What happens when we make words out of art? Is it the same as making art out of words? The "genre" or "practice" of writing in response to visual art is known under the broader term of "ekphrasis".
As well as a selection of resources and examples of ekphrasis, the site is home to an archive of written works produced as part of the Words at the Black Swan writing workshop, co-founded by writer Crysse Morisson and curator Kim Wood in 2013.
The project was formed as a regular writing workshop taking place at the Black Swan Arts gallery in Frome, Somerset, UK. Under the guidance of a workshop leader, participants are asked to respond to artworks in the gallery.
You can view an early archive of the very first sessions here. The artworks are displayed next to the “wordworks” they inspired. The group has been running for over a decade and is ongoing as of 2025. Many works are published on the group facebook page and further details on the Black Swan Website
Kim Wood
‘But art requires a distance: let me be
Always the connoisseur of your perfection.
Stay where the spaces of the gallery
Flow calm between your pose and my inspection,
Lest one imperfect gesture make demands
As troubling as the touch of human hands.’
Adrienne Rich, extract from ‘Love in the Museum
Words at the Black Swan meets most months on the second Monday of the month between 2.30 and 4.00pm usually in the Long Gallery of the Black Swan Arts centre to write in response to the current exhibition.
Many poems are shared on the Words at the Black Swan Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/wordsattheblackswan
If anybody is interested in coming along please either come at one of the times indicated or email Mike Grenville on mgrenville@gmail.com
Location: Black Swan Arts, Bridge St, Frome BA11 1BB