From large scale fire and light installations and thought-provoking film screenings, to interactive community projects and immersive sound experiences, Arts by the Sea 2020 offers a unique exploration of arts and culture for all ages to enjoy
Festival organisers at BCP Council and From The Fields have announced an exciting mix of outdoor events that will take place across various indoor and outdoor spaces in Bournemouth and Poole including The Lower Gardens, Pavilion Dance and local beaches from Friday 25th September to Sunday 4th October. The new festival set-up includes timed entry slots and restricted capacities to allow for social distancing. Some of the live events are (free) ticketed for audience safety, and tickets can be booked from the Arts by the Sea website from early September.
The live outdoor programme for 2020 welcomes back Arts by the Sea associate artists and long-time collaborators, Ithaca Studio ,who present an outdoor adaptation of their large-scale light extravaganza, ‘Sea of Light’ featuring thousands of light spheres in a dazzling 360-degree light experience accompanied by a surround-sound music composition.
Family-friendly adventures come in the form of a fiery night-time landscape created by outdoor arts experts, Walk the Plank ,‘The Fire Garden’ will transform everyday spaces into a dazzling world of illuminating arts, brimming with flaming flower boxes, crackling trees and plumes of fire.
Elsewhere in central Bournemouth, festival goers can step into ‘The Congregation’; an immersive sound experience curated by local musician and composer, Guy Dowsett . Through sensor-triggered design, hundreds of insects, birds and other creatures can be heard in a vast and entrancing tapestry of living sound, as guests journey back in time to when humans inhabited the forest.
Film fans will be intrigued by the arrival of TOM by award-winning choreographer and film maker, Wilkie Branson .In a socially distanced set-up at Pavilion Dance South West ,TOM tells the story of one man’s journey to rediscover who he really is. This soul-searching, poetic film explores storytelling using the hip-hop language of b-boying combined with animation, projection mapping, sound design and film installation.
Bournemouth-based graffiti artist, Ricky Also is the talent behind ‘You Are Here’ a bold, 3D supergraphic installation, built as a bespoke structure around interlocking blocks of colour, geometric shapes and letters in Bournemouth’s Lower Gardens.
Arts by the Sea 2020 will also be a time of reflection. ‘In Memoriam’ an art installation by Luke Jerram ,his Museum of the Moon toured Dorset last summer. Commissioned by Culture Weston and University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust, In Memoriam will be established on Sandbanks Beach and will offers a place for the public to remember those lost in the Covid-19 pandemic. A display of bed sheets will create a symbolic sea of flags to reflect loved ones passed and pay tribute to brave NHS staff members and volunteers.
Inspired by the themes of ‘In Memoriam’ by Luke Jerram, ‘Speak To The Sea’ is an open-to-all, participatory event curated in association with local arts and wellbeing organisation, CoCreate. Set on the beach, guests will be prompted by a series of signboards to ‘speak to the sea’ about their own personal experiences and feelings from the last few months. Speak To The Sea will also feature artwork from members of the public impacted by Covid-19 via CoCreate’s community artwork project, Process. Those wishing to take part should click here to sign-up before the deadline of 27th August.
Further participatory community events come from CoCreate with #PostcardsFromMemory. From extravagant road trips to a walk to the shops this project will share the public’s most memorable journeys in words, images or both – all squeezed onto an A6 postcard and exhibited at the Bournemouth Central Library throughout the festival and online at artsbythesea.co.uk. Click here to take part.
All these events will be augmented via digital broadcasts, so anyone not able to secure a ticket or unable to leave the safety of their home, can get involved online. All events will be subject to government guidance at the time. Find out more and book your tickets here for Arts by the Sea 2020
