Restless - how it began
Restless is an arts activism project about community, visibility and voice for survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA). At the heart of the project, walking and coastal landscapes offer imagery revealing survivor experiences of exposure, navigating challenging territory and occupying the edges. The sea provides a central metaphor of the power of continuous collective action to make change. 
The project is named for her - the restless sea - she just keeps going no matter what [...] She is my role model and an object lesson in activism. Every single drop is significant, the sea is made up of millions and squillions of them and collectively they are powerful beyond measure. (Viv Gordon)
Restless combines walking with creative research, spoken word, music, combined arts and participatory actions for survivors and allies online and in the landscape.
This page charts the story of the Restless project from the beginnings until 2023.

Our vision for Restless is for it to become a big, bold live music and outdoor spectacle, co-created with child sex abuse survivors. We want to use punky, anarchic art to shout it from the clifftops, that thing that most people can't talk about, and we have already begun by creating a punk band and a cycle of punk songs!

Find about more on our Restless main project page.

Our Restless Journey 2018-23

The Restless project began with a walk along the South Dorset Coast Path in August 2018. Viv was drawn to explore her writing practice by walking and writing, carrying her tent with her as she navigated the landscape, accompanied by colleagues, friends and family members (read the blogs here).

More walks, collaborations, events and writing followed over the years. Read on below to find out more.

2020 - #MyLineInTheSand
Our aim with this campaign, launched during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence was to overcome the isolation that many survivors experience by building a community of survivors and allies where we can feel welcome, accepted and know that our voices are heard.

We invited survivors and allies to draw a line under the silencing of survivors of childhood sexual abuse by writing words of community, connection and belonging and then post it on social media using the hashtag #MyLineInTheSand.

2020 - She walks ...

We launched She walks… a new music track and animation exploring the unknown territory of surviving Childhood Sexual Abuse on the 25th November 2020 (to coincide with the first day of the 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence). Inspired by walking coastal landscapes, the short digital artwork shares survivor experiences of feeling far away, navigating difficult journeys and living on the edges of society. She walks... was inspired by a poem Viv wrote whilst walking along the South West Coast Path on Portland in 2018. 
The intention is to give greater voice and visibility to the 11 million adult survivors of CSA in the UK. The end result is starkly beautiful and haunting. It does not flinch away from uncomfortable truths but looks to the sea for inspiration to keep going. The sea represents a positive, restless force which has the power to change the landscape over time.
She walks... Credits
Artistic Director: Viv Gordon 
Lyrics and Vocals: Viv Gordon and JPDL 
Backing Vocals : Quinta 
Music and Production: Quinta 
Drums: Alex Thomas 
Vocal Engineering: Sam Fryer
Mixing: TJ Allen 
Mastering: Shawn Joseph
Animator: Lou Sumray 
Project Producer: Kate McStraw

2021 - Restless Goes Punk

In May 2021, Viv walked just over 100 miles from Starcross to Plymouth on the South Devon Coast Path. Along the way she wrote poems and songs that would be used as inspiration for the Restless song cycle. In 2022 followed another writing residency.

We explored various music styles during this time and decided on punk as an authentic format to represent Viv’s voice going forward.

Key artistic collaborators have been Quinta and Thomas Johnson, who have co-composed the music for Restless to Viv's lyrics, and perform live at gigs and sharings.
Picture
Restless writing residency, 2022. Photo: Luke Gosling @point.and.aim
The Restless process has been so enjoyable. This current phase began with Viv creating tunes and lyrics and singing them into her phone; Quinta and I then together worked them up into fully realised songs, along the way exploring various musical influences and styles, within the overarching brief that it had to be punky. Quinta and I have distinctly different compositional styles but it’s been joyful to find how easily we’ve worked together. The key has been that we’ve both always immediately said yes to each other’s input, and built from ‘yes and’ rather than ’no but’. Collaboration between composers isn’t always easy but this has been a total pleasure. The most recent phase in the process saw the arrival of drummer Sean and bassist Andy, who brought their own huge experience into the room and gave the songs new nuance and energy. (Thomas Johnson, co-composer)
During the 2021 residency, Viv also held community days with groups in Devon, together with Devon Rape Crisis, Sunflower Project, MoMENtum and Women's Centre Cornwall. Viv wrote and recorded video blogs each day too, which she shared on Viv Gordon Co social media. 

2022 - International Collaboration

In 2022 we were selected for a British Council Unlimited Micro Award to collaborate with Turkish CSA survivor, writer and activist Meliha Yildiz on taking our Restless project beyond the UK. 

Meliha and Viv tested a model of remote collaboration over a three-day creative research walk, meeting online to plan creative prompts and share cultural practices. The project finished with Viv reading Meliha's words at the Reclaim the Night 2022 event in Cornwall.

This project was funded by a British Council Unlimited Micro Award, supporting connections between UK and international disabled artists.

2023 - Restless Community Day

Restless combines walking with creative research, spoken word, punk music, combined arts and participatory actions for survivors and allies online and in the landscape, such as a Restless Community Day that was held in September 2023 simultaneously near a beach in Devon and remotely.

The aim was to acknowledge and express solidarity with the international survivor community through creative writing and other creative activities, and to bear witness to and  remember those who are no longer with us.
Restless is supported by public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England
with additional support from 101 Outdoor Arts, British Council Unlimited Micro Award, Exeter Northcott Theatre, Strike a Light, Devon Community Foundation and Morley Radio.