30th anniversary awards for Versatile Buxton Festival Fringe
As part of this year's 30th anniversary celebrations, the Buxton Festival Fringe is launching an exciting new visual arts project, known as Vers@Tile, which will involve workshops for local people, schools, community groups and sure start centres, resulting in a permanent triptych commemorating the history of the Fringe.
Thanks to generous funding from Awards For all & The Big Lottery Fund, Satterthwaite Trust, The Bingham Trust and Derbyshire County Council (through Councillors Barbara Wilson and Robin Baldry) the Vers@Tile Project can go ahead and provide a broad range of creative activities for 15 separate workshop groups, as well as run an Open Day workshop during the Festival itself.
Fringe Chair, Stephanie Billen, explains:
"The Fringe is delighted that Awards for All has provided the Vers@Tile project with such a generous sum. Other funders have also come forward to make this happen, for which we are extremely grateful. In our exciting 30th anniversary year it is lovely to think that artists will be working with schools and community groups to create a lasting piece of art celebrating the diversity of entertainment on the Fringe over the last three decades."
Local artists, Ingrid Karlsson-Kemp and Caroline Chouler-Tissier, are managing this project, bringing in three further artists, so that creative work can be carried out in five different media: ceramics, metal work, painting, printing and textiles.
"We are going to be incredibly busy from now on", says Ingrid, "with workshops starting the first week of February, involving up to 200 people before the project is over! It will be challenging but also fun and rewarding, and will set the tone for what will be a very special Festival Season in the Fringe, and for Buxton as a whole".Notes for the Editor:
For further information contact Ingrid Karlsson-Kemp
01298-833 94; 07976-527009
VERS@TILE - A Fringe30 visual arts project
Coordinators: Ingrid Karlsson-Kemp & Caroline Chouler-Tissier
Theme:A multi-media visual arts project, Vers@Tile, making small individual tiles to create mosaics celebrating the Fringe in the community (each person contributes own 'verse' to the whole story)
Purpose:An inclusive participatory community arts project celebrating the versatility of the Festival Fringe, to result in a Triptych for permanent display mounted from 150 pieces (three panels 55 x 80 cm portrait)
Media:Ceramics, textiles, painting, printmaking and jewellery with the objective to facilitate children and adults in creating small individual tiles (choosing from three different sizes the largest 15 x 15 cm)
Target Group:a) Schools (11 primary & secondary selected)
b) Family learning (children with parents x 2)
c) Community groups (rural x 2))
Presentation:Displays during 2009 Fringe housed in Buxton Museum and Art Gallery (Foyer cabinets and display screens); Final Triptych Vers@Tile to be exhibited in prominent location such as Crescent or Dome
Timescale:Workshop Programme: Jan 09 - July 09;
Preparation displays & print: March - June 09;
Exhibits & Fringe30 Open Day Workshop: July 09
(A Saturday Family Workshop 18th July 2009)