In the heart of the Milton Keynes shopping centre, local artist, Anna Berry, has been busy for the last two weeks putting together an incredible art installation in an unused shop unit. The piece, called the Breathing Room, has been funded with help from MK Community Foundation and is created entirely from discarded A4 paper which has been donated by companies and organisations across Milton Keynes. Many hundreds of rolled cones have been made by the artist and are fixed to the walls of the space which gentle breathe in and out, creating an intriguing and mesmerising atmosphere. The exhibition, which is just off Middleton Hall, will be open daily throughout the Fringe Festival.
Meanwhile over in MK Central Library you can find the fascinating work of artist Deborah Last in an exhibition called Upper Room. The piece consists of full scale prints of women’s bodies on canvasses which the artist has drawn into. Each of the canvasses has an inbuilt sound track, recording s of the stories of the women who are represented and their contrasting attitudes towards their own body images.
Deborah Last is creating a publication of her body prints and is also running one to one body printing from MK Gallery for one day only on Thursday 17th – so you could have a print of your body done by the artist! Booking is essential for these sessions, to find out more just go to MK Fringe website: www.mkfestivalfringe.com
MK Fringe is also hosting a special three day event in City Square (just outside M&S) which showcases the work of up to 14 local artists who have been asked to perform and exhibit in and around pop-up tents! The three day event is called Pitch: Events in Tents and there’ll be everything from a mini art exhibition in a tent, drawing workshops and puppet making, to a dance performance, an installation of knitted plastic and a mini show about climate change!
This year the Fringe runs from 17th – 24th July, alongside the International Festival and there are some real treats in store.There is also some AMAZING theatre, music and comedy programmed throughout the eight day Fringe Festival, in venues all around MK
Check out the full programme on our website: www.mkfestivalfringe.com