<![CDATA[The Shift Norwich – Culture, arts events, cultural tourism, place-making, audience development, design, arts marketing, engagement, projects, digital, advice...what are you looking for?

<![CDATA[The Shift Norwich – Culture, arts events, cultural tourism, place-making, audience development, design, arts marketing, engagement, projects, digital, advice...what are you looking for? - Blog Shift]]>Fri, 01 May 2026 13:05:41 +0100Weebly<![CDATA[Norfolk & Norwich Festival launches its Covid-bounceback programme for 2021]]>Fri, 09 Apr 2021 13:04:24 GMThttps://www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk/blog-shift/norfolk-norwich-festival-launches-its-covid-bounceback-programme-for-2021
17 - 30 MAY 2021: OPENING ON 17 MAY AS RESTRICTIONS LIFT, THE SPECIALLY REMODELLED ‘PAY WHAT YOU WANT’ FESTIVAL WHICH HAS BEEN ADAPTED TO REFLECT CURRENT TIMES

●      FESTIVAL GARDENS REOPENS WITH OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE AND MUSIC PROGRAMME

●      THE BAND WAGON WILL TAKE WORK TO THOSE WHO CAN’T BE AT THE FESTIVAL - IN CARE HOMES, SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES AROUND NORWICH

●      OUTDOOR WORK INCLUDES A GIANT INTERACTIVE DEPARTURE BOARD KALEIDER’S MASSIVE ROBOT CREATED MURAL, EMERGENCY EXIT ARTS’ RECOVERY POEMS AND A PROGRAMME FROM WITHOUT WALLS

●      DIGITAL PROGRAMME INCLUDING 600 HIGHWAYMEN, JAVAAD ALIPOOR AND BLAST THEORY, AS WELL AS COMMISSIONED EXPERIENCE PACKS

●      NEW FESTIVAL FINAL WEEKEND COLLABORATION WITH WILD PATHS FEATURING MOSES BOYD AND POPPY AJUDHA

●      MORE MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE I FAGIOLINI’S RE-WILDING THE WASTE LAND, LOTTE BETTS-DEAN, NABIHAH IQBAL, HATIS NOIT AND MAHAN ESFAHANI WITH MANCHESTER COLLECTIVE

●      THEATRE, DANCE, CIRCUS AND A FESTIVAL LAUNCH FROM CABARET LEGENDS DUCKIE

●      VISUAL ART ENCOMPASSING GRAYSON PERRY, CRISTINA IGLESIAS AND TONY CRAGG

●      CITY OF LITERATURE PROGRAMME IN COLLABORATION WITH NATIONAL CENTRE FOR WRITING AS WELL AS FUTURE & FORM - A COLLABORATION WITH UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA IN CELEBRATION OF THEIR 50TH ANNIVERSARY

●      ALL FESTIVAL EVENTS WILL FOLLOW COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

FESTIVAL RUNS MONDAY 17 MAY – SUNDAY 30 MAY 2021, PUBLIC BOOKING OPENS 10AM THURSDAY 15 APRIL 2021

Norfolk & Norwich Festival has today announced the full programme for its 2021 Festival (17 - 30 May).
The 14-day event is set to be a specially created one-off adaptation including outdoor and socially distanced performance, art and music as well as a digital strand. The programme is designed to be as adaptable as possible given current circumstances, and created with a desire to provide employment opportunities for artists, as well as entertainment and a sense of community pride. 2021 Festival organisers and partners recently announced that the vast majority of the smaller than usual programme would be available on a free or ‘pay what you want’ basis to encourage as many people as want to find something within the Festival that they might enjoy.

The Festival will take place in venues across the city and county, as well as at the newly reopened Festival Gardens where a brand-new Festival music weekend is announced in collaboration with Wild Paths - Garden Sessions. Festival Gardens will also see the return of the much-loved Garden Party over the middle weekend.

2021 kicks off with a socially distanced live launch, Don’t Touch Duckie! on the first legal day for live performance. South London cabaret legends Duckie present a drag showbiz speakeasy hosted by Bourgeois & Maurice. The live cabaret magazine includes a chat with Festival Director Daniel Brine. There will be a socially distanced audience, a virtual audience on Zoom and 150 special guest life size cardboard cut outs. Elsewhere across the opening weekend is The Band Wagon, a brand new initiative taking work from contemporary dance to classic music on the back of a truck to communities who can’t reach the Festival, such as residential homes, schools and community squares.

