to be there physically, this forms the grounding of the year, a shared experience of place, walked and re-walked, each visit adding something new, or revealing something that was always there but not yet seen.

But this way of working was never intended to be held in one place alone.

Alongside those walking the Derwent, others will be working elsewhere, defining their own river, stream, canal, or watercourse, whatever feels close enough to return to, and open enough to sustain a longer conversation. These places may be near or far, familiar or newly found, but they carry the same potential, the possibility of staying, of following, of allowing something to emerge over time.

The shape of the year remains shared.

Each month, the group gathers in conversation, reflecting on what has been found, what has resisted, and what is beginning to take form. Between these moments, the work continues quietly, images, notes, fragments, and thoughts moving through the shared space, held collectively even as they arise from very different landscapes.

What begins to form is not a single perspective, but a widening.

Different rivers bring different conditions, different rhythms, different ways of seeing and responding, yet the challenges remain recognisable. How to stay when nothing seems to be happening. How to follow an idea beyond its first expression. How to begin shaping something that does not yet fully reveal itself.

This exchange becomes part of the practice.

The same interludes move through the whole group.
The same quiet provocations.
The same invitations to notice differently.

In this sense, the journey remains consistent. It unfolds in different places, but moves with the same intent.

Holding the Work

At the close of the year, the work gathers.

A collaborative zine brings together the photographs, words, and fragments that have developed over time. It becomes a way of holding the experience, not as a collection of individual images, but as something shaped, sequenced, and understood as a whole.

This is not a final product in the traditional sense.

It is a continuation of the process, an act of reflection, and a way of seeing what has emerged.

A Different Pace

More than anything, this programme offers a different pace.

Not one defined by quick outcomes, but by sustained engagement with place and process. A recognition that some of the most meaningful work arrives slowly, through return, through patience, and through a willingness to remain with something even when it feels uncertain.

It is not for everyone.

But for those who feel drawn to that way of working, it offers space to build something deeper, more personal, and more connected to both place and self.

Investment and Practicalities

This is a year held deliberately at a smaller scale.

The group size is limited, allowing space for each participant to develop their own work while remaining part of a shared experience. This balance between individual practice and collective reflection sits at the heart of the programme.

There are three ways of engaging:

A full twelve-month programme following the River Derwent from source to mouth
A shorter six-month version, shaped around the same core rhythm
A remote pathway, where participants define and work with their own river, anywhere in the world, while fully part of the group experience

Each way of engaging is (Strictly limited to 6 participants)

Each follows the same underlying structure, a rhythm of returning, monthly online gatherings, ongoing dialogue, and the gradual shaping of a body of work over time.

The programme includes:

Monthly field days for those working along the Derwent (One Sunday per month)
Monthly online sessions for the full group (One evening per month)
Ongoing shared space for discussion, reflection, and feedback
Interlude activities and prompts to support practice
Guidance and mentoring throughout the year
A collaboratively produced zine at the close of the programme

Investment

The River is held as a year of sustained attention.

The investment reflects not only time spent in the field, or in conversation together, but the quieter structure that supports the work as it unfolds, the guidance, the shared space, and the continuity that allows something more than a series of individual images to emerge.

There are three ways of entering:

The River - Full Genesis (12 months)

£1,450

A full year of returning, following the river through its changing states, and allowing a body of work to gather gradually over time. This is the complete arc of the programme.

The River - 6 Month Flow

£750

A shorter engagement with the same core structure and rhythm, offering an opportunity to enter into the process over a more condensed period, while still working with return and continuity at its heart.

The River - Remote Practice

£500

For those working with their own river, stream, canal, or watercourse, wherever they are. The same journey, the same prompts, the same unfolding conversations, held across distance and grounded in a different place.

Payment options are available to allow the commitment to be spread over time, supporting a pace that feels sustainable rather than pressured.

The group is intentionally small, allowing space for each participant to develop their work within a shared and supportive environment.

If this feels aligned with where your practice is beginning to move, you are invited to take a closer look and begin a conversation.

