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Cement Fields

@cementfields

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Cement Fields is a visual art organisation working across North Kent.

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Big news! 💌 We are delighted to announce that the National Lottery Community Fund have awarded £678,500 to Cement Fields for the continued delivery of ‘Intertidal Allotment’, a long-term project by artist Andrew Merritt, creating a functional artwork and world-first shoreline community allotment on the Isle of Sheppey.

The funding, granted via the Climate Action Fund, will support ‘Intertidal Allotment’ from 2026-31, enabling the development of a series of growing plots — including shingle, salt-marsh, and estuarine — to explore the abundant growing and harvesting potential of intertidal and supratidal zones.

The project aims to build climate resilience, support local food production, revive and cultivate new eating habits, restore coastal biodiversity and develop new forms of land stewardship.

By 2031, the Allotment will be a community-owned, co-managed series of plots with skilled local caretakers and an established local food supply, and provide the blueprint for a new modular and sustainable system that can be replicated in other coastal locations. 🤝🪏🌊

🗓️ Talking Intertidal: Conversation and Book Launch

Join us this Saturday in Whitstable for a conversation between Andrew Merritt and architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol (@chatpongc) of @chatarchitects, as they discuss their reciprocal residencies in the UK and Thailand as part of ’Intertidal Exchange’. This shared research has explored how they are using informal architecture, sustainable building practices, and community action to respond to climate change in each unique coastal setting.

We will also be celebrating the launch of ‘Intertidal Allotment: A Work in Progress’, a new publication examining the key steps taken over the last five years developing the project from the seed of an idea to a functioning prototype on the Sheppey coastline. Free copies will be available.📗

→ Saturday 20 June, 2-4pm
→ @thehorsebridge, Whitstable
→ Free to attend, booking required via our bio

Lots more news to come. Stay tuned! by @cementfields

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a month ago

Join us this Saturday to celebrate the launch of ‘Intertidal Allotment: A Work In Progress’ with an in-conversation between artist Andrew Merritt and Thai architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol (@chatarchitects) as part of ‘Intertidal Exchange’. 📚🌟

Part guidebook, part journal, the publication looks at what’s happened so far in our exploratory journey creating the world’s first ‘Intertidal Allotment’.

🌱 ‘Part One: Seeding’ begins with walking, talking and eating with people on Sheppey to understand its unique ecology and what an Intertidal Allotment might mean to them. It then visualises how Andrew’s design process developed in response to this, and the traditional allotment practice of upcycling found materials.

👐 ‘Part Two: Tending’ sees us testing materials and fabricating prototypes with local friends before working with the necessary council and environmental bodies to install these first prototypes on our chosen site. It shares a timeline of the regular reports we received from our Caretaker James Buttenshaw and marine biologist Ian Tittley, who were closely monitoring the structures to see what species were growing on and inhabiting them.

🍽️ ‘Part Three: Harvesting’ presents recipes for future allotment harvests from @cherrytruluck & @luciathewildkitchen, bringing to life the culinary opportunities that Intertidal Allotment could yield. We conclude by digesting our learnings so far and looking ahead to our hopes for the project.

→ Talking Intertidal: Conversation and Book Launch
→ Saturday 20 June, 2-4pm
→ @thehorsebridge, Whitstable
→ Free to attend, booking required via our bio

Free copies of the publication will be available and everyone is invited to join us for drinks nearby after the conversation. 🥂

A huge thank you to @polytechnic for helping us fit five years of work into 64 pages and to the contributors:
Andrew Merritt @somethingandson
Emma Leach
Amelia Sharp @milz_____
Samuel Taylor @s__t____r
Matt Ponsford
Ian Tittley
James Buttenshaw @jamesbuttenshaw_photography
Lucia Stuart
Cherry Truluck
Nicol Vizioli @nicolvizioli
Sam Wainwright @wainwrightsam
Serena Abbondanza @serebondanza by @cementfields

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a month ago

Taking us from field to foreshore, our 26/27 programme deepens our long-term and embodied relationship with sites and species across North Kent.

We will explore the systems that shape everyday concerns — from food, housing and energy infrastructure, to language, and the loss of agency and access to land around us. With local communities, we’ll be considering global issues, sharing knowledge and learning from the mangroves of Thailand to a rainwater basin in Berlin.

You’ll find us mapping waste and the legacies of material extraction, experimenting with traditional crafts and new bio-based materials to explore circular economies and build communal structures and new commons. Digging the soil and sifting sediment to propose alternative approaches to land stewardship, championing food and energy sovereignty. Coming together to witness ecological loss and navigating speech disfluency to explore the possibilities of language.

We continue to think big and work slowly, nurturing resistance, care and learning.

