To These Hills

Rosie May Jones is a multidisciplinary artist and poet, specialising in spoken word and place-responsive performance. Rosie was selected for our 3 month artist residency Incubate in partnership with the National Trust. Immersing herself within Leith Hill Place and the surrounding landscape, Rosie May Jones created a collection of poetry and performance.tive research and inviting the public to take part in participatory workshops to develop her inquiry: ‘How do we shape our identities through our relationship to the land?’

During the first month of the residency at Leith Hill Place Rosie focused on research. She collected interviews and uncovered stories from visitors and local people through walks, workshops and open studio events. Rosie documented this research and development through poetry and photography.

This work culminated in performances in the local landscape and at the Being Human Festival at Leith Hill Place and the Surrey Hills Symposium at the University of Surrey.

‘A highlight of the residency was connecting to this place where I grew up, where I’d never done a project before. Returning to this place and connecting to the land and the landscape. Giving myself the reason to just explore and immerse myself in the hills, in a landscape that’s been on my doorstep that maybe I’ve overlooked’.   

Rosie May Jones, 2024

Read some of Rosie’s poems: A Fallen Oak Becoming Animal Gunpowder Mills

View performance films: Gunpowder Mills and Landmarks

Rosie May Jones received a further commission from the Surrey Hills National Landscape to create a poem for the future Surrey Hills. As part of her research, Rosie read responses from hundreds of people when asked about their personal vision for our future landscape. You can read this here: Year Twenty One Hundred