It’s coming, ladies and gents!
Soon this elusive ‘thing’ we have been calling the Accidental Festival 2010 will have a shape – a strange and beautiful beast is emerging from our pool of applications and I’m pretty much as excited as I was when I busted a move to Jedwards ‘Ice Ice Baby’ in a club for the first time, after having learnt all the lyrics within four days of the singles release. It was an awesome moment, I really wish you had seen it.
True to my previous blog, programming has been exactly the thing to pick up collective energy levels within the team. Definitely the most exciting time of the year for me so far – we’ve read so many interesting and inspiring pieces, it’s a pity we didn’t have twice as much money and twice as much space because paring them down is getting more and more difficult every day. O, to have more resources…
So much to think about and so little I can write! Owwweee! How much can I say? Programming is all around me and all I can think about right now, but I’ve got to watch my blabber-mouth and not let anything interesting slip before we release the final line up. I can say (slightly tangentially) that reading the applications has been a really humbling experience for me as an artist. The amazing and innovative ideas that emerging practitioners are developing gives me loads of hope for the future. Each programming meeting I sit down, read applications and think ‘I kind of want to be involved in that show’ or ‘I’d love to work with these artists’.
Jemima revealing the preliminary Programme.
The process has certainly inspired many ideas for my own creative practice (not in a plagiaristic way – completely wholesomely!) and got me itching for a chance to continue with my own work during the summer and beyond. The Creative Apprenticeship I’m doing alongside this with 8-technology (performance/art research group) has helped scratch this artistic itch to create and perform again – while I’m rather sleep deprived and stretched to my workload limit at the moment, it’s been really a enjoyable experience alongside the festival. I’ve been making zen-garden inspired installations, performing de-contextualised tea ceremonies, designing websites and washing feet (?) for four glorious and bewildering weeks now. I’m not giving them a very articulate write up, best to check them out for yourselves …
So I won’t patter on – this is the only festival process insight I can give right now. Other than this parting comment for next year’s AF team – make sure you don’t miss the very crucial festival research phase of ‘scouting for after party venues’. You know you’ve got a good job when a Guinness fuelled pub crawl (we had to test the wares at each venue, naturally) is classified as research, as it was last Saturday around Battersea and Clapham. Mmmm. Good times.
Take care, comrades.
Sian’s post should be making you very excited! As I sit here, uploading this at a festival meeting devoted to our preliminary programme, I am astounded at the work she, Pete and Jemima have done over the past few weeks, not to mention the whole of the artistic department: taking 260 applications and cramming as many as possible in to 4 rooms over 3 days. Golly gosh, my brains are scrambling with excitement!!!
Sian, once again well done for all your hard work. I think Aristic Directors of the past, present and future will all sympathise with how much hard work you’ve put in to programming this festival…and I can safely say I heave a massive sigh of relief whenever I think of you as this years Artistic Director. You’re amazing baby. xoxo
Not as amazing as jedward, but thank you letty. lets make love.