Initiated by Owen Spafford for Rainy Days Festival (Luxembourg, 2023), Welcome Here, Kind Stranger invites the audience to engage with both the idea and the experience of 'the Session' - where local oral traditions thrive in informal yet impactful gatherings, often at home or in the pub. This performance installation serves as a contemplative space, where folk songs, poems, music, and narratives converge. As art forms are shared freely, the evening fosters an inclusive, cross-generational dialogue, illuminating themes of memory, renewal, and communal identity. Locations for the installation have included the Royal Academy of Music (London, 2023), September Me Festival (Amersfoort, 2024) and BloomsburyFestival (London, 2024).

Guided by the evocative musical interpretations of Spafford, artist Annabelle Blott showcases a series of large-scale figurative works on fabric and paper. These reflect her 'live drawing' practice, created during traditional Sessions across London. Vivid, often abstract portraits confront the fluid dynamics between audience and performer, exploring the rhythmic energy that connects them.

Blott emphasises the integral role of body language and gesture in Session lore. Each drawing created in the length of a single song, the marks convey the mood and pace of the tune. Her direct and palimpsestic approach imbues the canvas with a glowing, dragging feel- as afterimages of characters past and present extend across the room- embodying the skilful, canonic and enduring spirit of Celtic music.

As the Session commences, particular attention is paid to the lead musicians, their unique form and energy captures the focus of each piece. This real-time artistry serves as a visual testament to the profound connections forged through sound, welcoming the 'stranger' to consider the delicate interplay of memory and expression.