Further performance highlights include: a show for families inside the historic prison cells below Norwich Guildhall, where artist Tim Spooner invites audiences one at a time to visit an installation of moving sculptures; contemporary sci-fi dance show Future Cargo from trailblazing artists Requardt & Rosenberg in Festival Gardens; at Diss Corn Hall and Sheringham Little Theatre, singer/writer Jessica Walker and composer Luke Styles hold a mirror up to the times we live in to create a scratch of The People’s Cabaret - cutting edge cabaret for today, using original protest songs from the Weimar cabaret years, along with a brand new cycle of music.

Much of the offering this year is outdoor performance and art and the programme sees some new commissions and returning shows that were scheduled for the 2020 Festival.  Kaleider return to the Festival with the premiere of Robot Selfie - a huge portrait of the public by a robot that draws on walls. Audiences around the world can take a selfie and Kaleider’s non learning AI will interpret it into a line drawing, so that the picture joins hundreds of others in a giant mural. Emergency Exit Arts (EEA) brings Recovery Poems - artists Robert Montgomery and Deanna Roger have created a poetry installation made from light that will visited beautiful public spaces around Norwich commemorating loss and celebrating hope for the future. Award winning sound artist Ray Lee shows his monumental kinetic sound sculptures - Ring Out, a dramatic outdoor spectacle where giant industrial towers hold suspended and swinging bell-like speaker cones that soar up over the heads of the audience. Artist duo YARA + DAVINA present their interactive installation about birth, death and the journey in between Arrivals + Departures. Taking the form of a station or airport arrivals and departures board, the artwork invites visitors to share the names of people who have arrived and departed as a way to celebrate a birth or commemorate a death.

Across the middle of the Festival the Garden Party will return for two days of magical outdoor arts in the park. Featuring circus, dance, theatre and more the programme from Without Walls includes: MEarth Mothers a trio of climate clowns in extraordinary costumes from Beady Eye, IRMA-sister by Damae Dance, Why? an ariel duet by Gravity & Levity, The Rascally Diner, a messy performance about food by LAStheatre, Roll Play, a circus and hip hop mash up by Simple Cypher, The Hidden Music of Trees, an augmented reality outdoor installation by Jason Singh; Good Youtes Walka hip hop piece by Far From the Norm; The Invisible Man, using H. G. Wells’ novel as source material for a 2-person promenade by Altered States.

Music will be across the city this year, with the programme focussed in Festival Gardens and at St Andrew’s Hall. Across the final weekend the Festival is teaming up with Wild Paths for two days of park-based gigs with headliners Moses Boyd and Poppy Ajudha. More music highlights include: South African cellist Abel Selaocoe; music maker Nabihah Iqbal, one of the most exciting and progressive talents in UK music today, also a human right’s lawyer and a black belt in Karate; the self-taught Japanese vocal performer Hatis Noit from Shiretoko in Hokkaido brings her work inspired by Gagaku and operatic styles, Bulgarian and Gregorian chanting, to avant-garde and pop; Sarathy Korwar brings his blend of Indian folk music and contemporary jazz and electronics; a double-bill of two large ensembles featuring some of the most exciting improvisers from around the UK - new Norwich-based octet Holding Hands, and Manchester-based guitarist Anton Hunter’s 11 piece Article XI. Expect brass textures, post-minimalist vibraphone patterns and free improvisation.

The classical music programme for 2021 includes: Manchester Collective and Mahan Esfahani in a programme of Bach, Gorecki and Horovitz alongside a new work from Laurence Osborn; Festival favorites I Fagiolini with the first in person performance of Re-Wilding The Waste Land, inspired by T S Eliot’s epic poem - the concert, narrated by Adjoa Andoh celebrates 100 years of the poem written in the wake of the First World War and the ‘Spanish Flu’; Mezzo-Soprano Lotte Betts-Dean returns to the Festival with Joseph Havlat to present an intimate journey through the world of folk song featuring arrangements of traditional tunes from around the world and world premiere arrangements from Josephine Stephenson and Isabella Gellis; Norwich Chamber Music present Elias String Quartet, one of the most intense and vibrant quarters of their generation; pianist Samson Tsoy will perform Bach’s Partita and Brahms Variations; Britten Sinfonia presents Surround Sound: Norwich Playlist with special guests Norwich Cathedral Choir and cellist Abel Selaocoe where audiences will experience the music from all around the building; in Compline by Candlelight, The Girl Choristers, Lay Clerks and Choral Scholars of Norwich Cathedral Choir sing the ancient monastic office of night prayer in the candlelit surroundings of Norwich Cathedral.

