ARTS
Folk Tales - Swale celebrates Cultural Olympiad launch
People of Swale enjoyed a range of exciting storytelling events across the borough coupled with an outdoor screening of archive footage and artists films to celebrate the official launch of the Cultural Olympiad over the 26th-28th September.
Free events included:
- The sleepy residential area around Chart Gunpowder Mills in Faversham was transported back in time to the sounds and smells of gunpowder explosions. Historical interpreter Roger Emmerson posed as an Ordnance Office inspector seeking supplies for forthcoming the campaign in Flanders and fired pistols and muskets to test his ‘black powder’ to a delighted, but slightly nervous audience.
- A storytelling event for children, including a Medieval puppet show from 'The Theatre of the Small', and a historical story about Queenborough performed by Sheppey residents 'Big Fish Arts'. Beggars rose and Emperors fell in “Fortunes Fools”; while man had to pit his wits against a host of demons in “The Blacksmith and the Devil.”
- Sitting in a field on a September evening may not be the most obvious way to spend a Saturday night, but heritage enthusiasts, artists and film lovers gathered to watch a unique selection of films for free on the big screen. Films included never before seen archive footage from 1946 of the sea trials of HMS Sea Fox in Sheerness Dockyard, and some amateur footage of a journey from Medway to Sheerness that was filmed in 1938 by the prolific Kentish film-maker Sonny Hanson. The programme also included the premiere of a zombie film from Sheppey residents Big Fish Arts entitled The Haunting, and artist Peter Downsbrough’s film And Here, which documents the changing industrial landscape of North Kent.
- The grounds around Minster Abbey Gatehouse Museum were transported back to two historical eras on Sunday 28 September. The award-winning World War II re-enactment group ‘Battle for Europe’ gave a demonstration of kit and weaponry used by the Home Guard, and local residents ‘Big Fish Arts’ brought the founder of the Abbey Queen Sexburgha back to life through historical storytelling and street theatre.
Catherine Herbert, Swale Borough Council’s Arts and Heritage Officer, said “I hadn’t anticipated how great it would be to see World War II soldiers and 7th century monks chatting to each other. It was surreal. It was fantastic to see plenty of young people at the event, who probably didn’t notice they were having a history lesson.”
A grant from the national Museums, Libraries and Archives Service supported this weekend of fun activity put on by Swale Borough Council.
Dance in the Dragon Spirit!
Celebrate the launch of the Cultural Olympiad by participating in a traditional Chinese dance workshop with China Arts, Turner Contemporary.
China Arts will be running a traditional Chinese dance workshop for families at Droit House, Margate on Saturday 27 September, 1-4pm.
Experience typical ribbon, fan and handkerchief dance with experienced Chinese dancers, learning characteristics of the dances and special dance skills.
Cultural Olympiad:
This Far West workshop forms part of the Cultural Olympiad which will be launched on the 26 September.
From then on and for the next four years we will start to see cultural projects across the whole of the UK that have been inspired by the Olympic spirit.
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is more than just four weeks of sport, it is as the founder of the modern Olympic movement once said,’ a wedding of sport and art’.
Turner Contemporary:
The Chinese Dance is being organised through the visual arts organisation Turner Contemporary. It celebrates JMW Turner's association with Margate and, through a varied programme of exhibitions and events, promotes an understanding and enjoyment of historical and contemporary art.
Further Information:
Free admission, no booking necessary, children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
Participants are not required to bring anything for this workshop however comfortable shoes are recommended.
Venue Tel: 01843 280261 Website: www.turnercontemporary.org
2012 Olympic and Paralympic Handover and Launch Events - South East- Options for Regional Events
London 2012 has a real desire to make 17 September a great day on the road to the London 2012 Games as we celebrate the Handover from Beijing to London & the UK. This will be swiftly followed by the Cultural Olympiad Launch weekend, 26 – 28 September. You are encouraged to join in one or all of these events in any inspiring way you see fit. Do make the best use of regional resources, be as idiosyncratic as you please, do be inspired.
