21st May 2025
With support from Arts Partnership Surrey in 2024 and 2025, Made By Katie Green developed Gathering Place 360, a VR360 version of their Gathering Place project, through which they respond choreographically to archaeological sites, creating films, sharing live performances and facilitating talks and events.
Working with experts from Surrey County Archaeological Unit, and responding to previous research data and existing interpretation for four initial sites in Surrey, they piloted an approach to making the kinds of dance/heritage responses they create more accessible to more people.
Collaborating with filmmaker Matt Walker (Cave & Sky), they created four VR360 ‘inspiration films’, providing children, young people and local residents in Surrey with an introduction to the layered history of the county told through four archaeological sites: Runnymede Bridge (Bronze Age), St Mary’s Priory, Ankerwycke (Medieval), Woking Palace (Tudor) and Witley and Milford Commons (World War I).
Read more about the archaeological significance of the sites and the company’s approach
You can now watch the four pilot films on our Gathering Place 360 YouTube Channel here, and watch impressionistic snippets from the four sites in the following teaser film for the project:
Having made the films, Made By Katie Green also trialled a programme of linked participation activity in 2025 with 11 classes of year 5 and 6 children in primary schools, and community groups meeting at libraries and community spaces. They wanted to find ways of deepening participants’ engagement with the project and their understanding of the heritage being explored.
Read selected pages from the Gathering Place 360 Learning Pack
Archaeologist Handbook designed with Jo Ogilvie and Hannah Maiya-Mills
Participants began by watching the four 360 films on VR headsets, engaged with handling collections from Surrey County Archaeological Unit and then they were supported to respond creatively to a chosen time period through creative writing, dancing and arts activities.
The Gathering Place 360 project was commissioned by Arts Partnership Surrey and was also supported by Surrey County Archaeological Unit and Surrey County Council IoT and Emerging Technologies team.
Project credits
Director: Katie Green
Filmmaker: Matt Bartram
Choreographed and performed by: Megan Griffiths, Alice Shepperson, Amarnah Ufuoma Cleopatra, Matthew Winston
Project Archaeologist: Hannah Potter
Writer: Anna Selby
Composer: Max Perryment
Performance design by Chloe Mead
Learning resource design by Jo Ogilvie (Sharp Pencil Design)
Illustration and arts workshop development for community sessions: Hannah Maiya-Mills (Paintbox Projects)
Project Management Support: Charlotte Mackie
Company Producer: Vicky Thornton