Each year the Festival presents a literature programme in collaboration with National Centre for Writing and for 2021 they bring seven experiments in writing reflective of the past year including the annual Harriet Martineau Lecture delivered by critic and editor Ellah P. Wakatama, with a new visual score by film-maker and poet Julian Knox. The Book Hive’s Page Against The Machine will also be back at Plantation Gardens. The literature programme for 2021 also includes Future & Form, an ambitious collaboration with University of East Anglia (UEA) in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their world renowned Creative Writing programme. Involving over 400 people, the project explores what the next 50 years of writing will look like. The six resulting multi-modal works are from six writers - Ayòbámi Adébáyò, Mona Arshi, Tash Aw, Imogen Hermes Gowar, Mitch Johnson and James McDermott.

Many of the visual art galleries and spaces across the city and country will reopen alongside the Festival on 17th May and a whole host of those offerings are included within the Festival; internationally acclaimed Spanish installation artist and sculptor, Cristina Iglesias, presents two major sculptures at the Sainsbury Centre, UEA - Celosía XI (Hafsa Bint Al-Hayy) (2006) and the immersive installation Vegetation Room III (2005) where the interior walls of a space are casts of organic vegetation; GroundWork Gallery’s exhibition, Japan Water looks at the significance of water in Japanese art and culture; major works by celebrated British sculptor Tony Cragg go on show in the grounds and historic interiors of Houghton Hall; East Gallery NUA present The Vanity of Small Difference, a series of large-scale tapestries by the TurnerPrize-winning artist Grayson Perry, the exhibition explores the British fascination with taste and class; Somewhere Unexpected, Norwich Castle Open Art Show, invites artists to submit work that acknowledges the significance of our immediate environments in the shifting context of a global pandemic; Plants, Porcelain, People is an exciting new collaborative installation made by ceramicist, Katie Spragg in response to and in partnership with a group of young refugees, through the Norwich based charity, Norwich International Youth Project.

A section of the 2021 programme is designed to be experienced come what may. This includes experience packs to do at home, digital performances and interactive work that audiences can take part in alone. American duo, 600 Highwaymen’s new piece, A Thousand Ways (Part One): A Telephone Call was born of the duo’s desire to create a piece of participatory theatre that obeyed the rules around social distancing. It is an interactive performance, connecting audiences to an automated voice that prompts a shared experience that, even in times of social isolation, brings them intimately close to a stranger. Pre-pandemic, the Festival co-commissioned Javaad Alipoor’s Rich Kids – a stage and social media fusion about wealth and consumption in Iran. Alipoor has since revisited the piece to remake it solely online and this version will be shown in the 2021 programme.  Blast Theory’s Rider Spoke predates Covid-19 by more than a decade, but its use of technology and solo cycling experiences is apt. Participants discover how games and new technologies can create exciting new social spaces where the real and the fictional world intertwine. Finally, part of the City of Literature programme, Theatre maker Jack McNamara and composer/ violinist Angharad Davies deliver The Group, a three-part play told live via WhatsApp. Alongside these projects, the Festival has commissioned a group of artists to make Experience Packs – kits designed to be completed in audiences' own time with physical-distancing in mind. The four packs include: Andy Field & Beckie Darlington’s A Rain Walk, designed for a walk in the rain and accompanied by the recorded voices of children from across the UK and Ireland; Sheila Ghelani’s Rambles With Nature Kit comes carefully presented in a pouch containing six tools with instructions that encourage attentiveness to nature; Noëmi Lakmaier’s illustrated Going Somewhere is an exercise in slowness and drawing in space that takes participants on a purposeful 1,000 meter stroll; Theatre company Frozen Light’s Something for your Shelter is an outdoor sensory experience designed for audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their families.