Our wonderful collaborators include: @threeriversbexley @floatinguniversity @cherrytruluck @somethingandson @ideas.test @flimsy.works @ebbsfleetgardencity @theironham @phaedraensemble @farmeramyaction @chatarchitects

Explore our full programme on our newly refreshed website (thanks to the lovely folk at @anendlesssupply) via the link in our bio.

If you’d like to find out more about these projects throughout the year and hear about ways to get involved, join our mailing list too! by @cementfields

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2 months ago

A big thank you to everyone who joined us in a cool, dark room in a very hot, sunny Whitstable to celebrate the launch of ‘Intertidal Allotment: A Work In Progress’ and the culmination of ‘Intertidal Exchange’, with a conversation between Andrew Merritt and Chatpong Chuenrudeemol about their reciprocal residencies in Thailand and North Kent. 🗺️

We heard of the unique root systems of mangrove forests in Chonburi Province, natural sea defence systems installed in the sediment, giant salt barns, makeshift boat bridges and climbing coconut tree trunks. In North Kent, Andy and Chat visited ‘Intertidal Allotment’ prototypes on Sheppey and walked the island, they wandered around Pegwell Bay’s abandoned Hoverport, oyster beds in Whitstable and an allotment tour with Chris in Margate. 🥕

They talked us through the work that got them to this point. For Chat: designing with and for weaving aunties and indigo craftsmen in the Mueang District to create a loom-integrated, open-air workshop and learning studio on stilts, improving their working environment and providing a space to share their precious skills with younger generations. In the historic Angsila fishing village, Chat used Thailand’s informal architecture staple, bamboo, and affordable, readily available materials to construct simple, functional, beautiful coastal infrastructure, supporting local fishermen to revitalise the seafood industry through a new oyster eco-tourism prototype. 🎣

Andrew told us about how his projects use everyday scenarios and social sculptures to reframe and draw attention to environmental issues. ‘Farmshop’, @somethingandson’s decade long installation in a Victorian shop and terrace in London’s Dalston, was an examination of both traditional and contemporary farming methods and food production, such as aquaponics, hydroponics, chickens in a roof coop and mushroom growing in the basement. Converging visual arts, architecture and activism remains a core principle of his practice.

Stay tuned to see how their collaboration develops. 🖇️

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‘Intertidal Exchange’ is supported by the @britishcouncil through their Connections Through Culture grants programme.

Photos: @wainwrightsam by @cementfields

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a month ago

📢 Composer and stammerer Jamie Hamilton is looking for young people (under 18) who stammer to join a free creative workshop in Chatham.

No experience is needed — just curiosity and a willingness to experiment with your voice. The workshops are designed to create a space where young stammerers can come together and explore their voices differently, and where dysfluency is treated as a legitimate part of creative expression.

In a small group, you will work alongside Jamie and other professional musicians through word games, rhythm exercises, collective reading and writing. The workshop will be recorded and your voices will be woven into a new piece of music by Jamie. 🎵

This workshop is part of ‘A Mouth In Search Of A Voice’, a new music and multimedia project by Hamilton and the contemporary classical group @phaedraensemble. The final work will be premiered in October 2026 with live performances @dockyard.chatham and @arnolfiniarts combining the workshop recordings with live music and video.

Workshops have already been delivered to 40 participants aged 16+ in Bristol, London, and online. This new workshop is tailored specifically to young people.

You’ll be working in a small, artist-led group, in a welcoming, stammering-friendly environment. For questions, or for SLTs and services wanting to refer young people, please contact stammerproject@gmail.com

→ ‘A Mouth In Search Of A Voice’ Creative Workshop
→ Saturday 20 June, 1:30-4pm
→ @sunpierhouse, Chatham
→ Free to attend, booking required

Sign up for free via the link in our bio. ✏️

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‘A Mouth In Search Of A Voice’ is commissioned by Cement Fields and Phaedra Ensemble, supported by Arnolfini and @stammauk. It is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through @aceagrams.

Image: Jamie Hamilton, ‘A Mouth In Search Of A Voice’ (London Workshop), 2026. Photo: Saurabh Shivakumar by @cementfields

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2 months ago

Announcing: ‘Intertidal Allotment: A Work In Progress’ 📘

What would it be like to cultivate plant life and food growing in the intertidal zone? ‘Intertidal Allotment: A Work in Progress’ delves into the first five years of artist Andrew Merritt’s attempt to answer this question on the Isle of Sheppey.

Beautifully designed by @polytechnic___, this publication — part guidebook, part journal — records the first steps in the exploratory journey towards establishing the world’s first ‘Intertidal Allotment’. Documenting the steps taken towards growing the seed of an idea into a functioning prototype on the Sheppey coastline, it considers how, with support, communities can respond to climate change through collective stewardship of land, sea, and food systems.

