Nature Calling Conversations #4: Matt Rosier and Matthew Shaw

Matt Rosier has been working on his project Luton Henge for the past ten months, spending time with the people of Luton to develop a new community monument, a space for celebrations, leisure and contemplation.

Matt creates public installations within communities and landscapes across the country. His practice often involves the public in both the creation process and finished work, embedding himself in communities and places. His work has been installed in public spaces in London, Paris, Austin, and Tokyo; shown at the Design Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; nominated as one of the Design Museum’s Designs of the Year; and awarded the Active Public Space Award, the London Contemporary Art Prize Public Vote Award, and the Museum + Heritage Innovation Award.

Matthew Shaw is a co-founder of Stone Club, a community set up to explore pre-history and ancient sites through events, talks and walks. They run a regular night at The Social and pop up events across the UK. He is an artist, writer and poet. Matthew has written for Caught by the River, Resurgence & Ecologist, Permaculture magazine and The Great Outdoors magazine. His book Atmosphere of Mona, a collection of poetry and photography was published in 2020. He has worked on performances and art installations for a variety of places including Barbican, Charleston House, Bryn Celli Ddu, Barclodiad y Gawres, Glastonbury Festival and Sea Change Festival.

Matt and Matthew expect their conversation to cover why we still feel the draw of ancient sites; how marking moments within the year helps to calm and connect us with each other and with the land, and why that’s important; and why they think a new ‘ancient’ site like Luton Henge has inspired a local community drawn from all backgrounds, and their hopes for the development of the site.