Finally, Creative Norfolk is a new strand to this year's programme that celebrates a county at the artistic edge through a series of new commissions, exhibitions, workshops and discussions. The Norfolk Presents… part of the programme is a series of new works that explore the social and physical landscape, from coast to Cathedral. In Peregrinations, Holly Bodmer is joined by fellow artists in paying tribute to ten years of Norwich’s nesting falcons, through a four-part performance that combines live art, theatre, kinetic sculpture and spoken word. JMCAnderson takes inspiration from the 1968 Memphis civil rights riots to highlight diversity and culture within Norfolk, as part of her workshop series I Am…. Genevieve Rudd transports audiences to the coast with the Yarmouth Springs Eternal exhibition, featuring participatory activities, hobbyist curiosities and living plant-based displays that explores the natural world through contemporary art. The Practice & Process strand invites audiences backstage to see the mechanisms of artistic creation. The Festival’s Creative Individual Norfolk award recipients discuss Making Art in a Time of Mayhem, or join a public seminar reflecting on the potential of a Norfolk-wide contemporary art programme, asking Why Biennials?

All Festival events will be in line with government guidelines. To stay in touch with the latest news and programme announcements visit nnfestival.org.uk or follow the Festival’s social media channels.

Norfolk & Norwich Festival usually takes place in Norwich and around Norfolk for 17 days each May. The programme is multi-artform, contemporary, international and audience-centred, collaborating with artists from down the road and around the world. Full information and listings for all Norfolk & Norwich Festival events at nnfestival.org.uk.
]]><![CDATA[Currie and Reich – The Colin Currie Quartet at Norwich Playhouse Monday 20 May NNFestival 2019]]>Wed, 22 May 2019 13:13:42 GMThttps://www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk/blog-shift/currie-and-reich-the-colin-currie-quartetnorwich-playhouse-monday-20-may-nnfestival-2019

Currie and Reich – The Colin Currie Quartet
Norwich Playhouse Monday 20 May NNFestival 2019
a review by Marion de Mello Catlin
The Colin Currie Quartet played a blinder last night in Norwich Playhouse. I didn’t know about them before the concert and was interested to go to a performance that was all percussion based as the percussion section rarely gets the glory in an orchestra, and I also like the music of Steve Reich. The Playhouse was packed with not a spare seat in the house – great to see such a turnout – obviously many people better informed than me!

The Quartet was formed fairly recently in 2018 by Colin Currie who is clearly completely passionate about percussion and the Quartet. After the first piece (Mallet Quartet by Joseph Perreira) he introduced the Quartet and explained that the composer Steve Reich was very important to the raison d’être of the quartet and that the works pivot around his compositions, with two pieces in the programme by Reich.

It was really helpful to have an in-depth but concise explanation of the basis of each piece, especially for those if us who are not familiar with this kind of music. I wish that more musicians would do that – Currie was good at it. The stage was full with instruments I hadn’t seen before – marimbas it turns out – two with long pipes and two with shorter, 4 musicians each with two ‘lollipop’ drumsticks in each hand, four per person. At times, the playing was so complex and blended that it was hard to discern the source of the sound. The marimbas’ deep tones flowed together, especially the bass instruments and sounded almost electronic.

Colin played a couple of numbers on his own Xenakis’ Rebonds B for solo percussion and Stockhausen’s Vibra-Elufa. Together they played Kevin Volans Four Marimbas and Reich’s Mallet Quartet before the last piece Reich’s Drumming Part 1.

The speed rhythm and energy was impressive throughout the evening, though none of the first 5 pieces could come near the finale piece Drumming Part 1 composed by Steve Reich. It was like the Olympics of percussion in its performance and virtuosity. Colin explained the basis of the piece, a simple (on its own) basic rhythm underpinning the whole piece beaten out on 8 tuned drums, again 4 musicians working together and in relays. The same 12 notes as a single rhythm repeated which, as an audience member was a godsend at times as it enabled me to find a point to return to and steady path throughout. Colin explained phasing and how the notes interlock and rotate around each other which really helped the appreciation of the piece.

