Writtle Calling / 2EmmaToc

87.7 FM (local area only) Online (writtlecalling.co.uk)

Daily broadcasts: 6 – 7.30pm Public event: Saturday 15 September, 6.30 – 11pm

A radio station broadcasting 11 – 18 September 2012 from Writtle, Essex

Participating artists

Action Pyramid, All Saints Bellringers, Peter Appleton, Kevin Atherton, Brandon Le Belle, Pablo Bronstein, Ronald Blythe, Edwin Burdis, Clout!, David R Conroy, Benedict Drew, Guy Gormley, Jonathan Griffin, Gwyneth Jones, Kwesachu, Heather Phillipson, Cathy Lane, Mark Leckey, David Levy, Kieron Livingstone, Longmeg, Radio Resonance Orchestra, Roger Luckhurst, Andrew McGettigan, Fabian Peake, Katrina Palmer, Hannah Sawtell, Richard Scott, David Toop, Top Nice, Jonny Trunk, Tim Wander, Marina Warner, Jonathan P Watts, Tom Woolner, Writtle Voices and Jan Zalasiewicz.

About

Writtle Calling / 2EmmaToc is a temporary radio stationby artist Melissa Appleton and architectural practice Post–Works which will broadcast from the Essex landscape during September 2012. The station will host a series oflive broadcasts by artists, writers, musicians and scientists with a public event on Saturday 15th September.

The radio structure will be located near to the site of the original 2EmmaToc station, which broadcast from Writtle in 1922. Transmitting under the call sign 2EmmaToc, the 1922 radio station broadcast live performances every Tuesday evening from an ex-army hut in the fields around the village. 2EmmaToc was the first regular UK radio station and is regarded as the birth of British broadcasting.

The 2012 radio structure takes its form from the original hut and agricultural vernaculars sampled from the local area. Imagined as a ruin, the radio structure will act as a vehicle of content, broadcasting transmissions from the past, present and future. Through the transmission of live performances, the physical limits of the radio structureare extended through the ephemera of radio waves.

Location

The structure will be sited in the grounds of Writtle College, Essex, a 5 minute walk from Writtle Village and 2 miles from Chelmsford, Essex.

Writtle College, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 3RR (Map)

By train — trains run from London Liverpool Street to Chelmsford, Essex taking 30 minutes (3 – 4 per hour). The college is a 10 minute taxi ride or 30 minute bus ride from Chelmsford Station.

By car — Writtle College is 15 minutes drive from the M25 with ample parking on site.

Saturday 15 September

On Saturday 15 September, the content will be curated for a public field audience at the structure as well as a radio audience. A coach will provide transport between London and the radio structure. Pick up 5pm, Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green, E2 9PA, return at 10.30pm. Please email writtlecalling@gmail.com to reserve a place (tickets £8 return, payable on the coach).

Disabled access and toilet facilities are available at Writtle College. The event is free and there will be a pay bar and BBQ on Saturday 15th September.

A public audience is also welcome to attend the daily broadcasts at the structure during transmission week 11 – 18th September (6 – 7.30pm).

Further information

Writtle Calling is realised by artist Melissa Appleton and Post–Works, and hosted by CADE (Centre for the Arts and Design in the Environment) based within the Writtle School of Design (WSD) at Writtle College, Essex. Jes Fernie and Lisa Farrell are advisors to the project.

For press enquiries, images and interviews with contributors please contact

Melissa Appleton

appleton.melissa@gmail.com 07966 628 643

Matthew Butcher

matthew@post-works.com 07889 811 514

Supported by

Arts Council England, CADE, UCL, Essex Arts and Buckinghamshire Scaffolding

For full schedule of broadcasts see: writtlecalling.co.uk