Join us next Saturday to celebrate the launch of the publication with an in-conversation between Andrew and Thai architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol (@chatarchitects) as part of ‘Intertidal Exchange’.

Free copies of the publication will be available.

→ Talking Intertidal: Conversation and Book Launch
→ Saturday 20 June, 2-4pm
→ @thehorsebridge, Whitstable
→ Free to attend, booking required via our bio

With thanks to the publication contributors:
Andrew Merritt @somethingandson
Emma Leach
Amelia Sharp @milz_____
Samuel Taylor @s__t____r
Matt Ponsford
Ian Tittley
James Buttenshaw @jamesbuttenshaw_photography
Lucia Stuart @luciathewildkitchen
Cherry Truluck @cherrytruluck
Nicol Vizioli @nicolvizioli
Sam Wainwright @wainwrightsam
Serena Abbondanza @serebondanza

Raise a toast with us next Saturday! 🥂

More images of the printed publication follow...

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‘Intertidal Allotment’ is a long term project by Andrew Merritt, commissioned by North Kent visual arts organisation Cement Fields. This stage of the project has been generously supported using public funding by @aceagrams, by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and The National Lottery Community Fund through their Climate Action Fund. It has been delivered in partnership with @ideas.test, @swaleboroughcouncil, @kcc_kent, @sheppey.matters, and @unikentlive’s School of Anthropology and Conservation. by @cementfields

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2 months ago

Just one more week to apply for our ’Sensing Loss’ Open Call! 🍃

‘Sensing Loss’ is a collaboration between Cement Fields, Floating University Berlin (@floatinguniversity), and Three Rivers (@threeriversbexley) exploring ecological loss across sites in the UK and Germany.

It is an open call for activists, community organisers, artists, and individuals in Bexley and North Kent who are directly engaged with – and affected by – processes of ecological loss and environmental degradation in their local contexts.

The programme includes seven workshops (five online and two in-person), alongside a trip to visit Floating University Berlin in Germany. The workshops will create space for participants to share their experiences, reflect collectively, and connect with artists and practitioners across different fields.

We are searching for five participants who will join the ‘Sensing Loss’ project from June till December 2026. Participants will be provided with a participation fee, with international travel and accommodation costs covered by the programme.

To express your interest in joining the project, complete the form linked in our bio by Monday 15 June 2026. 📮

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‘Sensing Loss’ is funded by Cultural Bridge (@culturalbridgenetwork), which celebrates bilateral artistic partnerships between the UK and Germany through the collaboration between Arts Council England, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, British Council, Creative Scotland, Fonds Soziokultur, Goethe-Institut London, and Wales Arts International / Arts Council of Wales.

Image: ‘Beneath the Pavement, The Marshes’ (A Journey Through the Lagoon with Pietro Consolandi and Three Rivers), 2024. Photo: @sssarahwhite_ by @cementfields

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2 months ago

Back in March, artist Andrew Merritt (@somethingandson) and architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol (@chatarchitects) met in Bangkok for the first part of their 'Intertidal Exchange'. ⁠
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From the Mae Klong River to the mangroves around Samut Songkhram, Chat introduced Andy to Thailand's unique coastal landscapes and shared how his work responds to these contexts, drawing new connections between their two practices. 🌱⁠
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If you'd like to hear more about their exchange, join us in Whitstable on Saturday 20 June for a conversation between Andrew and Chatpong.

Coming at the end of Chatpong's visit to the UK, they will expand upon their collaboration and what they have learnt through their time together. ⁠
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We'll also be celebrating the launch of 'Intertidal Allotment: A Work in Progress' — a new publication exploring the first phase of our long-term project with Andrew on the Isle of Sheppey.⁠
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Book a free ticket now via the link in our bio.⁠

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‘Intertidal Exchange’ is supported by the @britishcouncil through their Connections Through Culture grants programme.

Video courtesy of Matt Kebbell (@mattkebbell). by @cementfields

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2 months ago

Join us for a conversation between artist Andrew Merritt (of @somethingandson) and architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol (@chatarchitects) as they discuss their ongoing collaboration, ‘Intertidal Exchange’, and to celebrate the launch of ‘Intertidal Allotment: A Work in Progress’ — a new publication exploring the first phase of our long-term project with Andrew on the Isle of Sheppey.

Throughout 2026, ‘Intertidal Exchange’ has brought Andrew and Chatpong together through reciprocal residencies in the UK and Thailand to explore their parallel work in coastal areas. This shared research has explored how, through informal architecture, sustainable building practices, and community action, they are responding to climate change in each unique setting.

