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ArtReach secures Arts Council England support to deliver Night of Festivals Touring
Posted 16 April 13
Support through the Strategic Touring Fund will enable ArtReach to go ahead with exciting plans for Night of Festivals Touring working with a range of other partners including City Arts, Nottingham City Council, arts NK, Boston Borough Council, Slough Borough Council, Leicester City Council, Mandinga Arts, Paraiso and Stage Right Productions.
Films, cornets and a mock procession!
Posted 19 June 12
This week Rara Lakay and our Haitian Cornets have arrived safely! In the last few days the band has begun workshops with local schools which have gone brilliantly!
The workshop started by putting Rara music into context by a description of the history of Haiti, followed by an explanation of how they build up melodies and rhythms with the instruments they had brought with them – mainly drums, Haitian Cornets and a bit of percussion too. The children each got their hands on a drum or maracas and were all taught four separate rhythms. They allocated the different rhythms to each child and started playing together wonderfully!
The children were able to see a film about Haitian culture and Benjy (of Rara Lakay) then emphasised how across cultures, music unites people and it is a language that all can understand, relate and contribute to - although the pupils were just thrilled by the level of noise they could make with their instruments!
Rara Lakay then moved onto teaching how to make sound with the cornets. This took a little while as there was definitely a technique to it! Each instrument plays a single note and everyone joining together makes a melody. The best part was then when they all got up and did a mock procession around the room! They made a mash of rhythms, with Rara Lakay leading it with drums and percussion. It was a brilliant signal of how exciting the Carnival will be next Friday!
To see Rara Lakay in action come to see our Carnival procession on Friday 22nd, starting from Old Market Square in Nottingham at 8.30pm
Inspired by…a vibrant European cityscape
Posted 18 June 12
Welcome to the fourth instalment of our ‘Inspired by…’ feature. We asked Canadian Artists Kaely Dekker to share his thought behind the creation of Genau (Exactly):
“In essence, the piece for the Nanoplex is a documentation of my experience in Hamburg as a foreigner wandering around looking at things. I tried to capture the feeling of the place through still images taken as I navigated through the city by car, train, bus, bike and on foot. It’s a celebration of the urban fabric of the city, the streets, buildings, shops, transit hubs, graffiti and random objects that, as a whole, create a sense of place beyond what the regular tourist attractions show you. Hamburg is an exciting place, high energy with interesting things around most corners , I wanted to capture a tiny part of that vibrancy and put it in a different light than one normally has access to in contemporary media. Genau (Exactly) is a travel film, inspired by the city itself and was an opportunity to share my perspective on the place with others.”
Inspired by…Britain’s rich industrial legacy
Posted 14 June 12
In our third ‘Inspired by…’ feature, Artist Chris Billington explains his inspiration behind his Moving Image piece ‘The Engine Room’, which has been specially created for Night of Festivals 2012.
“Intrigued by the prospect of showing some of my work in the world’s smallest moving image gallery I set about thinking in terms of early large scale technology as a counterpart to, and in keeping with the theme of the exhibition celebrating world freedom.
With The Engine Room I have tried to capture the essence of an important piece of Britain’s industrial legacy, a snapshot of marine engineering circa 1843 that made the SS Great Britain the fastest ship in the world, her 12 knot engine being Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s magnificent wonder of the age. In her day The SS Great Britain was the embodiment of freedom, enabling passengers to cross the oceans swiftly and safely, giving many who sailed in her a new found independence, her engine room was the power behind that freedom. Created specifically for ArtReach it is my intention that my video and accompanying soundtrack will enable the viewer to experience the power of The Engine Room through the unique and intimate environment of Nanoplex.”
Inspired by…Mobility, Migration and Movement
Posted 12 June 12
Welcome to the second instalment of our ‘Inspired by…’ feature. Today, Nigerian artist Jude Anogwih shares his thoughts behind the making of ‘Dreams (Smaerd) Smeared’
“Dreams (Smaerd) Smeard (2009), is a body of work that recreates the logic of mobility, migration and movement of people and ideas. People of every class, colour and creed join in these migrations as family units or predominantly singles, using improved transportation technology of land, air and sea.
Lagos, Nigeria is a city that witnesses constant translocal movement of people from the countryside on a daily bases. Lagos is also perceived as a gateway to Europe, the Americas and Asia. These continents are potential attraction for most transnational migrants as they move in search of better socio-economic status and personal advancement goals.”
Inspired by…Changing points of view
Posted 11 June 12
In the first of our ‘Inspired by…’ features, Moving Image Artist Laura Gibellini shares her thoughts on what inspired her to create the short animation ‘Study for (a) Landscape’
“I have always been intrigued by the way maps depict and represent a given territory. I find the bird’s eye view they presuppose particularly fascinating. While working on some three-dimensional pieces (mountains carved in post-it notes) I started toying with the idea of changing this point of view. I decided to reverse the idea of the map, change the viewpoint and introduce a camera in the otherwise flat landscape of lines. I wanted to be inside the map, walk through it. The video “Study for (a) Landscape” is the result of this exploration.”
Six Continents in One Nottingham
Posted 07 June 12
At Night of Festivals 2012 the Nanoplex will be moving image from artists from six continents!
In the lead up to Night of Festivals 2012, we circuited a call for artists to the furthest corners of the globe, hoping to collect a wealth of moving image works which would represent all six continents within one Nottingham.