Key dates for 2008
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 17 September | Handover Ceremony at the Closing of the Beijing Paralympic Games Theme: Education |
| Friday 26 – Sunday 28 September | Cultural Olympiad Launch Weekend Theme: Participation |
Paralympic Handover Ceremony - Education
On Wednesday 17 September the Paralympic Handover Ceremony will be the major focus for a second project which will reach out to every community through young people and specifically through education routes. On this day London 2012 will launch its Education Programme – an outline for this will be made available on June 16.
The ceremony will follow roughly the same timetable as the Olympic Games (with Handover expected at approximately 2.30pm); the format is similar and London 2012 will mark it in the same way. Stephen Powell is directing both ceremonies and he is using the same artistic cast in both. The opportunities throughout the UK will be distributed widely over the coming months and we hope that it will give a real chance to celebrate in a way specific to these Games which Stoke Mandeville created in 1948. We are very proud in the South East of all that Stoke Mandeville has done; celebrating their achievement and finding inspiration in it will be at the core of our Cultural Olympiad and our Legacy Trust programme – Accentuate. We would therefore also encourage you to mark this occasion.
You may want to organise something special during or after school hours or you might want to get local under-graduates or FE or HE institutions to organise something to underline the Education focus. However, outside of an education context, you may want to create an extraordinary event led by deaf and disabled artists, film makers, cultural providers or fully involve the disabled community in a specially devised celebration. We are hoping to launch our Accentuate programme that day and are currently making plans for what this might look like.
Cultural Olympiad Handover Weekend – Participate
The aim of Cultural Olympiad is to show that London 2012 is about more than just 5 weeks of fantastic sport. The launch weekend, September 26 – 28, kicks off a four year celebration of our cultures, on a scale that has not been attempted before, designed to enable the widest range of people across the UK to take part.
The launch weekend will also launch a number of the Cultural Olympiad Major projects. We will not only get content detail but also a timeline for these projects illustrating how they will be played out during the four years. We do not have confirmation of which projects will be announced that weekend but it is likely to be: Stories of the World, 2012 Sounds, Artists Taking the Lead, Extraordinary Ability and Young Futures. After the launch weekend it will become clearer how we can get involved and play our part in the Cultural Olympiad.
The weekend will also begin the Cultural Olympiad awareness campaign for the public. We want the general public to understand what it is all about, find out how, where and when they can get involved and build personal interest, growing to widespread national understanding over the four year period. Consequently we will help promote any activity taking place over this weekend. It will open up creative opportunities for individuals, communities, organisations, boroughs, cities, counties. It is our chance to open up and try something new and different, to enable inspiring cultural activity to reach more people in often unexpected places, to think differently about the Olympics and Paralympics and to present ourselves to the world in a variety of different ways, which represent the creative UK. This has led to two specific themes, Open Up and Light Up.
Open Up
The aim is to open up opportunities for people across the UK to get involved in imaginative, thought-provoking creative activities they may not have done before. Cultural groups and organisations are encouraged to work together to do something unusual, open up different spaces, provide opportunities for people to try something new, or offer free or discounted tickets to events.
Examples might be: opening up part of your collection normally in storage, organising workshops or seminars so people can better understand your work, open house events such as tours of the Town Hall or Mayor’s House – places that the public cannot usually access, devising special trails in woodlands or across natural landscape, free taster sessions or classes, opening up rehearsals to the public, staying open longer or at unusual times, organising something unusual in your space or building.
Light Up
The aim is that people will know the 2012 journey has started over that weekend without having to go inside a cultural building – many people are not familiar with how close they are to a cultural or sporting venue. It will act as a visual marker for the weekend, repeated over the course of 4 years.
A variety of buildings and other spaces around the UK will 'present themselves' in one of the London 2012 brand colours – you may want to do the same? Other e xamples might be: a light art installation, staying open late or throughout the night (therefore keeping your lights on), fireworks, film making, coloured gels in your windows, lantern processions, digital or web based work, can you get everyone in your area to light up their mobile ‘phones at the same with a special message/screening? Use this opportunity to highlight low energy lighting or alternative sources of power.
We would like to see people in the South East of England light their coastal and millennium beacons over this weekend. We are currently discussing a lead town for this to give the cue, will get back to you with dates and times once this has been agreed. Mean time do let Caterina Loriggio, the Creative Programmer, know if you can get involved in this way. You may contact Caterina at: c.loriggio@culturesoutheast.org.uk
Hidden Treasures Film Archive Project
Screen South has developed a film heritage idea inspired by Open Up and Light Up to engage the public in activities across the South East for the Cultural Olympiad Launch. We will be inviting the public to bring out their old films from 
under the bed or out of the attic – open up the boxes and light up their films on screens in village halls, community centres and cinema screens.
