Walking with Giants, Dinosaurs and Samba Bands, 20th July #MadeinMK

Once again, Milton Keynes based Festive Road will be producing this spectacular parade of giant puppets which invites guest carnival groups from across UK, participation from many local schools and community groups, as well as some jaw dropping processional structures made by Festive Road artists.

The event will begin to warm up on Midsummer Boulevard, Grafton South, near thehub:mk, from 9.30am where participants and audiences will be gathering ready to walk with the Giants.

At 12 noon the parade will process up Midsummer Boulevard, through Midsummer Place and up to MK Theatre District, where more Street Theatre is being staged, including the amazing Weirdy Beardies and the un-missable Crimplene Millionaire.

As the Giants prepare themselves, there will be a fabulous programme Street entertainment which includes a Dance workshop from FolkDance Remixed, Music performances from Rhythm of the City and other Samba groups and also Street Theatre from Jon Davison and Pocezcka!

9.30 -10am: Walking with Giants Samba – live music performance

10am-10.30: Folk Dance Remixed – dance participation & performance on street

10.30 -10.50am: Pocezcka – acrobatic performance on the street

10.50am -11.15am: Rhythm of the City and MK Maracatu Dance –dance & music performance

11.15-11.30: Body of a Clown – performance on the street

11.30: Extreme Ramblers –walkabout entertainment, Concrete Circus – walkabout entertainment

12 noon: Parade leaves

Walking with Giants forms part of the MK Festival Fringe programme, full listings here: http://mkfestivalfringe.com/whats/#all/1/list

IF: Milton Keynes International Festival, 10 amazing days in July

IF: International Festival Milton KeynesPresenting 10 amazing days including a night-time spectacle from France played out on Willen Lake, contemporary circus from Australia, family events, live music, comedy and cabaret in the exotic Spiegeltent, a monumental walk-in sculpture in thecentre:mk, specially commissioned installations and events, and extraordinary sound and light interventions that move across the cityscape.

View the full programme here: http://www.ifmiltonkeynes.org/festival-programme.html and here you can flick through an e-version of the IF brochure: http://www.ifmiltonkeynes.org/festival-news.html/flick-through-a-virtual-festival-brochure.html

IF: Milton Keynes International Festival has been transforming Central Milton Keynes with a world-class, multi-arts programme of extraordinary events in unusual places and public spaces since 2010.

Produced by internationally renowned music organisation The Stables, the Festival is underpinned by an ongoing theme of sound and music. Over 10 days, the high quality programme features artists and companies from across the world and consists of large-scale outdoor events, international productions, a highly decorated ‘Spiegeltent’ hosting comedy, cabaret and live music, pop-ups and events designed to take place in specific buildings or public spaces.

The Festival has a growing reputation for also presenting UK premieres, commissioning new work and embedding an Artist-In-Residence into its programme. IF is delivered every two years with funding from Arts Council England and Milton Keynes Council, and support from businesses, trusts and foundations.

Monica Ferguson, Festival Director and Chief Executive of The Stables: “IF: Milton Keynes International Festival is growing with each edition, and we are delighted to see it playing an increasingly strategic and important role in Milton Keynes’ cultural life as well as raising the city’s profile nationally and internationally.”

Street art, surprises and surreal experiences at MK Festival Fringe, 17th-24th July – eight slightly outrageous days

MKFF IMG_0477 (1280x960)The MK Festival Fringe; a (slightly outrageous) eight day programme, showcasing some of the most pioneering outdoor theatre, performance, visual arts, music, comedy and dance. The events are presented within the surreal and vibrant landscape of Central Milton Keynes. Unusual spaces -buses, empty shops and street corners are transformed to become our stages, theatres and galleries; we are featuring invited artists like Boogaloo Stu, as well as special commissions such as Festive Road’s Walking with Giants parade.

A jammed packed Festival Fringe with plenty of surprises! MK Festival Fringe will be based at Milton Keynes Central Library, so pop in and say hello.

