Dreamspace: People’s Kiln
Historic Brickmaking Returns to Hadleigh Farm Estate
This August, local residents, artists and community groups are coming together to build and fire a large outdoor kiln at Hadleigh Farm Estate as part of Dreamspace: Pending Approval, an ambitious long-term art project by artists Emma Edmondson and Shaun C. Badham.
From 12-16 August 2026, hundreds of handmade clay bricks will be fired in a temporary kiln built on site. Made from clay sourced directly from the estate and shaped by artists and community members over the last two years, these bricks will eventually become part of a new sculptural shelter planned for the site in 2027.
Commissioned by Estuary Festival and Hadleigh Farm Estate, and supported by Arts Council England, Dreamspace explores making, learning and landscape through collective action, local knowledge and hands-on creativity.
A Kiln, A Community, A Landscape
Since April 2025, Edmondson and Badham have been working from a pop-up outdoor studio on Hadleigh Farm Estate, researching its history, landscape and material resources alongside local residents.
Guided by a DIY "use-wotcha-got" approach, the project embraces resourcefulness, circular economies and practical making. Clay dug from the estate is transformed into bricks and tiles, while salvaged farm materials are being incorporated into the future shelter structure.By working directly with materials, skills and stories already present in the landscape, Dreamspace invites people to reconnect with how things are made, celebrating both human and non-human activity that continues to shape South Essex.
‘"Dreamspace is about bringing people together through making. We want to make the process visible, inviting people to see how things are made, learn new skills and become part of shaping something that will have a lasting presence in tune with the landscape and its biodiversity." "Though the project is leading towards a sculptural shelter in the landscape, we are most interested in the process of how we understand, value and sometimes transform materials - both individually and collectively. The salvaged bricks used to build the kiln are just as valuable as those being fired within it."’
Reconnecting with Hadleigh's Brickmaking Heritage
The kiln project revives a largely forgotten chapter of Hadleigh Farm Estate's history.
Bricks were once made and fired on this land, with local brickfields operating intermittently until their closure in 1956. Nearly seventy years later, Dreamspace returns to these traditions by digging clay directly from the estate and transforming it by hand into new bricks and tiles.
The kiln itself will burn continuously for 48 hours and will be tended day and night by the artists, local volunteers and ceramic artist and kiln builder Phil Root, whose expertise in sustainable, wood-fired kiln construction has been central to the project.
Rather than simply producing an object, the kiln opening celebrates the sharing of knowledge, practical learning and collective stewardship.
Free Campfire Events Programme
Throughout the firing, visitors are invited to gather around the kiln for a series of free evening events exploring art, architecture, landscape, folklore and making.
Wednesday 12 August, 7–9pm: Artists in the Essex Landscape A campfire conversation hosted by curator Warren Harper with artists Emma Edmondson, Shaun C. Badham and Lora Aziz.
Thursday 13 August, 7–9pm: Ghosts of Architecture, Sculpture, Land and Industry An evening with Martyn Hudson, Associate Professor and Head of Arts and Environment at Northumbria University, alongside Harun Morrison and a new text by Jes Fernie, exploring lost and disappeared artworks.
Friday 14 August, 7–9pm: DIY Structures, Plotlands and Building Differently A screening and discussion with architect Fran Edgerley and artist Shaun C. Badham exploring self-built spaces, alternative architecture and creative communities. Book HERE
Saturday 15 August, 7–9pm: Campfire Karaoke Join musician Mike Darrah, artist Emma Edmondson and friends for an evening of songs around the fire. Book HERE
Sunday 16 August, 5–8pm: Kiln Opening: Essex Folk & Fairytales Celebrate the kiln opening with artists Emma Edmondson, Phil Root and Shaun C. Badham, alongside storytelling by Gemma Garwood and Bethan Briggs-Miller of the East Anglian Folklore Centre. Book HER
Looking Ahead
Dreamspace: Pending Approval is a three-year project developed with local residents and community partners including Hadleigh Community Group, Hadleigh Old Fire Station, Salvation Army Summer Camp, Missionary Team, Thundersley Trust Links Youth Group and Hadleigh & Thundersley Community Archive.
The next phase of the project will see the construction of a sculptural shelter in summer 2027, designed through ongoing collaboration with local people.
‘"At its heart, Dreamspace explores how collective making can uncover the hidden life of a place. Working between art, architecture and local action, the project makes visible the materials, labour and relationships that shape our environment." "The shelter won't simply be a static artwork. It will be a shared local asset whose future is shaped by the people, wildlife and environments that use it."’
About Dreamspace: Pending Approval
When Estuary Festival commissioned artists Emma Edmondson and Shaun C Badham we had a simple aim: to create a new pavilion for The Salvation Army Hadleigh Farm Estate that would connect visitors to the biodiversity of the site.
What resulted from this unique collaboration is a deeply thoughtful site-specific response that has expanded over time and space. Working from a make-shift outdoor studio on the site over many months, Emma and Shaun spoke to everyone, observed the working farm, the land and materials. If we are building a space, who might use it? What would it look like? What do humans (and non-humans) like to do here now, and what might they like to do in the future?
This particular site is considered by many to be a ‘thin space’: one of those rare places where the physical and spiritual worlds feel more closely connected. So what better place could there be to harness this radical energy: to create a new ‘dreamspace’ and open up a previously inaccessible area of the park for dreaming and contemplation for all.