An art farm based in rural east Suffolk is developing international links in a bid to build cultural connections with other parts of the world.
Farmer, artist and curator Jason Gathorne-Hardy, of White House Farm, Great Glemham, near Saxmundham, chose the county's cherry farming heritage as the theme for an exhibition called Suffolk Sakura - the Japanese word for cherry blossom.
Visitors to the show - held in early September - included guest of honour Minister Takeshi Ito, from the Japanese Embassy Information and Cultural Centre. The event was also attended by Tomoko Uchimoto from The Hokkaido Shimbun Press London Bureau in Japan.
Displays of paintings by Emma Green and silk scarves created by textile artist Jenny Nutbeem were "a real joy" to co-ordinate, said Jason. "Emma has been painting blossom on flowering cherries at the farm for the past five to six years and Jenny has been creating naturally printed and dyed Sakura scarves since 2021," he explained.
East Suffolk artist Emma Green painted Jason's collection of more than 50 flowering cherry trees throughout the blossoming seasons of 2021 and 2022 as part of the Collingwood Ingram Blossom Residency.
White House Farm is home to the Alde Valley Spring Festival and the Galloper-Sands gallery, featuring the works of numerous artists. Following the pandemic, Jason decided to develop the farm as a hub of international collaboration.
It has hosted a wide range of international writers as part of an ongoing Writing At Great Glemham residency programme. They include John Bengan - recipient of the David TK Wong fellowship at School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia - and Nepalese poet and songwriter Ghan Thapa.
“Having had the good fortune to work internationally on community owned development projects, particularly at the intersection of food, cultural heritage and the visual arts, it feels especially important to both retrieve and rekindle international connections at this time – in response to Brexit and post Covid, in the face of growing environmental and social challenges," said Mr Gathorne_Hardy.
Journalist and writer Naoko Abe was also guest of honour during the final weekend of Suffolk Sakura. The author wrote best-selling biography 'Cherry' Ingram - The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s Blossoms.
The inspiration for the Suffolk Sakura event was the farm's cherry orchard, said Jason.
"By chance, the trees were most likely planted under the instruction on an ancestor of mine in the late 19th century - and this curious and rather magical reality prompted me to further explore the world of flowering cherries, with the help of Naoko Abe and the writer Tim Richardson," he explained.
"Post Brexit, it feels especially important to foster cross-cultural and international connections. With Naoko’s help, we are exploring the creation of a cherry park at the farm in celebration of a living cherry saviour or guardian, Mr Masatoshi Asari from Matsumae in Hokkaido.
"Mr Asari, like Ingram, seems to be another extraordinary man - a teacher who has dedicated much of his life to creating new ‘Matsumae’ cherry varieties and sharing them around the world in the spirit of peace, mutual understanding and reconciliation.
"His varieties include Prunus Matsumae-Fuki (Chocolate Ice) and Prunus Matsumae Shizuka (Fragrant Cloud). We already have growing both varieties growing at the farm - and hope to welcome many more in the coming years."
He hopes to start planting trees at White House Far this winter - and possibly create a Matsumae Cherry Park in the future.
The artists' work can be viewed online at www.galloper-sands.co.uk
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