Emily Anne Peasgood (born 1981 in
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...
, Lincolnshire) is an
Ivors Composer Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy, formerly called the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, a ...
winning English composer and
sound artist
Sound art is an artistic activity in which sound is utilized as a primary time-based medium or material. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art may be interdisciplinary in nature, or be used in hybrid forms. According to Brandon LaBelle, ...
.
Peasgood creates research-led and site specific interactive artworks for galleries and outdoor public spaces, ranging from large-scale community events to intimate sound installations. Peasgood is best known for her work in outdoor public locations with specific communities of people, often using innovative technology and design that visitors can interact with. Her work has been described as magical, evocative and memorable.
Peasgood was profiled by the
i as the Hip Op Composer. In 2017 Peasgood delivered the
TEDx
TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...
Folkestone talk "Emily! Don't do that!".
Peasgood was awarded a PhD by
Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) is a Public university, public research university located in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teacher training in 1962, it was granted university status in 2005.
...
for her thesis ''Leading with Aesthetic: Creating Accessible, Inclusive and Engaging Musical Artworks Through Experimental Processes in the Community''. Peasgood is a composition tutor at
Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) is a Public university, public research university located in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teacher training in 1962, it was granted university status in 2005.
...
. Peasgood is a co-author of ''The Work of the Military Wives Choirs'' and ''The perceived effects of singing on the health and well-being of wives and partners of members of the British Armed Forces: a cross-sectional survey''.
Sound Sculpture
In 2023 British Library commissioned Peasgood to create a listening desk as legacy for
Unlocking Our Sound Heritage
'Unlocking Our Sound Heritage' (UOSH) is a UK-wide project that aims to preserve, digitise and provide public access to a large part of the nation's sound heritage. The UOSH project forms part of the core programme 'Save Our Sounds' led by the Br ...
.
Works
In 2014, Peasgood created ''Landscapes'' a choral work responding to the landscape artworks of
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...
and
Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 – December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s u ...
. It premiered at the exhibition ''Making Painting: J.M.W. Turner and Helen Frankenthaler'' at
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
.
In 2016 Peasgood premiered ''Lifted'' at
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
. In the same year she premiered ''BIRDS'', a sung and spoken word piece observing feminine ritual and behaviour through the lens of a documentary film narrator and ''Crossing Over'', a piece commissioned by
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
to premier as part of its event commemorating the
Zong massacre
The ''Zong'' massacre was a mass killing of more than 130 enslaved African people by the crew of the British slave ship ''Zong'' over several days from 29 November 1781. The William Gregson slave-trading syndicate, based in Liverpool, owned ...
as depicted on
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...
's painting ''
The Slave Ship
''The Slave Ship'', originally titled ''Slavers Throwing overboard the Dead and Dying—Typhon coming on'', is a painting by the British artist J. M. W. Turner, first exhibited at The Royal Academy of Arts in 1840.
Measuring in oil on can ...
'' (1840).
Peasgood's ''Halfway to Heaven'' won the prize for Sonic Art at the 2018
British Composer Awards
The Ivors Academy (formerly known as British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy works to protect and support and also campaigns the int ...
(renamed the
Ivors Composer Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy, formerly called the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, a ...
). In the same year, the "eerily evocative" ''Requiem for Cross Bones'' featured at MERGE
Bankside
Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befo ...
and Peasgood created ''The Illusion of Conscious Thought'' for the
East Hill Cliff Railway
East Hill Cliff Railway, or East Hill Lift, is a funicular railway located in the English seaside town of Hastings. It provides access to Hastings Country Park via the East Hill, which overlooks the Old Town and Rock-a-Nore, an area to the ...
and
West Hill Cliff Railway
The West Hill Cliff Railway, or West Hill Lift, is a funicular, funicular railway located in the England, English seaside town of Hastings. It runs largely in tunnel, and provides access to Hastings Castle and St Clement's Caves from George S ...
in
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
as part of the Coastal Currents Arts Festival.