Coming at the culmination of their exchange, this event will open up their collaboration, discussing their process, and the learnings and outcomes they’ve discovered along the way. 🗒️

We are also coming together to celebrate the public launch of our new publication, ‘Intertidal Allotment: A Work in Progress’. Part guidebook, part journal, it covers the key steps taken over five years developing the project from the seed of an idea to a functioning prototype on the Sheppey coastline.

‘Intertidal Allotment’ takes inspiration from the traditional allotment form and expands it into the intertidal zone – the area of the seashore that is covered at high tide and uncovered at low tide – where tidal movements create a unique belt of biodiversity.

There will be a limited number of copies of the free publication available and, following the conversation, everyone is invited to join us for drinks nearby to celebrate its launch.

→ Talking Intertidal: Conversation and Book Launch
→ Saturday 20 June, 2-4pm
→ The Horsebridge, Whitstable

Book for free via the link in our bio. 💧

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‘Intertidal Exchange’ is supported by the @britishcouncil through their Connections Through Culture grants programme. ‘Intertidal Allotment’ is currently supported by The National Lottery Community Fund through their Climate Action Fund. The project has also been kindly supported by the National Lottery through @aceagrams. by @cementfields

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2 months ago

We are delighted to announce that ‘A Year Long Feast: The Hoo Heddern’ has been awarded the Whose Hoo Community Grant, enabling artist and food systems researcher Cherry Truluck (@cherrytruluck) to bring the next chapter of the project to life. 🌱

Between May and November, Cherry will work with farmers, growers, and seasonal fruit pickers on the Hoo Peninsula to explore how local communities can play an active role in the stewardship of food, land and place in response to the erosion of rural knowledge.

Collaborating with @myattsofmockbeggar Farm Shop, Church Farm, and the Hoo Farmers Cluster, two Kitchen Table events will bring together farmers, seasonal workers and the communities around them to reflect on historic, transient and insurgent food practices - sharing meals, memories and practical knowledge to imagine new food futures for Hoo. In the Autumn, Cherry will host a Harvest Feast celebrating the end of the harvest and the stories, recipes and ingredients collected in the Heddern throughout the year.

Taking its name from the Saxon name for a storeroom, the ‘Hoo Heddern’ is a travelling ‘library’ of food, housed in a mobile trailer. Cherry is working with local residents to fill the Heddern with stories, recipes, oral histories, seeds, ingredients, and fragments of lived knowledge. Gathered and archived season by season, these contributions form a living almanac – a vital record of what grows here, what is remembered here, and how food binds people to place over time.

Sign up to our monthly mailer via our bio to hear more about the 2026 ‘A Year Long Feast: The Hoo Heddern’ programme. 🪏

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‘A Year Long Feast: The Hoo Heddern’ has been commissioned by Cement Fields and supported by Medway Council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Whose Hoo Community Grant (@whose.hoo.project), made possible by @heritagefunduk and National Lottery players.

Photo: @wainwrightsam by @cementfields

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2 months ago

‘Sensing Loss’ is a collaboration between Cement Fields, Floating University Berlin (@floatinguniversity), and Three Rivers (@threeriversbexley) exploring ecological loss across sites in the UK and Germany.

This is an open call for activists, community organisers, artists, and individuals in Bexley and North Kent who are directly engaged with – and affected by – processes of ecological loss and environmental degradation in their local contexts.

The programme includes seven workshops (five online and two in-person), alongside a trip to visit Floating University Berlin in Germany. The workshops will create space for participants to share their experiences, reflect collectively, and connect with artists and practitioners across different fields.

We are searching for five participants who will join the ‘Sensing Loss’ project from June till December 2026. Participants will be provided with a participation fee, with international travel and accommodation costs covered by the programme.

To express your interest in joining the project, complete the form linked in our bio by 15 June 2026. We look forward to hearing from you. 📢

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‘Sensing Loss’ is funded by Cultural Bridge (@culturalbridgenetwork), which celebrates bilateral artistic partnerships between the UK and Germany through the collaboration between Arts Council England, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, British Council, Creative Scotland, Fonds Soziokultur, Goethe-Institut London, and Wales Arts International / Arts Council of Wales. by @cementfields

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2 months ago

A reminder that the deadline to apply for our Intertidal Allotment Associate Curator role is 9am Monday 18 May. ✍️

We are recruiting for an exciting and vital freelance role at the heart of the long-term project with artist Andrew Merritt which continues to create a world-first shoreline community allotment on the Isle of Sheppey.

The Associate Curator will be responsible for supporting deep and meaningful local engagement and the transition to community ownership. At the centre of the project, they will act as the main point of contact and coordination for the Friends of Intertidal Allotment, ensuring that they are embedded with all aspects of the project, and coordinate a programme of accessible activities providing a welcoming first step into the project for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Find the full recruitment pack in our bio. 🖇️

Photo: Nicol Vizioli by @cementfields

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