Joining the First Cohort

Expressions of interest will be invited for the first cohort.

Places are limited, not to create exclusivity, but to ensure the right conditions for the work to develop, for conversations to remain meaningful, and for each participant to feel supported within the group.

If this way of working feels close to something your practice has been quietly asking for, you are invited to take a look and get in touch.

You do not need to arrive with fixed ideas.

Only with a willingness to return.

EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST IN 'THE RIVER'

Programme Summary

The River is a long-form, place-based creative programme shaped around return, time, and sustained attention.

What it is:

A year-long creative programme centred on working with a river as a site of ongoing practice
A small, carefully held group, allowing space for individual work to develop within a shared experience
A structure that combines photography with writing, field notes, sound, and other forms of response
A focus on building a coherent body of work over time, rather than isolated images
A collaborative process that culminates in a group-produced zine

When it takes place:

The first full programme begins in October 2026
The full programme unfolds across 12 months, following seasonal change and repeated return
The rhythm of the programme is deliberately simple and consistent:
- One field day per month, held on a Sunday
- One online session per month, held in the evening
Alongside this shared rhythm, participants are encouraged to return independently where possible
- These additional visits are not required, but are often where the work begins to deepen
- The programme holds the structure, but the space between moments is just as important

Attendance and flexibility:

It is understood that a full year will not always align perfectly with the rest of life
Participants are expected to engage with around 66% of the on-location field days where possible
The emphasis is on sustained engagement over time, rather than perfect attendance
The online sessions and shared space ensure continuity, even when a field day is missed

Ways of engaging:

Full Genesis, 12 months
Beginning October 2026
Working along the River Derwent, returning to four carefully chosen locations across the full year
6 Month Flow
Starting October 2026, April 2027, or October 2027
A shorter engagement following the same core rhythm of return and reflection
Participants will still work across all four locations, experiencing the changing character of the river over time
Remote Practice
Working with your own river, stream, canal, or watercourse anywhere in the world
A way of engaging for those who may not wish to travel regularly to Derbyshire, or whose lives are rooted elsewhere
The same structure, the same conversations, the same prompts, held across distance

Working across distance:

Derbyshire sits centrally, but the programme recognises that not everyone will wish to commit to a full year of travel.

The 6 month pathway offers a more focused way of engaging for those balancing other commitments, while the remote pathway opens the programme outward entirely.

Participants working remotely will define their own place of practice, somewhere local, somewhere accessible, somewhere they can return to often.

They will join the same monthly online sessions, take part in the same shared dialogue, and work through the same interludes and prompts.

In doing so, they bring a wider perspective into the group.

Different rivers, different conditions, different responses, all contributing to a shared understanding of how this kind of work unfolds.

It becomes clear, over time, that the approach is not tied to a single place. It can be carried anywhere.

What the programme includes:

Monthly field days for on-location participants
Monthly online sessions for the full group
Ongoing shared space for reflection, discussion, and feedback
Interlude activities and creative prompts throughout the year
Mentoring and guidance as work develops
A collaboratively produced zine at the close of the programme

Investment:

Full Genesis, 12 months — £1,450
6 Month Flow — £750
Remote Practice — £500

Standard deposit on booking and acceptance is £400, balance due 30th September 2026 apart from 12 month full option where we will offer option to pay remaining balance in two instalments (September 30th 2026 & 31st January 2027).

What Next?

If you’ve read this far, there is likely something here that has already begun to resonate.

Perhaps a sense of recognising your own way of working, or the feeling that your practice has been quietly asking for more time, more return, and a different pace.

The next step is simply a conversation.

Expressions of interest are now open for the first cohort of The River. Completing the form is not a commitment, but a way of beginning to explore whether this programme feels like the right fit, both for you and for the group as it takes shape.

From there, we can continue the dialogue, look more closely at the structure, the rhythm, and what the year might hold, and decide together whether this is the right moment to begin.

You can express your interest here:

There is no expectation to have everything fully formed.

Only a sense that you are ready to stay with something a little longer, and see what might begin to emerge.