Art, tides, technology and the story behind an extraordinary Plymouth commission.

Join us for a special closing event with artist David Cotterrell, in conversation with Dr Cara Courage, senior leader in placemaking, culture, heritage, arts, communities and participation, as we mark the end of Intertidal, a major new commission created as part of Sea for Yourself.

At first glance, Intertidal is wonderfully simple: familiar cars appearing in unexpected places across Plymouth, their interiors filling and emptying with water in response to the changing tide.

Behind that image, however, is a much bigger story.

Over its development, David's original artistic idea has brought together digital technology and live tidal data, engineering and fabrication, marine science, ecology, craftsmanship and creative experimentation. It has involved people and organisations from across Plymouth and beyond, all helping to answer the same deceptively complicated question: how do you bring the tide into the city?

This event is an opportunity to go behind the finished artwork and hear that story and how the project has impacted communities across Plymouth over the last seven weeks.

David and Cara will explore the ideas that first sparked Intertidal, the experiments and challenges that shaped it, the collaborations that made it possible and what David has discovered through creating a work that sits somewhere between public art, engineering, environmental observation and living system.

They will also consider the wider questions at the heart of the commission: our relationship with Plymouth Sound, the boundaries we imagine between city and sea, the role artists can play in making complex systems visible, and what can happen when cultural practice reaches beyond traditional cultural spaces.

Book your space here.

About Intertidal

Intertidal is a commission by artist David Cotterrell, created as part of Sea for Yourself, Plymouth Culture's cultural programme connecting people with Plymouth Sound National Marine Park through creativity, imagination and new ways of experiencing the sea.

Places are limited and booking is essential.

Parking

Pay to park is available at Drakes Circus and Regent Street Car Park.

Access

The Levinsky Room is on the 3rd floor of the building. There are 2 lifts available to get to the floor. The room has step free access. Lifts provide access for regular and flatbed wheelchairs between floors, providing step-free access to all public areas. There are wheelchair accessible and disabled toilets.