T100 is an annual walking, talking and making festival based in Thurrock.
The magic of T100 is its simplicity as a framework; in response to a theme selected for the year, local artists and groups devise a programme of walks and activities. This enables them to come up with their own ideas, develop them as separate projects then showcase and share them with the wider community.
The results add something truly unique to the walks which have incorporated heritage talks, community meals, outdoor theatre, silk flags reflecting local stories, singing and even making and performing a giant puppet.
The success of this model has expanded to other walking projects such as Beach of Dreams and Silk River.
T100 2021 funders: The National Lottery Community Fund, Arts Council England, Active Essex, Thurrock council, plus contributions for creative elements from the Port of Tilbury, Thameside Theatre and Riverside Community.
T100 Festival summary on the Kinetika Website
Ali Pretty is the founding member and artistic director of Kinetika. Since 2012 Ali’s practice has been to develop transformational walking arts projects with diverse communities which bring people together by walking, talking and painting large-scale silk creations. Ali has led walking projects in Wiltshire, Isle of Wight, Lincolnshire, Essex and Thurrock, where she has developed an annual walking, talking and making festival Thurrock 100. This pioneering place-making model has been replicated internationally in various forms in Ethiopia, Chile and India. Her most ambitious project was Silk River, commissioned by the British Council for the UK/India year of Culture 2017.