Five years after the first ever Bloomsbury Festival (Friday 21st - Sunday 23rd October, 2011), this annual celebration of one of London's most culturally rich neighbourhoods returns with an eclectic programme of over 150 events, including live music, theatre, dance, walks, talks and food, all of which will be free to attend.
Bringing together locally based organisations such as the British Museum, Wellcome Collection, The Place, The Foundling Museum and Faber & Faber with community groups and businesses, the Bloomsbury Festival transforms the streets and parks of the area, inviting visitors to enjoy all that makes Bloomsbury unique.
You'll be able to learn how to cartoon with comic artists Steve Marchant and Sally Kindberg at the Cartoon Museum, which is still hosting the Doctor Who in Comics exhibition.
(Tying in with that, the Doctor's robot dog, K9 will be at the Museum on Saturday 22nd between 3 and 4.00pm. His keeper Dale has been collecting and making Doctor Who related material for over 20 years and has lots of stories about the Doctors and all their friends).
Sally Kindberg's comics workshop is titled 'Mythological Heroes and Monsters' (Saturday 22nd October, 1:30-2:30pm) and is suitable for Ages 6+. An illustrator and writer, Sally uses comic strip frames as ‘little theatres’ and is drawn towards dark humour and velvety black ink.
She lives in London, has one daughter and "many robots". Her comic strip books include The Comic Strip book of Space, The Comic Strip History of the World and the Comic Strip Greatest Greek Myths - all with Tracey Turner.
"Early influences were Beano and Dandy – Desperate Dan’s creator Dudley D. Watkins was a marvellous illustrator," she says. "I love the way you can give anyone or anything a voice by using speech bubbles, use the frames as little theatres full of surprises, and the way cropping and scale can be almost cinematic. Visual humour is most important too of course."
Steve Marchant will be prsenting three 'Get Cartooning' workshops on Sunday 23rd October at the Museum. Have you always wanted to try your hand at cartooning but never had the chance? Come along and be inspired to create your own cartoon faces at one of three 30 minute workshops. For adults and children alike, suitable for all ages from 6+ upwards.
One of the founders of Cartoon Classroom, as well as producing cartoons, comic-strips, and two books, for a host of clients, Steve has been visiting schools, libraries and other establishments for over 20 years to teach people of all ages and levels of ability how to write and draw their own comics. "I'm assured that the outcomes of my students' work fulfil several 'key stages' of the curriculum," he says, "by clients and by the Cartoon Museum, where I do a lot of my teaching. The rest of my work with young people takes place in mostly one-off visits, but sometimes as a series of sessions."
A weekend of over 150 free arts and cultural events, families will be well catered for by the Festival, with a host of activities for children, in addition to these comic workshops.
Other highlights of the Festival include the return of SOAS's hugely popular world music stage, bringing rhythms from across the globe to the crowds in Russell Square, guerilla dancers from the Place popping up throughout the area, and parks transformed with new artistic works from local architecture and sculpture students.
There will be a local food market to explore, secret gigs in unusual locations, poetry performances, a magical children's lantern procession, street parties and light and ceramic installations suspended in the area's beautiful and historic trees.
Grant's Museum of Zoology also opens its doors for Dino's, Dodos and Dugongs, a tactile exploration of extinct animals.
Because all events and activities are free to attend, visitors are encouraged to take a risk on new creative experiences: perhaps delving into the darkness of St Pancras Crypt Gallery for Kalliopi Lemos' eerie art installation, Navigating in the Dark, joining in a riotous night of literary cabaret at the iconic St Pancras Hotel, join a tea party as part of an unusual living art work by Central St Martin's students or participating in a guided exploration of the Garden Squares of Bloomsbury. Other events include the sharing of a new work by Darshan Singh called Caravaggio: Exile and Death, and an immersive theatre performance by students of RADA, inspired by the Bloomsbury Set.
Bloomsbury is one of London's most culturally rich corners, with 13 of the world's leading museums and galleries situated along 'Museum Mile' which runs through the heart of the area, including The Brunei Gallery, the Charles Dickens Museum and the Foundling Museum. Bloomsbury is also London's academic hub, with many universities and schools situated here, including leading creative education establishments such as Central St Martins, The Place and RADA.
• The Bloomsbury Festival runs from Friday 21st October - Sunday 23rd October 2011, Various times, Various locations, Bloomsbury. Free. A limited number of tickets can be booked in advance at www.bloomsburyfestival.org.uk
• Follow the Festival on Twitter: @bloomsburyfest
• Book here for Sally Kindberg's Mythological Heroes and Monsters workshop at the Cartoon Museum
• Book now for Steve Marchant's 'Get Cartooning' workshop
No comments:
Post a Comment