BlakeFest 2019
"I will not cease from mental fight"
Original Music, Poetry and Arts Festival by the sea
BREAKING NEWS!
More fantastic news! BLAKEFEST 2019 has been awarded a sought-after grant from the Arts Council in recognition of the quality of this year's event and previous achievements.
We are the only organisation between Chichester and Brighton to receive funding from the Arts Council.
BlakeFest joins Festival of Chichester and Pallant House/Outside In as the only receivers of Arts Council funding in West Sussex.
Feedback from BlakeFest 2019
A great review from Write Out Loud who visited the festival: Visions of Blake: tigers on loose and burning bright beside the sea at Bognor
We asked our festival-goers to let us have feedback of their thoughts and observations of this year’s festival. We are happy to say that 100% enjoyed themselves with the Music and Poetry sessions coming out tops. A collection of comments:
“A Blakean Feast!”
“Very well curated - varied but all relevant to the theme.”
“Unpacking Blake @ Felpham - very entertaining”
“Talks were so informative and inspiring so more of these AND creative workshops too!”
“Lovely idea, Blake would have been amazed as he was so ignored in his lifetime!”
“A veritable cornucopia of talented artists. The Blake celebration is so important for now!”
“Sirens of the Titan. The best thing I've listened to in half my lifetime”
There was also great support for the idea of Blake’s ‘Glad Day’ sculpture to command the seafront.
We’ve been given some great ideas for next year and 100% said they would come back and bring their friends.
Sounds like everyone enjoyed themselves!
Sept 28th 2019 at the Regis Centre, Bognor Regis, West Sussex
BlakeFest is a unique cultural experience by-the-sea celebrating an eclectic and exciting mix of music, art and poetry, as well as offering a varied programme of talks, walks and workshops. Deploying an eclectic approach to its programming is at the heart of what they do, befitting of the talents of its multifaceted figurehead; William Blake.
“Tyger tiger burning bright…” and it would certainly seem that the flame of this annual festival only burns brighter and brighter. Now in its 7th year, this year sees BlakeFest returning to the town centre cultural hub that is The Regis Centre. The tiger theme runs like a golden thread of inspiration throughout the festival this year as a powerful and recognisable motif. This will be explored through a ‘Blakes Beasties’ workshop for young children ran by local drama group DRAMATIS (Sat. 10 till 12 in the Regis Centre) as well as a dazzling array of tiger-based artworks inspired by Blake's most famous poem Tyger Tyger, created by clients working under the wing of The Aldingbourne Trust based in Bognor Regis. Internationally renowned Body-Painter Elissa Barrett will present a stunning transformation through the day.
As Olivia Stevens (music programming & outreach officer) says,
“We really wanted to look outwards this year to invite community and local groups to work with us, so they can be part of this unique platform to shine a light on their talents and be inspired by Blake. We want to create a lasting legacy from each BlakeFest and we are thrilled that the Trust have offered to donate an artwork of our choice to our artistic archive. All other works will be for sale and all proceeds go directly back to the charity, so we are certainly encouraging people to take a tiger home with them!”
BlakeFest is getting a reputation for never under-delivering and, as a boutique festival feedback suggests, it exceeded expectation and delivers surprises across all art forms. In a world of overwhelming hype they buck the trend showcasing immersive art, tantalising talks and phenomenal musical aesthetics the line-up this year looks brighter than ever.