For full programme and booking information please visit: http://mkfestivalfringe.com 

Some highlights include:

Breathing Room: an installation specially commissioned by MK Fringe with funding from Milton Keynes Community Foundation and support from thecentre:mk. The piece reuses defunct marketing and administrative print: that which has been generated by the ‘insiders’, the commercial outlets within the shopping centre, and also the ‘outsiders’ – charities and not for profit groups who have no home within the shopping centre – as well as municipal bodies. The civic, the commercial, and the community are represented by means of their print detritus.

The artist has allowed the non-commercial to infest, colonise, and re-claim the public space, in tandem with – indistinguishable from – the commercial. In an almost organic form, they breathe in and out, breaking out of the space.

17th -24th July, 11-4pm everyday, Fringe Space 2, Silbury Arcade, North, door 13-15, thecentre:mk

 

Pristine in Blue: Dwayne’s dad was in debt to a bank and took his own life.  Now Dwayne is involved in a group demonstrating against the bank.  Sabeena, his childhood sweetheart, joins him in an illegal squat, and all seems on track until the arrival of Laurie, a busker friend of Dwayne’s, forcing his values and sense of justice and betrayal to be challenged.  A fast moving play exploring youth and confronting contemporary issues, against an emotional backdrop of love and desire. The piece is written by Milton Keynes based writer, Neil Beardmore and directed by Rosemary Hill.

17th -19th July, 7.30pm each night, Arts Central (above MK Central Station), booking required

 

The Crown’s Big Weekender: Lunchtime kids entertainment features Mike Belgrave(BBC Worldwide’s Best in Town), and Jay Foreman with his “Disgusting Songsfor Revolting Children”. Afternoon action features Vikki Stone with her hot new Edinburgh show, Tom Binns “solid writing and sweet timing”, Omar Hamdi – the topical, political, up-to-the-minuteWelsh-Egyptian funnyman! Paul Savage “Genuinely brilliant, an all-round hoot”(Guardian) and MK’s very own Jimmy James Jones. And those are just a phew! of the actsover this jam-packed weekend.

Comedy Cow are working in partnership with the Fringe to present a variety of comedy events as well as this weekend in Stony Stratford, visit http://www.thecomedycow.co.uk for full listings and booking information.

Sat 19th and Sun 20th July, 12.30pm – late, The Crown, Market Square, Stony Stratford, MK11 1BE

 

The Librarians: ʻThe Librariansʼ is a new site-specific show by Pestiferous for libraries and their communities, using dance, comedy, physical theatre and poetry in an immersive performance. This 20-minute piece pops out of the shelves, to surprise an unsuspecting audience and encourages them to join in and see their local public space in a new way. Four librarians roam the library, archiving, shelving, organising and sometimes flying with their beloved books. The books take on a life of their own and lead us into the library to explore what lies within the pages… The audience will see exotic birds in the Wildlife area, find true love with ʻBlind Dateʼ in the Romance section and get limbered up and ready to read with some ʻBookserciseʼ in the Health and Fitness section. The piece urges audiences to join in and be part of the performance, but does allow apprehensive audience members to be passive observers.  Look out for other Pestiferous shows this weekend.

19th July, (2 shows at: 2pm and 4pm) 1st Floor Reference, MK Central Library

 

Works: Take a shed load of ideas to show the passing world; a demonstration of the fruit of two beautiful minds; earnest companions with overalls. Invention, a pet cat, a cup of tea… and a leap of faith, everyday objects, ramshackle engineering, precise timing and deadpan comedy all come into play in this chain reaction of a show. This is the first show by the recently formed duo Heywood Hix. Over the duration of the piece A Heath Robinson shed contraption is assembled by two workmen to a musical soundtrack; an evolving chain reaction takes place involving: everyday objects, ramshackled engineering, precise timing, deadpan comedy and a catapulting cat. The piece has been directed by Matt Rudkin of Inconvienient Spoof who performed at MK Fringe in 2012.