The brief was simple: submit a short piece of moving image that represents, or is inspired by, the values of freedom and independence. We left this statement open to interpretation, and waited with baited breath…
Packages stared arriving from Iran, Australia and Israel and soon enough, we were able to curate a programme of moving image works that represents artists from Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australasia (unsurprisingly, we had no submissions from Antarctica!)
The most enjoyable thing about curating the programme was seeing such diversity in the interpretation of the brief. Artists of different countries, different cultures and different ages, each portrayed their own unique perspective on the values of freedom and independence.
Some took a political perspective, some historical, whilst others examined the theme in a more abstract manner. By bringing together these different interpretations, we hope that the Nanoplex programme will give a fascinating insight into the way in which the values freedom and independence can inspire the creation of some wonderful pieces of art.
Over the coming weeks, we will be writing an ‘Inspired by…’ feature, where some of the artists in the Nanoplex programme will be sharing the inspiration behind the creation of their moving image pieces.
Watch this space!
Dancing Cows!
Posted 31 May 12
This weekend we have had our dancing shoes on and partnered up with cows, birds and Daughters of Farah! Allison Denholm from Nottingham City Arts and Mariana Whitehouse and Claire Horton from Mandinga have been working together this weekend for ArtReach, Night of Festivals 2012, with the dance groups for the carnival. Marianna Mandinga’s dance co-ordinator, held workshops teaching the groups the dance moves. Watching the girls in the amazing bright red bird costumes rehearsing this up- beat dance, they were quick on their feet and it filled the room with exciting carnival spirit.
Sunday the cow costumes were used, they were great to watch, especially with the large sized cow heads on top of the dancer’s heads. One of the dance moves in particular was brilliant and had us all laughing. We were stood in line with the cow heads on, and to the beat of the music we took three steps forward, and cocked our heads to the side, similar to Michael Jackson’s thriller video. It was something you wouldn’t expect, as they were dressed as cows which made it almost creepy, yet full of humour. Mandinga was a lot of fun and rehearsed some amazing work this weekend, can’t wait to see all the colourful costumes and characters together in action.
Celebrating freedom and independence in different cultures….
Posted 24 May 12
Photograph taken from http://queenofthescene.ca
- ‘Creole Day’ takes place all over Dominica on the 3rd November. On this day, a traditional outfit is worn – The girls wear a “jupe,” the women wear a “robe dwiyet” and the men wear black pants, white shirt and a red sash around the waist.
- Mexico - every year just before midnight on 15th September, the president gives the El Grito, shouting “Mexicanos, Viva Mexico” honouring an impulsive battle cry made by a Mexican Priest that was the catalyst for the country’s struggle for independence from Spain. The entire country celebrates with vibrant carnival parades, rodeos and traditional Mexican food and dance on 16th September.
- Jamaica- The 6th of August marks Jamaica’s 100 years of independence. This year you can join Jamaicans all over the world by wearing the colours of their flag. Each colour of the flag is symbolic; black for strength and creativity, Gold for natural wealth and beauty of sunlight and Green for hope.
- India celebrates its Independence Day on 15th August. Many people spend the day with family and close friends, and a special tradition sees the skies filled with countless kites flown from rooftops and fields to symbolize the free spirit of India.
- Columbia – Independence Day in Columbia is celebrated on 20th July. Each year, the streets come to life with national festivals inspired by traditional folk dance and music, all oriented around Colombia’s flag.
Freedom and independence in Franco’s Spain
Posted 21 May 12
During Night of festivals 2010, ArtReach premiered Michael Nyman’s Cine Opera, a short film about an elaborate 1940′s cinema which has fallen into a state of almost tragically beautiful disrepair.
Now, in 2012, Nyman returns to Night of Festivals with a new short film and score entitled Witnesses, inspired by the life and death of Federico Garcia Lorca, and the tragic events that took place in a rural Spanish village, which motivated the young playwright to create Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding) – View trailer
Written in 1932, Blood Wedding is a tragedy of love missed. The bride, on the eve of her wedding, must decide between her intended groom and her lover, Leonardo. Her lover, now married himself, cannot bear to witness his first love marry another man. A story of conflict between societal pressure and personal desire, it is often suggested that Lorca’s writing was influenced by political and social unrest in his home country.
In August 1936, Lorca was executed by Nationalist militia, three days before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Although the exact reason for his assassination is the cause of wide speculation, it is commonly believed that Lorca’s outspoken liberal views played a significant role in his death. For many years, under Franco’s regime, Lorca’s works were heavily censored, and the playwright was not openly discussed in Spain until the death of the dictator in 1975.
Since his execution, Lorca has been hailed as a ‘man ahead of his time,’ unafraid of questioning social and political ‘norms’ through his art, during a time when exercising the most basic of civil liberties – freedom of expression – was tantamount to a death sentence.
Wittnesses will be introduced by Michael Nyman and premiered in Old Market Square, Nottingham on Thursday 21st June at 9.30pm. Audiences are invited to bring along a picnic blanket or camping chairs for a relaxed evening of film and live music. Also on Thursday evening is a chance to hear the fantastic sounds of live musicians Zoe Keating and Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo.
Supported by
Thanks to the Joyce Carr Doughty Trust