As part of a country-wide tour, a 14-foot-high illuminated Peace Poem by artist and poet Robert Montgomery will be parking up at Rothbury Hall in Greenwich from 6th – 13th December, 10am - 7pm (not 9th & 10th). The mobile artwork is the start of Paper Peace, a year-long programme of art and events from renowned outdoor arts company, Emergency Exit Arts.

Robert Montgomery is a Scottish-born, poet, artist and sculptor known for his spectacular site-specific installations created from light and text, which he has exhibited across Europe and Asia including outside the Southbank Centre on National Poetry Day in 2015.

Robert Montgomery’s artwork, a striking illuminated Peace Poem mounted on a mobile platform, has been seen by thousands as it travels along motorways to towns and cities across England. In each destination, partners that include arts and heritage organisations, local museums and archives have been picking up the baton for the next stage of the project, a national creative heritage project exploring post WWI archives using the collections of regional heritage partners.

The Peace Poem’s tour can be followed using Emergency Exit Arts’ live online tracker

Local museums and archivists will share their collections related to peace acts throughout history with the public, who will be invited to take part in a variety of activities exploring ways of achieving peace globally as well as building peace within their communities, and to share personal experiences of conflict and peace. The National Partners are Creative Scene, Dewsbury; B Arts, Stoke on Trent; City Arts, Nottingham; and Vivacity, Peterborough. Heritage partners led by The Peace Museum (Bradford) are joined by the Museum of the Mercian Regiment (Nottingham), Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery and Mid Staffordshire Military Appeals Tribunal Index. Through Paper Peace, these important archives and oral histories will be brought together in a central digital archive and learning resource.

Speaking about Paper Peace, in the year we commemorate the 1918 Armistice, Emergency Exit Arts Artistic Director Deb Mullins said “It has been an extraordinary ten days touring the Peace Poem across the UK and visiting our national partners. The Peace Poem was seen by thousands of people on the roads and when it was installed in high streets and market places where people of all ages contributed their messages and peace pledges on white paper doves. It was a real privilege to listen to people tell their stories of peace building, from individual actions taking people around the world on peace keeping missions to working towards a more harmonious and peaceful community in their towns and cities. In several places the Paper Peace Poem inspired interactions with young people at poetry slams and workshops. We are now installing the poem outside Emergency Exit Arts’ home at Rothbury Hall to share the poem with Londoners. We would love to hear your peace stories, share them with us on #paperpeace”.

Founded in 1980, Emergency Exit Arts (EEA) began as an artists’ collective born out of a desire to radically transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Its projects delve into every form of public spectacle and include technically sophisticated light, water and firework displays, carnivals and street processions, large-scale animal puppets, mechanical contraptions and site-specific theatrical experiences. The company is at the forefront of learning and activism, taking their installations to schools, heritage sites and local communities across the country and has included appearances at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, at the Royal Shakespeare Company and for the GLA amongst others. At a time of social and political change the company aspires to make a positive difference to people’s lives, particularly those who are discriminated against and those living in economically excluded communities across London and the UK. Now a registered charity and one of the Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations, EEA has evolved into the reputable outdoor arts company it is today, still pioneering and still inspiring change through creativity.

Robert Montgomery is a Scottish-born, London-based poet, artist and sculptor regarded as a leading figure in the conceptual art world. Known for his site-specific installations created from light and text, as well as his 'fire poems', he stands out by bringing a poetic voice to the discourse of text art. He was the British artist selected for the 2012 Kochi Biennale and the 2016 Yinchuan Biennale. In 2012 he installed peace poems at the old Templehof Airport in Berlin. Along with the architects Allied Works he was a shortlisted finalist for the UK National Holocaust Memorial in 2017 with the scheme exhibited at the V&A Museum in London. He has a solo show upcoming at the Aspen Art Museum in January 2019.

@EEALondon|#PaperPeace|Emergency Exit Arts

For further information, please contact Rosie Bauer on rosie@mobiusindustries.com, 0203 195 6269.

Paper Peace is made possible with support from Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund and investment from four regional partners, Creative Scene, B-Arts, City Arts and Vivacity.