A Canalside Arcana
arcana (noun)
secrets or mysteries
either of the two groups of cards in a tarot pack
A Canalside Arcana is a series of eight ceramic plaques lining the canal path from Etruria to Hanley Park that celebrate the nature that can be found in each spot. Created by artist Anna Francis , who practice focuses on the natural world, there is also a pack of beautifully hand-drawn cards filled with interesting information about the trees and plants you encounter along the way. Anna’s arcana cards highlight the characteristics associated with the flora and fauna included on the panels as well as delving into some interesting local folklore!
Did you know that artist Anna Francis even created the handwritten font used on the cards?
2024 - 2025
What on earth is an arcana anyway ?
We asked the people of Etruria how they feel about where they live …
Appetite was appointed creative producers by Canal & River Trust– who were awarded funding by the Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund – to deliver what has become A Canalside Arcana in the Etruria area. The project celebrates this historic stretch of the Caldon Canal, raising awareness that the canal is a shared local resource to be used.
To make sure that any art produced truly reflected the people who live along that stretch of canal, we simply asked them!
We delivered postcards to 3,000 homes in the Etruria area asking people to tell us:
what they like about living there
a favourite memory of the place
what they thought Etruria would be if it were a colour and a plant
Responses were pushed into a giant yellow post box that we’d set up just for the occasion.
We also reached out to community groups, bringing them to the canal for walks or hands-on clay sessions, and spoke to people at the Etruria Canal Festival to get even more input. Community engagement has been a constant throughout this whole project with community members helping to create two of the final plaques.
How do you turn great feedback into great art?
Nature was a constant theme in the feedback. The nature of the historic waterway meant that a trail would be sympathetic to the setting and would also give a reason to take a stroll along the canal, connecting Etruria to Hanley Park - another local greenspace resource - encouraging everyone to make more use of it.
Using Appetite’s knowledge and expertise Anna, who also delivered another project between Appetite and Canal & River Trust - Kidsgrove Canal Nature Recovery along the Kidsgrove stretch of canal - was approached to come up with an idea.