In 2019 ''Never Again'' was nominated for an Ivors Composer Award in the category of Community or Educational Project. In 2017 Peasgood was nominated in the same category for ''BIRDS and other Stories'' and ''Crossing Over''.
Solo exhibitions
*''Sound at Sea'',
God's House Tower
God's House Tower is a late 13th century gatehouse into the old town of Southampton, England. It stands at the south-east corner of the town walls and permitted access to the town from the Platform and Town Quay. It is now an arts and heritage ...
,
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, UK. Commissioned by a space arts, date TBC.
*''Living Sound'' and ''Sidney Cooper's Living Room'', Sidney Cooper Gallery,
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
, Kent, UK. A collection of recent works including a new commission ''Sidney Cooper's Living Room'' to celebrate the 150-year anniversary of the gallery. 12 January – 23 February 2019.
Public art
*''I would rather walk with you'', West Wing Battery at
Fort Burgoyne
Fort Burgoyne, originally known as Castle Hill Fort, was built in the 1860s as one of the Palmerston Forts, Dover, Palmerston forts around Dover in southeast England. It was built to a polygonal system with detached eastern and western redoubts, ...
,
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
, UK. Commissioned for Pioneering Places by the
Land Trust
Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which th ...
. Permanent, available from August 2021, date TBC.
*''Katherine'',
St Clement's Church, Old Romney
St Clement's Church is an Anglicanism, Anglican church, in the village of Old Romney, Kent, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
The church is dedicated to Pope Clement I, Saint Clement, a successor to Saint Peter at Rome.Anne Roper. ''The G ...
. A murder mystery in sound and music. Commissioned by Art in Romney Marsh. 21 September – 13 October 2019.
*''Smack Boys'', Sailor's Church, Military Road,
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...
, Kent, UK. Sound installation commissioned for Ramsgate Festival of Sound. 21–28 July 2019.
*''The Illusion of Conscious Thought'',
East Hill Cliff Railway
East Hill Cliff Railway, or East Hill Lift, is a funicular railway located in the English seaside town of Hastings. It provides access to Hastings Country Park via the East Hill, which overlooks the Old Town and Rock-a-Nore, an area to the ...
,
West Hill Cliff Railway
The West Hill Cliff Railway, or West Hill Lift, is a funicular, funicular railway located in the England, English seaside town of Hastings. It runs largely in tunnel, and provides access to Hastings Castle and St Clement's Caves from George S ...
,
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
, Sussex, UK. Two-part sound installation 'up' and 'down' movements that comment on social mobility and regeneration in contrasting parts of
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
. Commissioned by Greig Burgoyne and Sweet and Dandy for Coastal Current Arts Festival. 1–30 September 2018.
*''Requiem for Cross Bones'', Crossbones Garden, Redcross Way, London Bridge, London, UK. Interactive sound installation on a post-medieval burial site. Commissioned by Illuminate Productions and Better Bankside for MERGE
Bankside
Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befo ...
in partnership with Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST) and Tate Modern. June – July 2018.
*''Halfway to Heaven'', Bradstone Road Burial Ground,
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...
, Kent, UK. Interactive synchronised sound installation and choral work. Commissioned by The Creative Foundation for Folkestone Triennial, 2017, curated by Lewis Biggs. 2 September – 5 November 2017.
*''LIFTED'',
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
, Kent, UK. Choral work performed inside public lifts, with different movements for each floor. Funded by
Arts Council England
Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...
in partnership with
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
. 17 January 2016.
*''Landscapes'',
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
, Kent, UK. 4-part accessible song cycle and synthesis of art forms for community choir, visitors and deaf audiences. Inspired by the art of
Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 – December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s u ...
and
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...
. Created in partnership with
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
for the exhibition ''Making Painting: Helen Frankenhaler and J.M.W. Turner''. 16 April 2014.
