Sea Like a Mirror

Sea Like a Mirror was an ambitious national partnership programme, commissioned to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), inspired by the profound legacy of their life-saving work and the special status its volunteer crews occupy in our island nation.

Alongside a newly commissioned artwork that will tour partner locations across the country, Norfolk & Norwich Festival’s Connect & Create team also commissioned two community engagement projects connecting local artists to young people living along the Norfolk coast.

White Horses

At the heart of the programme was a newly commissioned artwork, White Horses, by Ivan Morison, from the collaborative practice of Heather Peak and Ivan Morison. The work explored our complex relationship with the sea through its innate duality as a place of both wonder and jeopardy, and the myriad roles it holds for coastal communities.

Combining sculpture, 16mm film and music, this travelling work was immersed in the stories and experiences of RNLI crew and local people with a deep connection to the water. White Horses presented a multifaceted portrait of the sea and the nation’s coastal towns, bringing together six diverse locations, each linked by the lifeboat station at the centre of their community.

“The sea and its storm state seems to me to be a suitable metaphor for modern life, with the RNLI’s volunteers, in their permanent state of absolute preparedness to help those in peril, suggesting something hopeful for all of our survival. Perhaps this work can help us look back at ourselves from the perspective of the sea, to better understand the nature of the storm.” – Ivan Morison

Produced through a series of visits to lifeboat stations and seaside towns around the English coastline – Whitstable, Cromer, Weston-Super-Mare, Cleethorpes, Barrow-in-Furness, and Gravesend – the work was unveiled in spring 2025 and returned to each location as part of a national tour.

The Edge of The Land 

The first our community engagement projects saw artist Kate Munro working with a group of young people and children of RNLI families in Overstrand. Together, the group explored themes of the sea, local maritime culture, and the notion of rescue through a series of creative workshops. The results of these workshops were transformed into stunning kites that were exhibited at Cromer Artspace throughout Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2025.  

S.O.S. Superheroes of The Sea 

The second of these projects was led by dance and theatre artist Neil Paris. Neil worked with students from Sidestrand Hall School to create a new dance theatre piece inspired by superheroes and the transformation of RNLI volunteers from ordinary individuals to lifesavers at sea. The resulting piece was performed during the Cromer leg of the White Horses tour.  

Connection to our Artist Bursary Scheme 

One of our 2024 Artist Bursary recipients, circus and theatre artist Florencia Nannetti, worked with Kate and Neil on their respective projects. Florencia joined us as a Guest Artist and lead workshops with the young people, sharing her practice and teaching the groups new skills to help further develop each project.  

White Horses premiered in Whitstable and then travelled on to Cromer to be presented from 15 – 18 May as part of Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2025. The Edge of The Land exhibited at Cromer Artspace from 14 – 26 May, and S.O.S. Superheroes of The Sea was performed twice on 17 May.

Beyond the Cromer leg of the tour, Sea Like A Mirror was presented in Barrow-in-Furness, Weston-super-Mare, Cleethorpes and Gravesend.

Sea Like a Mirror is a partnership project led by Cement Fields, with Art Gene, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, North East Lincolnshire Council & East Marsh United, and Super Culture. With thanks to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Supported with public funding from Arts Council England. Presented in Gravesend for Estuary 2025 with Estuary Festival.

Artists

Ivan Morison

Kate Munro

Neil Paris

Florencia Nannetti

Location

Cromer, Overstrand, Sidestrand

Participants

RNLI Cromer, North Norfolk Surf Life Saving Club, Sidestrand Hall School, young people from Overstand

Partners

Sea Like a Mirror was a partnership project led by Cement Fields, with Art Gene, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Create North East Lincolnshire working with East Marsh United, and Super Culture. Delivered in collaboration with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and supported with public funding from Arts Council England.