24th July, 12 noon and 3pm, Queens Court, thecentre:mk

The events listed here show a very small percentage of the Fringe 2014 programme, pick up a green brochure, follow them on Twitter or see the full programme here: http://mkfestivalfringe.com/whats/#all/1/list

#MadeinMK launched at MK Gallery ‘Cadences’ preview

Made in MK LogoOur Made in MK summer programme, back by popular demand for 2014, was launched at the MK Gallery ‘Cadences’ preview on 26th June 2014.

Between 26th June and 14th September Made in MK will showcase the unmissable events that are taking place in Milton Keynes.

There are opportunities to come along to exhibitions, workshops, open days, craft events and performances. Made in MK will appeal to all ages and many events will be free. The larger events within Made in MK include the International Festival, MK Festival Fringe and the Walking with Giants Parade, MK Gallery’s summer show, World Picnic, Art in the Park cultural festival Proms in the Park and Heritage Open Days.

In the next few weeks look out for Love Milton Keynes photography exhibition at MK Hospital (http://mkartsforhealth.org.uk), Shakespeare in the Park – 4th July at Willen Lake (http://www.theparkstrust.com), Westbury Fair – 5th July at Westbury Arts Centre (http://www.westburyartscentre.co.uk), MK Museum Country Fair – 13th July at MK Museum (http://www.mkmuseum.org.uk), MK Disability Awareness Day – 13th July at MK Rose (http://www.theparkstrust.com) and much, much more.  Do take a look at our listings page for the whole programme.

To find out more about the full event programme across the summer visit www.aha-mk.org/MadeinMK. You can also follow Made in MK on Twitter using #MadeinMK or find us on Facebook and hear about our events on MKFM.

Made in MK is being co-ordinated by the Arts and Heritage Alliance Milton Keynes (AHA-MK), with support from its members and MK Council.  Media partners are MK Citizen, MKFM and TotalMK.

Dance Festival for Milton Keynes 28th & 29th June #MadeinMK

Motus Dance FestivalMÓTUS; -a dynamic Festival of Dance taking place 28-29 June in Milton Keynes!

28th June is outside the MK Gallery in Margaret Powell’s Square. We have companies which include Motionhouse, Ffin Dance Company, Theo Clinkard, Anjali and a specially commissioned wall running piece at the gallery by Vanessa Cook who was one of the aerialists for the Olympic and Paralympic Opening Ceremonies and who has performed with Motionhouse and Lyndsey Butcher.

All of the performances on Saturday are free; there is a dance on camera workshop with only fifteen places available at the gallery on Saturday which is £20 each.

On Sunday the events are ticketed and include workshops in Ballet, Contemporary, Street, Salsa, Integrated Dance and Indian dance.

There is a matinee show with Ffin Dance Company and Anjali followed by a work in progress panel and show.

Lastly at 6:30pm and 8:30pm we are proud to present acclaimed choreographer and performer Theo Clinkard and his company with his new work ‘Of Land And Tongue’ which is being performed in the round.

The festival is being supported by Arts Council England, Arts Gateway MK, MK Community Foundation, MK Council, MK Festival Fringe and The Venue MK and forms part of the Made in MK summer listing.

http://motusdancefestival.wix.com/motusdancefestival

 

Celebrating Post War Architecture with photographer James Smith

A Brutal Wilderness copyright James Smith
A Brutal Wilderness copyright James Smith

On the the 5th March 2014 AHA-MK welcomed documentary photographer James Smith to speak at our Forum, below are a few highlights and thinking points from James’ talk.  You can see more of James’ work on his website: http://j-smith.co.uk

With an encyclopaedic knowledge of New Towns and their development, James has completed signature projects in communities such as Corby, Milton Keynes, Hatfield, Luton, and most recently Harlow. Picking out often unnoticed or overlooked architectural detail; James’ photography looks at the cityscape in a brand new way.