It will be a real insight to see their personal stories up on a big screen for the first time. We will compliment this local activity by inviting those public archives, cultural centres, museums, libraries, academic institutions, stately homes, who hold rarely seen fascinating film archives, to open up their doors and invite the public in to see their treasures in a unique setting. The UK Film Council who, in principle, is supportive of the idea being linked in with their new regional archive access programme may be able to support Screen South by providing some seed funding to kick start the initiative. The idea is at very early stages of discussion, but these early discussions are getting a very warm reaction. We are in the process of drawing up an activity and marketing plan and will seek to engage a regional steering group to lead the programme.
Screen South would be happy to discuss the idea with those who feel they could contribute something positive and imaginative. They will be calling a meeting in early June to take the idea forward with key stakeholders and partners. Please let Jo Nolan know if you or any other partners would like to attend - jo.nolan@screensouth.org
Open Space
We will be running an Open Space event shortly after launch weekend for the South East’s cultural providers to get together to discuss both the Cultural Olympiad and Accentuate. We hope that this will be managed by Improbable - www.improbable.co.uk
Inspire Mark
Projects can carry the London 2012 Inspire mark from launch weekend onwards. See www.london2012.com/beinspired for more detail. Applications need to be received by June 13 to be considered for September 26 - 28.
Don’t forget
The event that you are organising might need a licence. We advise contacting your Local Authority Licensing Officer and Environmental Health Team as early as possible. Some authorities will require up to three months notice for a licence application.
Contacts
Caterina Loriggio, the Creative Programmer for London 2012 South East, should be your first port of call for getting involved in any of the above events. She can be contacted on c.loriggio@culturesoutheast.org.uk .
Further information on the Cultural Olympiad and the Inspire mark can be found on www.london2012.com/beinspired , please look on this website first before contacting Caterina with a general question. Through this web page you can also subscribe to Create newsletter which will keep you informed on London 2012 cultural activity.
Thank you for considering participation and we hope you will join us on the first steps of the road to 2012!
Kent’s Young People share their thoughts on Olympic Handover
To mark the start of the Cultural Olympiad, Kent libraries will be working alongside Young People from across Kent to engage and record students' thoughts and aspirations during 
the Handover Celebrations.
Young People from six secondary schools and six Pupil Referral Units will be invited to visit their local library to record their impressions directly on to the BBC Memoryshare Website assisted by library staff and Time2Give web wizard volunteers.
This is a first in Olympic history that the stories of individuals and communities in the host country will be captured in such a unique community archive project.
Several hundred students in Kent will have the opportunity to take part in these activities – part of MLA’s Setting the Pace programme - which coincide with the Olympic Handover from the Beijing Games on August 24th, Paralympic Handover on September 17th and the start of the Cultural Olympiad on the weekend of the 26th -28th September.
For more information contact Michelle Giles, Service Development Librarian Culture, 2012 Olympics and Young People
Students at Canterbury High School won the Brenda Blethyn Acting Award for their slapstick comedy, “Titanic Year Olympic Games 1912"
Young people from across Kent competed in the first ever Kino Kids Film Festival at the Granville Cinema in Ramsgate. Winners ranged from schools and youth clubs to individuals aged from 13 to 18 year olds.
The winners also got to experience having their film shown on the big screen at Granville Cinema.
Film director, Jan Dunn says “We were delighted to be asked to organise a film festival
for kid’s films but knowing how competitive the industry is, we wanted to mark it with a
handful of awards to encourage the stronger talent.”
Film Producer, Elaine Wickham added, “The icing on the cake was getting Brenda
Blethyn to agree to lend her name to the Best Acting award”. Born in Kent, Blethyn
recently worked on Medb Film’s latest project, The Calling which is now nearing
completion.
It was Canterbury High School which scooped this prestigious award for their work inspired by the upcoming 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.
For more information on the Kino Kids Film Festival or how schools can enter please visit the medbfilms website
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