Musically it was interesting, visually it was fascinating – watching the percussionists work in waves, first all together then periodically standing back, their arms working at blurring speed throughout. Physically, it was a feat of musicianship, almost unbelievable and breathtaking technical skill rivalling the most extreme of acrobats, daredevil motorcyclists or demanding magical coordination and muscular energy. I can’t tell you exactly that it was a lovely piece of music as I was bewitched and hypnotised by the technical skill. After what seemed an eaon of performance, they reached a crescendo and then instantly stopped with a resounding and precise ‘crack’, absolutely as one. In the drumming Olympics, then there is absolutely no doubt that they ran away with the Gold.
If you missed it, or want to listen to a sample there’s a YouTube link below but I would recommend catching a live performance if you ever get the chance. The Quartet is new and this is their debut programme so it is worth watching out for more as they add to their repertoire – they have an amazing future I am sure and hopefully will be back in Norwich before too long.
https://youtu.be/KmlbuRGubrI
https://www.colincurrie.com/news/2018/8/3/colin-currie-quartet

]]><![CDATA[The Turbans - review]]>Sun, 19 May 2019 16:33:20 GMThttps://www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk/blog-shift/the-turbans-review

The Turbans
Spiegeltent 17 May 2019

https://www.theturbans.co.uk/

Great fun high energy band. The Turbans are a collection of travelling musicians from a variety of home countries - Bulgaria, Israel, Albania, Turkey and more, bringing a real fusion of styles in a long lineup: three wind players, four guitars, and two percussionists, all men, looking as though they had just blown in from the desert - I especially like the oboe player whose dreadlock hair was wound round his head like a turban, and the two guys with rose-covered suits.

They were all skilled and versatile musicians, playful and entertaining, real showmen, including a guitar (or was one a balalaika?) battle with tunes played from behind the back and sometimes more drama - a crowd-surfing lead guitar playing as he was carried on shoulders before he finally dropped flat out into the crowd who caught him and carried him back to the stage. The crowd were suitably excited and responding to their exhortations to respond to the musicians. The were so excitable by the end it seems that they would play on for hours, improvising and supporting each other.

The whole gig was somewhat marred though by problems with the sound system which meant that the band were distracted as they couldn’t hear their monitor speakers and were constantly trying to adjust them or communicate with the sound guys, and then attempts to adjust just made the sound muddy and pretty awful. After a while though, the band just got on with it and were very charitable to the sounds guys at the end. Who knows whose fault it was but the end result was pretty poor from that point of view. The band we keen to sell CDs and give away tee-shirts and generally everyone was good humoured and enjoyed the evening in spite of sound issues. Hopefully they will be fixed by now as there are plenty more Spiegeltent shows to go.

]]><![CDATA[Culture Shift out and about at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 16 May 2019]]>Fri, 17 May 2019 18:36:14 GMThttps://www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk/blog-shift/culture-shift-out-and-about-at-norfolk-norwich-festival-16-may-2019

Two great shows tonight, had a lovely, uplifting time. At the Playhouse, Gandini Juggling with a show called Smashed. I wasn't all that keen to go, after all how interesting can juggling be ? What haven't I already seen? Well, if you imagine the synchronised swimming of the juggling world then that is pretty much what happened on stage last night. It started off with 9 jugglers, a mix of 7 men and two women and the stage set with a matrix of shiny red apples. They looked as though they could have walked off the set of Britain at War or Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, - sort of 40s post-war, and in sequence they tossed 3 apples each with ease as they paraded across the stage to the song 'I have always wanted to waltz in Berlin' - very evocative with a simple choreography at this point but perfectly executed, timing was perfect, smooth as they took it in turns to engage our gaze.

The show carried on, with an eclectic mix of music from opera to hip-hop to ballet, dance-orientated as was the whole show - dancing with juggling thrown in (literally) for good measure. As I say, synchronised, with arms weaving within the juggling envelope, funny as various members of the group tried to disrupt the feats of their fellow jugglers, undermining their skills. Some real showpieces (always ruined in some way) were shown by individual jugglers, sometimes with evident annoyance. Towards the end, things started to descend into chaos. Crockery was introduced and the title of the show became evident - it got pretty messy as ceramics smashed and apples were pulped and chewed into submission. Maybe all a bit much at that point as the stage was covered with apple mush and ceramic shards but it resolved as the original tune and sequence brought everything back to order - except the stage. It was a great show with energy and fun plus real skill. Maybe the juggling fraternity would frown and suggest that what they did was fairly basic juggling but the synchronisation, speed and ease made it very special and enjoyable for me.

