Memory Keepers: Open Call for Short written Pieces

We are seeking final participants for the Memory Keepers project inspired by the 300 year old sweet chestnut tree in the grounds of Salford’s very own RHS Garden Bridgewater.

Award winning artist Yan Wang Preston is calling for submissions of short stories, poems and creative written work based on local or global histories for one year between 1725 and 2025. These contributions (around 10 sentences or less) will form part of a unique artwork that will be presented at Salford Museum and Art Gallery from October, before entering the University’s Art Collection.

Memory Keepers is part of LOOK Climate Lab 2026. The items on display here relate to Yan’s research into the oldest tree at RHS Garden Bridgewater. This sweet chestnut tree is over 300 years old and is the focus of a substantial body of work in progress. Memory Keepers launched in summer 2025 and is an attempt to understand what the tree has lived through, by asking 300 volunteers to write a memory from one year of the life of the tree. The video is a slide show that presents Yan’s initial thinking at the launch event. The other items include experimental photographs printed with plant-based developers – including extracts from the sweet chestnuts and leaves, charcoal from the site, and sage from her own garden.

Taking part in the project is an opportunity for individuals and communities to connect through their shared histories, by participating in the creation of an artwork that seeks to retrace and preserve 300 years of collective memories, and vibrant and turbulent histories.

To register your interest please send an email to k.marchant@salford.ac.uk. We will then send you further details along with a randomly allocated year. The deadline for submissions is 9am, Monday 9 March. All participants will be invited to the exhibition launch in October 2026.

Memory Keepers and Yan Wang Preston’s artist residency is part of OFFSHOOT, a collaboration between the University of Salford Art Collection, RHS Gardens Bridgewater, and Open Eye Gallery Liverpool. It is generously supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

To see more about the OFFSHOOT programme visit the OFFSHOOT website.