Community artworks
*''Cambridge North Folk Song Project'',
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
. Commissioned by Brookgate and
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
. Community art project resulting in the creation of 36 folk songs and verses published in a copyright free songbook available at no cost, date TBC.
*''Never Again'',
Strood Railway Station
Strood railway station serves the town of Strood in Medway, England. It is on the North Kent Line and is also a terminus of the Medway Valley Line. It is down the line from .
Train services are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink.
Hist ...
,
Southeastern (train operating company)
SE Trains Limited, Trade name, trading as Southeastern, is a British train operating company owned by DfT Operator for the Department for Transport, that took over operating the South Eastern franchise in South East England from privately owne ...
and
Chatham Historic Dockyard
The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former Royal Navy Dockyard, royal/naval dockyard at Chatham, Medway, Chatham in Kent, South East England.
Chatham Dockyard covered 400 acres (1.6 km2) and was o ...
, Kent, UK. 9-part song cycle for community choir, speaking voice and archival sound recordings. Commissioned by Ideas Test for Sea Folk Sing, a SparkedEcho production to commemorate the WW1 centenary of
Armistice Day
Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between th ...
. Various performances on 10,11, 16 and 17 November 2018.
*''VOICE100'',
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
, Kent, UK. Beat poem featuring the recorded voices of 100 women, men and children aged 5 – 98 in Thanet, Kent. Commissioned by POW! Festival for International Women's Day, 7 March 2018.
*''BIRDS and other Stories'',
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
, Kent, UK. Collaborative community project resulting in an experimental choral work and graphic score, and an exhibition of stories from 30 members of the public. Commissioned by POW! Festival to celebrate International Women's Day. 11 March 2017.
*''Crossing Over'',
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
, Kent, UK. Part of an event commemorating the
Zong massacre
The ''Zong'' massacre was a mass killing of more than 130 enslaved African people by the crew of the British slave ship ''Zong'' over several days from 29 November 1781. The William Gregson slave-trading syndicate, based in Liverpool, owned ...
as depicted in
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...
's painting ''
The Slave Ship
''The Slave Ship'', originally titled ''Slavers Throwing overboard the Dead and Dying—Typhon coming on'', is a painting by the British artist J. M. W. Turner, first exhibited at The Royal Academy of Arts in 1840.
Measuring in oil on can ...
'' (1840). 29 November 2016.
*BIRDS,
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
and Resort Studios,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
, Kent, UK. Commissioned by POW! Festival to celebrate International Women's Day. March 2016.
Collaborative works
* 2021: ''Beacons'', Sunny Sands Beach,
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...
, Kent, UK. Collaborative and interactive experimental choral performance ritual to celebrate the end of a treasure-hunt that invited members of public to collect sea gooseberries to bring along. Collaboration between scenographer Alison Neighbour, interactive technologist Tarim and Peasgood as composer. March 2021, date TBC.
*''Jeremy Deller's English Magic ft. Emily Peasgood, Melodians Steel Orchestra and the Big Sing''.
Arrangements of popular songs for community steel orchestra and community choir. Commissioned by Sounds Like Art and
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
for the exhibition Jeremy Deller's English Magic. 11 October 2014.
*''Collective Spirit – The Boat Project'',
Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary is an art gallery in Margate, Kent, England, intended as a contemporary arts space and catalyst for the regeneration of the town. The title commemorates the association of the town with noted landscape painter J. M. W. Turne ...
,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
, Kent, UK. Collective Spirit is a boat created for the 2012 London Cultural Olympiad, made from donated family heirlooms and parts of UK history. To celebrate its arrival at Margate Harbour, Peasgood was commissioned by Parrabbola to create an arrangement of
Megan Henwood's song ''Collective Spirit'' for Regents Brass Band and The Big Sing community choir. 14 July 2012.
References
External links
* Emily Peasgood official website: https://emilypeasgood.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peasgood, Emily
1981 births
People from Grimsby
English composers
Living people