For immediate release
Major new contemporary art festival launched in Cornwall in partnership with Art Night
- Redruth will be home to a major new visual arts festival for the Duchy
- Running from 21-22 October 2023, the festival brings internationally important work to Cornwall
- Four Cornwall-based artists have been commissioned to make new work for the event
- Part of Creative Kernow’s Extraordinary Art in Everyday Places Project, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund
A major new arts festival has been announced for Cornwall, bringing internationally and nationally important work to Cornwall and providing an important platform for the work of Cornwall-based artists.
Flamm – a partnership between Creative Kernow and London-based Art Night which puts the Cornish creative arts scene firmly on the national agenda – will have its inaugural event on 21 and 22 October 2023.
Four Cornwall-based artists have received commissions to exhibit at the festival, and the partnership with Art Night sees two major commissions from multi-media artist Heather Phillipson and sound artist and composer Richy Carey.
This groundbreaking new festival creates a vital platform for Cornish artists and works with important partners to shine a light on the Cornish arts scene – while inviting the communities to engage with exciting new installations from Cornish artists and those from further afield.
Running at various venues in Redruth, the theme of the festival this year is Change. The Cornwall-based artists and collectives undertaking new commissions for the event are Sovay Berriman, Abigail Reynolds, Patrick Lowry and Then Try This. Further events and projects led by local creatives and communities will also happen throughout the town during the festival weekend.
Tonia Lu, programme producer for Flamm and representing Creative Kernow, said: “With over 20 years of experience working with communities and creatives in Cornwall, Creative Kernow sees what a new event could do to bring different communities in Cornwall together, as well as raise the profile of work made in Cornwall.
She added: “Through our conversation with Art Night, we see the opportunity to expand and raise funding to give Cornwall-based artists the opportunity to make new work and create projects that are ambitious, yet of relevance and interest to our communities. Our work with Counterpoints brings an additional rich strand to the work.”
Helen Nisbet, Artistic Director of Art Night, said: “We are really happy to have established such a meaningful partnership with Flamm for their inaugural festival. The partnership comes out of a long conversation between us both on supporting artists, decentralisation and collaboration – questions that are vital to both of us.
“We’re really excited about presenting some of our Art Night commissions in Cornwall this October and getting to know the selected artists and wider art community.”
Counterpoints Arts, a leading national organisation in the field of arts, migration and cultural change, will also be including two of the Flamm projects in Platforma 7 – a South West-wide programme of arts events and exhibitions relevant to migration and displacement, taking place throughout October 2023.
Dijana Rakovic of Counterpoints Arts said: “Counterpoints’ biennial Platforma Festival is an important opportunity for us to work with partners to support and present work by artists practising in the field of migration, climate justice and cultural change.
“This year we are excited to be partnering with Creative Kernow as we present the Festival in the South West across the month of October. The commissions by artists Abigail Reynolds and Sovay Berriman address issues of heritage, language, climate justice and migration in ways that add new dimensions to our Platforma 2023 programme.”
Flamm is part of Creative Kernow’s Extraordinary Art in Everyday Places project which has received £327,500 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The festival is also funded by European Structural and Investment Fund, Arts Council England, and Cornwall Council via the Cultivator programme.
Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for the economy, said: “Strong communities and places are at the heart of our £132m Good Growth Programme, which is delivering the UK Shared Prosperity Fund here in Cornwall and Scilly. The Flamm festival will be a great opportunity to celebrate Cornwall-based artists right in the heart of the Redruth community while shining a national and international spotlight on the Cornish arts scene.”
Cornwall Council has been chosen by Government as a Lead Authority for the fund and is responsible for monitoring the progress of projects funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
For more information about the festival, and to stay updated about the details of the programme as it is announced, visit:
ENDS
Media Enquiries
Tonia Lu, Programme Producer for Flamm, is available for interviews and further comment. Helen Nisbet can also be requested for interview in partnership with Tonia Lu.
All requests to be directed to:
Lauren Webb
Roscoe Communications
07915 083079
Photography
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/dtj7cv8pvg4iiphrp23a4/h?rlkey=867q58wcq3g927hzzaa7pbc5e&dl=0
Editorial Notes
Art Night
Art Night is a biennial contemporary art festival presenting ambitious new work by artists at pivotal moments in their career. Art Night takes place in public spaces and civic buildings. The festival is free and everyone is welcome.
Our model, as a national, nomadic and biannual festival, is rooted in the communities we work within. We champion the possibilities of decentralisation, working with local groups and artist run spaces to write their own narratives. We partner with local organisations and practitioners to ensure our programme is embedded in place. We present critically excellent and experimental work by artists to bring meaningful experiences to a wide range of audiences.
In June 2023 Art Night delivered its first full iteration in a city outside London. We presented ten major commissions by internationally significant artists and more emergent artists in civic and public spaces across Dundee, Scotland, alongside Inwith – a series of projects highlighting a cross section of Dundee’s expansive art and communities programming.
Creative Kernow
Creative Kernow is the creative and cultural sector support organisation for Cornwall. Part funded by Arts Council England and Cornwall Council, we are one of Cornwall’s key creative industries organisations.
Our support includes:
- Providing affordable workspace
- Developing skills and knowledge
- Helping clients to demonstrate their business viability
- Producing and distributing creative work
- Building networks and confidence
- Co-creating transformative cultural projects with communities in Cornwall
- Making national and international connections
- Reaching new audiences, markets and opportunities
Shared Prosperity Fund
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK by investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.
For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
Image: Richy Carey (image credit – Yalla Riso)
