Music and art open Cornwall’s first Festival of Quietness

Inside two wooden wardrobes at St Cubert’s Church near Newquay, nearly 2,000 handmade textile hearts wait to be found. On Saturday, visitors opened the larger wardrobe and discovered the colour, care and creativity packed inside, greeting it with smiles and surprise.

That moment marked the opening of Cornwall’s first Festival of Quietness, which ran its first afternoon on 4th July with live music, community-made art and quiet reflection.

📷60 Metres of Community Harmony Scarf + Butterfly Installation

What HushFest is

HushFest is a week-long celebration created by Quiet Connections CIC. It explores quietness through art, photography, live music, creative workshops and community-made installations, treating quietness as something rich with creativity, connection, care and contribution.

The festival continues until Friday 10th July, with exhibitions at St Cubert’s Church and at Create CIC in Camborne and relaxed creative activities across the Newquay, Camborne and Falmouth areas.

St Cubert’s is one of Cornwall’s Celtic Quiet Places. For the opening it drew together local visitors, performers, artists, volunteers and members of the Quiet Connections community.

📷Collages photo by Alex Hart

The Quiet Hearts installation

The nearly 2,000 hearts form an installation called Quiet Hearts, displayed across two wardrobes, one at St Cubert’s and one at Create CIC in Camborne. During the opening, visitors looked inside the larger wardrobe at St Cubert’s for the first time.

Many of the pieces came out of Quiet Connections Meet Ups, workshops and work done at home, giving people different ways to contribute in whatever way felt right for them.

📷Ewan Lyne Performs

A song written for the festival

The afternoon featured original music and the first performance of A Little Bit of Hush, a song written especially for HushFest from words and reflections shared by the Quiet Connections community.

Performers included Zoe Zalick, Ellie Zalick, Annie Faux Pas, Ewan Lyne, Natalia Baxter and Mother of the Groom. They were joined by the HushFest House Band, made up of members of Quiet Connections’ Liskeard Meet Up and led by Zoe and Ellie.

Visitors left handwritten feedback calling the opening “wonderful”, “uplifting” and “beautiful”. One wrote that they were “moved to tears”. Another reflected that “it teaches you something you needed to hear”.

Hayley Stanton, founder of Quiet Connections CIC, said opening the festival at St Cubert’s was very moving.

“People came together through music, artwork, poetry, photography, handmade pieces and stories, all exploring quietness in different ways,” Hayley said. “It shows what can happen when quieter ways of being are not only accepted, but valued and celebrated. This festival has been made by so many people, each contributing in their own way. Seeing those contributions held together in one place brings home what this festival is really about.”

Annie Faux Pas, who performed at the opening, described a positive atmosphere, strong performances and a lot of kindness. She said the turnout was very good and hoped more people would come through the week to see the work.

📷Feedback from Opening Event

What is on for the rest of the week

St Cubert’s Church is open daily from 10am to 4pm until Friday 10th July. Drop-in creative sessions run from 1pm to 3pm each day:

• Make a Quiet Heart on Wednesday 8th July
• Threads of Connection: Growing the Community Harmony Scarf on Thursday 9th July
• Cut, Layer, Reflect: Collage Workshop on Friday 10th July

A Quiet Writing Workshop with Creative Fieldnotes takes place at the Moth & Moon in Falmouth on Thursday 9th July from 6pm to 8pm.

Create CIC in Camborne is hosting HushFest exhibitions and activities throughout the week. It has already run a Stained Glass Sun Catcher workshop led by local artist Zanna Pill, along with the weekly Camborne Meet Up. Clay and the Quiet Voice Within, led by artist Lorna Bode, takes place on Wednesday evening, and booking is essential. Create CIC is open Tuesday to Thursday from 10am to 8.30pm and Friday from 10am to 4.30pm.

Visitors can drop into the exhibitions and creative activities at their own pace, whether they have five minutes or an afternoon. Full details and booking are on the HushFest page.

Quiet Connections CIC was founded in Cornwall in 2017 and creates calm, welcoming spaces for people who identify as introverted, shy, highly sensitive or experiencing social anxiety. HushFest is backed by FEAST, the Cornwall arts programme funded by Arts Council England and Cornwall Council and managed by Creative Kernow.

📷Photo from Create this week

📷Photo from Create this week

📷Exhibition photo by Jo Buckingham

📷First wardrobe Reaction photo

📷Wardrobe Reaction 1 - photo by Alex Hart

📷Zine Making workshop Tuesday photo by Jo Buckingham

📷Photos by Diving Photographer Mutlu Kurtbas

📷Wardrobe

📷Zoe Zalick wardrobe reaction photo by Alex Hart

📷Angela Hatherell from Create CIC Wardrobe Reaction 2 - photo by Alex Hart

📷Annie Faux Pas Performing - Image by Jess Parr

📷Butterfly Arch Photo by Alex Hart

📷Community Gallery photo by Alex Hart