James describes himself as a documentary photographer who carries out reconnaissance and research in the urban landscape.  He is particularly interested in the period before regeneration takes place.

By exploring new places from an outsider’s point of view, James feels that he can provide a new perspective on a town or area – being a foreigner in a community or landscape allows an artist to take an objective point of view and to identify stories or aspects that are less obvious, and can be more effective, or moving.

James prefers to shoot on overcast days – providing an anti-subjective viewpoint with neither shadows, nor illumination from sunlight.

James has worked with councils and developers on projects to document change as it happens, to understand communities better and to look at how spaces are designed and used.  These projects have helped communities to come together and aided developers in understanding the social and design challenges of their regeneration projects.

In many cases James has found that his work provides an opportunity for the parties involved in regeneration to take stock and perhaps to realise that although urban landscapes that are deteriorating need to be refurbished, by completely clearing and re-building our heritage is being destroyed.

James’ interest in post-war architecture and design principles has led him to work in new towns and his work clearly shows the different stages of construction and phases of new town buildings.  It is now possible to see several generations of new town in the urban landscape of one area, providing interesting documentation of how these different architectural styles interact.

The image above is from Milton Keynes, and shows the ongoing fight of nature to exist and thrive in urban areas.  With the continuous growth and development planned for Milton Keynes, James’ work suggests that the city might benefit from a process of documentation to collect and collate the changes that are being implemented now.  There is a wealth of information relating to Milton Keynes’ early development, but how much is being captured now?

Made in MK 2013 Highlights

Black Feathers MK Arts Centre

  • Made in MK took place between 28th June and 15th September 2013.
  • Through this project the Arts and Heritage Alliance – Milton Keynes (AHA-MK) provided the collective marketing umbrella for 150 events across the Borough of Milton Keynes – these included workshops and courses, exhibitions, dance, heritage activities, performance and fringe activity in the public realm.
  • Activities were delivered by over 40 organisations from AHA-MK and Milton Keynes Heritage Association (MKHA) membership and beyond.
  • Over this three-month period Made in MK attracted nearly 50,000 attendees.
  • MK Festival Fringe, Proms in the Park and the Arts and Culture Festival (in Campbell Park) all recorded increased audiences in comparison to last year
  • AHA-MK commissioned five new artworks, designed to celebrate Milton Keynes, which were displayed in and around the city centre during the summer
  • Through working with media partners MKFM and MK Citizen we ensured that Made in MK received significant press coverage and Destination Milton Keynes hosted all our listings online.

The level of collaboration and co-operation shown by our members and partners continues to impress us – we are working hard to make this process as easy as possible.  SoC 2012 was a pioneering year, which proved to the sectors the value of working together on a large-scale joint venture and Made in MK has allowed these relationships to develop even further.  By pulling together in this way, MK arts and heritage organisations are able to achieve a critical mass, and promote a cultural offer that spans the Borough.

Drawing Machine

Funding for this project came from four sources:

  • Arts Council England with match funding from the MK Collection
  • We secured £5,000 from MK Community Foundation to allow us to offer 5 commissions to artists (and further commissions were offered by MK Festival Fringe), with a brief to celebrate Milton Keynes and engage members of the public.
  • MK Council also provided funding for the production and distribution of marketing materials, in recognition that we were continuing the legacy of SoC on a significantly smaller budget.

Organisations involved in AHA-MK have told us that they were very pleased to be involved in this project:

Made in MK’ provided a strong legacy for the 2012 Summer of Culture programme, contributing to Milton Keynes’ aspiration to be distinctive and World Class.  (David Hill, MK Council) 

The Gallery was delighted to support the ‘Made in MK’ campaign.  Thematically, it linked perfectly with our summer exhibition and events programme ‘MK Calling’ (Katharine Sorensen, MK Gallery)

‘Made in MK’ played an important role in helping to bring many of the disparate creative programmes across MK together into one cohesive audience offer. (Jessica Rost, MK Festival Fringe)