Join us for a late opening of our exhibition 'Alchemy', explore the gardens at sunset and immerse yourself in an alchemical experience bringing together art, craft, live music and nature.

This special event will welcome musicians Michael Ormiston and Candida Valentino, the UK’s most experienced Mongolian Khöömei singers to fill the glasshouse with this traditional music, listed by the UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Khöömei is a form of singing originating in western Mongolia, in the Altai mountains. The performer imitates sounds of nature, simultaneously emitting two distinct vocal sounds taking advantage of the throat's resonance characteristics. Khöömei literally means pharynx, and it is believed to have been learned from birds.

The evening will highlight, through the music and art on view, human’s ability to transform material and work with nature in ways that express our deep entwinement with the more-than-human.

This event is part of 'Alchemy', an exhibition and programme of events that intertwines the transformative elements of craftsmanship and nature, an alchemical union of human creativity and the dynamic, rhythmic forces inherent in the natural world.

The exhibition features Kim Colebrook, Tim Copsey, Diane Griffin, Rosalind Hobley, María Ignacia Walker, Alice McCabe, Victoria Louise Meadows, Faith Mowbray, Esther Palmer, Jo Pearl and Marek Pitera.

About the musicians:

Michael Ormiston and Candida Valentino are the UK’s most experienced Mongolian Khöömii/Overtone/Throat Singers. Their latest album, Heaven​’​s Mountains, Sacred Lakes, Ancient Lands is inspired by the people, landscape & culture of Kyrgyzstan. They have performed concerts all over the world and draw from their years of experience to create engaging events, musically, culturally and meditatively. They have a unique collection of musical instruments such as the Morin Khuur (Mongolian horse head fiddle), Tobshuur (fretless lute), Tömör/Khalsun Khuur (Jews-harp), Irish Bouzouki, Khazakh Dombra, Indian Banjo, Tibetan/Himalayan singing Bowls, Symphonic Gongs, Harmonic flutes, Kyrgyz Kyl-Kyiak, Turkish Ney flute, Veena, shaman’s drum, Native American flute and more.

www.soundtransfromations.co.uk

There will be a bar offering a selection of wine, beer and cordials.

Schedule:

6:30 Open Doors

7 to 7:30pm 1st Live Music Set

8 to 8:30pm 2nd Live Music Set

Subsidised Tickets:

We have a few tickets at a subsidised rate. If this event is not monetarily accessible to you, please write to us at events@omvedgardens.com to avail yourself of a subsidised ticket rate. Subject to availability.

Refund Policy:

These tickets are refundable up to 10 days before the start of the event (14 May) post which they will be non-refundable.

About OmVed Gardens:

Since 2017, we have been carefully restoring a previously tarmacked land in Highgate Village, north London, to provide a space to explore food, creativity and ecology for health and climate resilience.

We are a community interest company featuring a permaculture garden, a creative zero-waste kitchen and a growing educational, events and exhibition space. Our aims are to realise our deep entwinement with each other and the more-than-human, through thinking around food, gardening and ecological awareness, to improve diversity at all levels (seed, food, species, participation) and to use creativity and nature-led knowledge to help tackle the climate emergency.

www.omvedgardens.com · @omvedgardens

Practical Information:

There is no visitor parking so we encourage you to cycle, walk or take public transport. Google Maps Directions

Our glasshouse and gardens are wheelchair accessible, but there is currently no step free access to the toilets.

Health & Safety Information:

Children are the responsibility of their parents or guardians and should not be left unattended at any time when they are on site.

Only assistance dogs are permitted.

If you have an allergy to a particular plant or insect, please get in touch before attending our site.

The gardens are a habitat for a variety of pollinators, including busy bees. Please respect them and do not approach the beehives for their safety and yours.

We have ponds - members of the public are not permitted in the pond at any time.

Do not ingest any plants, mushrooms or fungi that you find on site.

There are two first aid kits on site, one in the glasshouse and one in the dome.