FESTIVAL EDUCATION 2008
 

Thurs 25th September - Sat 4th October

Our community and education programme continues to grow.

In 2008 there are two projects for everyone to take part in. Our community artists this year are Carolyn Mendelsohn and Ingrid Wagner.

Last year we launched the Big Knit - a project to build a giant knitted sculpture from recycled materials. This year we intend to complete it - but we need your help! There will be a series of workshops and knit-ins over the summer - and those who took part last year, with knitting needles 1.2 m long and multiple strands of material were amazed at what was produced so quickly! If you’re already part of a knitting circle – or could gather a group of friends together – let us know, we’ll provide the materials, and you could contribute in no small way to this amazing project. And don’t worry if you don’t knit already - you’ll find it easy!

The other project is with digital image artist and photographer Carolyn Mendelsohn (who featured on Channel 4’s Picture This! earlier this year). She will be in Hexham taking photographic and film portraits of people she meets in order to create an art work that explores the town through the faces of its people. The work will take the form of a film projection with original sound composition, to be projected as part of the festival. The human faces of the town, juxtaposed with images of the landscapes will explore who and what makes up Hexham, and the artist’s response to the town.

We will also have the schools projects, with Horses Brawl and other local musicians, creating a series of songs and music theatre pieces under the umbrella title The Cuthbert Songs. Following our theme of Northern Lights this year, they will be a response to famous personalities and historical figures in our region. This will come together in a performance in the Abbey during the Festival.

To find out more, or get involved in any of these projects, please contact us.
 

Watch this space for news of workshops and events in which you can get involved and pay your part in the Festival 2008