walk into summer | Sundays, March - June 2021 — 10 AM PDT | 6 PM BST
Presented by virtual care lab, Stephanie Whitelaw and Olha Pryymak
Spring equinox: Sunday 21st March – 6-8.30pm UK BST / 10am-12.30pm PDT
Beltane: Sunday 2nd May – 6-8.30pm UK BST / 10am-12.30pm PDT
Summer Solstice: Sunday 20th of June – UK BST 6-8.30pm / US PDT 10am-12.30pm

Inspired by their previous gathering series "Synchronise" and "Steeps and Spells," artists Stephanie Whitelaw and Olha Pryymak will together guide walk into summer, a cycle of pilgrim walks and tea sessions.

The three gatherings in this series offer a synchronised pilgrimage from spring into summer, following the ecotherapeutic guidance and ritual cycle practiced by the artists to date. We begin at the spring equinox (20 March), pass through Beltane (2 May, the season’s midpoint), and arrive at the summer solstice (21 June).

Following the earth on its pilgrimage around the sun, walk into summer is an invitation to walk and engage with seasonal unfoldings, within and out-with ourselves. We will seek sensory encounters with nature, acknowledging the plants and other beings we meet along the way. The workshops will braid themes of renewal and growth as we stepedge closer to the longest day of the year.

Synchronised alone and together, sharing the same Earth under our feet, we will journey singularly through distant spaces held within the same timeframe. We will open with a brief virtual circle to meet and ground ourselves, and then set forth on a long, screenless walk guided by Stephanie’s careful instructions. Participants will be invited to begin the walk at home or outdoors (in which case we advise checking in to zoom with your phone)

We will conclude with a virtual circle over a cup of tea. The gathering will offer a holding space for sharing our walk and plant stories.

We advise nettle tea for these gatherings, but any kind of tea may be used. Olha will also mail tea materials ahead of time, for the Beltane and Solstice walks.

We encourage you to attend all three gatherings as a cycle, though it’s not required.

About the hosts: Stephanie Whitelaw is a walking artist and eco-therapist. Her art practice cultivates personal engagements with local landscapes, both physical and digital, encouraging a deeper sense of understanding. Exploring themes of otherness, her work cultivates reciprocal dialogues with nature through walking, site-responsive art and object making.

Olha Pryymak’s work is driven by a deep curiosity in the plant-human relationships, rooted in her heritage of Ukrainian folk herbalism. Using oil paint as a meditative tool to explore this interdependence, her paintings usually emerge from staged encounters with plants in the form of participatory events – part Ukrainian peasant healer seance, part tea ceremony.

virtual care lab is a series of experiments in remote connection, in partnership with NAVEL. Reach out at virtualcarelab@gmail.com, or @virtualcarelab on IG or Twitter.