Caught by the River

On Allotments

5th September 2023

On Allotments is a creative project about allotments, gardening and the land by filmmaker and photographer Ben Ewart-Dean.

When Ben wrote to us recently, he explained: ‘My family have been allotment holders in Liverpool for as long as I can remember, and on a creative level, it’s a subject that has fascinated me for years’.

2019 film Portraits grew out of a commission from Cardiff-based community arts festival Made In Roath to make a sound piece featuring interviews with allotment holders.

This was followed by 2022’s Seasons, tracking the seasonal changes on a single allotment site. Ben’s third film, currently in the works, will focus on the potential for allotments to be viewed as radical spaces.

In addition to his films, Ben has spent 2023 photographing the allotment sites of Cardiff. His photographs are self-published in an ongoing series of short-run zines, which can be found here, and on Instagram.

The output of On Allotments is collated and updated here.