THERE was great disappointment across Scotland last year when the commemorations of the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath were marred by the coronavirus pandemic.
Nothing daunted, local people have put together an impressive new cultural festival, Arbroath 2020+1, which is sure to attract attention.
The organisers say: “Arbroath 2020+1 is the exciting new reshaped festival programme and reflects Arbroath moving forward, embracing culture to connect communities and shine a bright light on the town.
“Co-created and inspired by residents, local partners, and grassroots organisations, the 2021 programme includes major artistic events, premieres and commissions across heritage, music, literature, and visual arts. A programme connecting people locally and nationally with heritage, arts, learning, and community.”
From July to September, there will be a host of events celebrating the 701st anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath in a non-political programme that emphasises the creativity of the area.
The full programme has been released online with more than 20 events set to take place in and around Arbroath, mixing participatory events for all ages, exhibitions, self guided tours and trails and a series of live performances including a live music concert in a fishmarket to a medieval themed canine fashion show. New commissions in performance and music by internationally renowned Scottish artists will feature alongside a series of collaborative community projects including the Pageant for Gallivants which runs from July 2 to 8, and is led by festival artist Mandy McIntosh.
Pageant for Gallivants is a series of micro events, installations and performances that have been programmed to adapt to the restrictions whilst putting culture in the heart of the community. It’s described as a “dispersed, atomised public artwork weaving playful and engaging visual narratives directly into the shop windows and fabric of the town.”
Much later in the Festival, Over Lunan will be an extraordinary sound and visual promenade performance in the dunes of Lunan Bay in Angus. It runs from September 9 to 19 and is created by Angus Farquhar of Aproxima Arts with script by Purni Morell.
The festival organisers said: “This major live commission blends a monumental sound and light installation with elements of theatre as audience members are immersed in an environmental art piece that draws on the fragility of the natural world and ancient mythologies.”
Taking place on Sunday, August 8, at Arbroath Fish Market, Whale Song is a new collaborative performance of music for poetry inspired by whale song, devised by poet Lesley Harrison with viola-player Katherine Wren and clarinettist Alex South.
Residents of Scotland’s east coast will get the joke in the name of the Heritage Arts Auchmithie Residents (HAAR) who will bring the fishing history and lore of Auchmithie’s past vividly back to life through a live history performance taking place at Arbroath Harbour fish sheds on Saturday July 10.
Led by local artists Tina Aburrow, Karen Elliot and Jilly Henderson, Sea Washed Light invites residents in the Fit O’The Toon to get involved in shining a bright light on Arbroath and its Bell Rock Lighthouse. Residents have received packs of materials to help them make shining displays at the front of their homes, creating a collaborative iridescent display that will catch the light and shine its way across the sea to the lighthouse.
Sure to be a big attraction, Ruffs Dogs in the Park is a socially distanced medieval-themed fashion photoshoot inspired by historic pageantry and all the wonderful dogs of the town.
Dog-lovers in the region are creating home-crafted regal coats for their pooches to model in a fashion photoshoot staged in the park, Beacon Green, on Sunday July 4.
As part of distance learning and activities designed to explore the legacy of the Declaration of Arbroath and engage in cultural activities, the New Declarations project devised and led by writer Rebecca Sharp has invited secondary school students in Angus to join in an online writing activity where each contributor shares three new declarations, intentions or statements that will generate a collective text. The New Declarations will then be presented at the festival.
In addition to the workshops that helped inspire the designs for the 2020+1 Festival Flags project, hundreds of art packs have been delivered across Arbroath so residents can create their own flags to display in their windows throughout the festival.
Find out more at www.arbroathfestival.com
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