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Bird Bath

Created by meditator and broadcaster Alistair Appleton (Mindsprings) and musician and ecoacoustician Alice Eldridge (University of Sussex), Bird Bath transforms beautiful buildings into restorative spaces by inviting you to pause, rest and ‘bathe’ in the sound of local birdsong. Throughout the first week of the festival, St Peter’s Church in Preston Park will be open to the public and filled with spring bird song recorded in local nature reserves and recovery sites.

Photograph of bird singing in tree.

Bird Bath Installation

Bird Bath transforms beautiful buildings into restorative spaces by inviting you to pause, rest and ‘bathe’ in the sound of local birdsong.

Throughout the first week of the festival, St Peter’s Church in Preston Park will be open to the public and filled with spring bird song recorded in local nature reserves and recovery sites.

This event is taking place in St Peter's Church, Preston Park.

Sunday 5 May - Sunday 12 May

Opening times:

Sunday 5 May, 7am–6pm
Monday 6–Sat 11 May, 11am–6pm
Sunday 12 May, 10am–12pm

Find out more on the Brighton Festival website.

Bird Bath Dawn Chorus Breakfast

Join us to celebrate International Dawn Chorus day by waking up to listen to the dawn chorus followed by an ecosocial breakfast at St Peter’s Church hosted by Hospitable Environment.

This event is taking place in St Peter's Church, Preston Park.

Sunday 5 May, 5am-7am
Pay What You Decide, recommended £10.
Limited numbers.

Find out more and book on the Brighton Festival website.

Bird Bath Dusk Meditation, Performance and Improvisation

Join us for a special evening meditation, performance and improvisation.

The evening will open with a guided meditation with Alistair Appleton leading a simple listening meditation within the sound installation. Trained mainly in the Buddhist tradition, Alistair draws from Thai Forest, Shamanic and Vajrayana traditions and practices to bring the basic practice and benefits of meditation, or mindfulness, to people across all walks of life. This is followed by a short acoustic performance by Alice Eldridge’s all-female multi-instrumentalist chamber music collective Collectress, before the public are invited to join an improvisation with the band - and the birds - using their own acoustic instruments or voice.

7.30pm: Guided meditation with Alistair Appleton

8.30pm: Performance by Collectress followed by open improvisation invitation (bring an acoustic instrument)

This event is taking place in St Peter's Church, Preston Park.

Sunday 12 May, 7.30pm-9.30pm
Pay What You Decide, recommended £10.

Find out more and book on the Brighton Festival website.

Bird Bath is a Sussex Digital Humanities Lab, Experimental Ecologies project, working in partnership with the Living Coast UNESCO Biosphere, produced by Sound UK and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Impact Acceleration Account. Thanks to Churches Conservation Trust.

Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Impact Acceleration Account and School of Media Arts and Humanities.