STORY Shelter, a new work of visual art by Bec Applebee, has opened at East Pool Mine in Pool and is on display until September 30.  

The giant patchwork tent, commissioned by Wildworks, was made by individuals and community groups from across Cornwall, who each decorated a panel to become part of the shelter that now resides in the Miner's Dry at the National Trust property in the centre of Pool. 

Artist, Bec Applebee, worked with community groups over a series of months, holding workshops to decorate the calico panels using various techniques from textile craft, including felting, quilting, applique, embroidery, fabric paints and pens. To prepare for the work, participants were asked to consider what stories of their lives in Cornwall they would share with a stranger, arriving in Cornwall for the first time. 

Bec Applebee, the artist behind Story Shelter, photographed in front of Story Shelter panels at East Pool Mine(C)National Trust Images_Steve Haywood(4)
Artist Bec Applebee. Picture: Steve Haywood

Inside the tent is a riot of vibrant colours, images, photography, poems, and symbols, each panel offering a different portrait of life, culture and community in Cornwall today. Alongside images of seagulls stealing pasties, pirates, and the engine houses so strongly associated with the Cornish landscape, sit stories lesser known to those who don't call Cornwall home. 

One panel features the story of a Kurdish refugee who made his home in Cornwall, another features icons from the Greek Orthodox church, as well as a celebration of the apple varieties found in Cotehele's Mother Orchard. 

“We see so much othering happening in our culture today,” said Applebee. “I wanted to create a safe space where a stranger could feel welcome and where these stories of real life in Cornwall could be shared and enjoyed.”

Visitors looking at panels from Story Shelter at East Pool Mine(C)National Trust Images_Steve Haywood
Visitors looking at panels from Story Shelter at East Pool Mine. Picture: Steve Haywood

The work is one of seventeen new artworks commissioned by Wildworks, the UK's leading landscape theatre company, as part of Hello Stranger, an extensive community engagement programme. Wildworks is collaborating with the National Trust to exhibit various artworks until the end of the project in March 2025.

Story Shelter will remain on display at East Pool Mine through the month of September in tent form before the panels are exhibited at other National Trust properties across Cornwall.