After that I headed up to the gorgeous Spiegeltent to see Le Gateau Chocolat accompanied by the fabulous Jonny Woo performing on of their shows for musical theatre and cabaret fans A Night at the Musicals. They were in Norwich last year but I didn't see them so I was curious. Again, I was a bit wary of the 'same-old, same-old' drag cabaret but these two had it nailed from the start. The mechanism of musical theatre worked well as a way fo getting the audience onside, and the sheer ridiculous vision of Le Gateau Chocolat, a six-foot-something Nigerian with a huge and slightly grizzled beard, an enormous sideways wig, and a curvy but not exactly svelt figure taking the stage and the microphone was a vision to behold. In fact, I was gone by the time the long-lashed swooping lights swept the stage in an over-exaggerated flash of glamour.

Jonny Woo, a complete contrast, skinny but muscly, fine boned, equally tall, first appeared as Darth Vader and then as the more dowdy (not exactly dull though) foil to the prancing, flouncing Gateau. They were slick, funny, risqué and probably a shock to the system for many of the audience - a packed house who rose fully to the challenge of sing-a-long musicals. More at the Spiegeltent all next week and over the weekend so snap up any tickets there are. It was good to see a packed Playhouse and Spiegeltent with Norwich making the most of the opportunity.

Addendum: we then retired to the buzzy Festival bar where we chatted to friends until it was too late to get the car out of the car park (ginger beer in case you were wondering!)

Here's a YouTube clip of an outdoor version of the show with more people, audience and performers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC0_bhsxamo

]]><![CDATA[Culture Shift update 10 May 2019]]>Fri, 10 May 2019 15:24:00 GMThttps://www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk/blog-shift/culture-shift-update-10-may-2019Hello Culture Shifters
It has been ages since the last update as I have been working a lot in King’s Lynn where there are lots of exciting things developing and busy with a number of projects in the first part of the year including new editions of Art in Norwich and Music in Norwich, but now I am back and excited by a number of new events coming up this week and lasting through May. This is going to be a long read I’m afraid and it's taken a few days to pull it all together so I hope you get it in time for the weekend.

This week, everyone has been excited about the Norwich City Football promotion which will be great for Norwich in many ways and has certainly given the city a lift already. But there is more going on in the city centre this week and next.

Norwich City of Stories
This week Norwich BID and Visit Norwich rebranded their organisations and also launched a new brand for the city too, building on the UNESCO City of Literature and the City of Stories campaign. The brand is intended to help everyone who loves Norwich to tell other people about the city through the stories of the city and their own stories – everyone has a story to tell and Norwich has many, both historical and contemporary. It is a good theme to work with and will help enable people to get to know the inner depths of this multi-layered city. The new brand launched on Tuesday 7 May with a brass band parading the city streets and a new poem dedicated to the City of Stories called 'What is a Norwich' which you can hear here. You can also find out all about the City of Stories campaign and how you can get involved here. https://www.cityofstories.co.uk/a-new-brand-for-norwich

Festival launch
The Norfolk & Norwich Festival is preparing for its big public launch event today in the city centre as circus artist Chris Bullzini undertakes a daring tight-ropewalking act - he will go on a 230-metre-long balance from Jarrold’s department store across Norwich Market, to the top of The Forum, on a journey celebrating Norwich, its history and its people. It’s a free event and crowds of people are expected. It starts at 9pm so get there in good time. I am not sure I will be able to watch – it is mad! https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/what-s-on/n-n-festival-2019-tighrope-walk-norwich-1-6040181

The launch kicks off a whole 17 days of events - so much so that I don’t know where to start. They are packed throughout the days and evenings with lots of free events. I’ll be attending events and will be blogging plus letting you know about good events to attend so follow me on www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk or on Facebook group @makingnorwichUKcityofculture or on Twitter @norwichcultcity. You should also follow the Norfolk & Norwich Festival Twitter feed@NNFest  for updates as well as their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NNFestival/

Also part of the Festival is the Norwich City of Literature weekend Friday 24-Sunday 26 May programmed by the National Centre for Writing with a whole host of literary events, some at Dragon Hall and some in the Spiegeltent in Chapelfield Gardens in the centre of Norwich. Again too much to list all but some highlights are the Harriet Martineau Lecture with Sarah Perry and also on 21 May the wonderful Ali Smith appears at Norwich Playhouse. Tickets for this show from nnfestival.org.uk or 01603 766400

W.G. Sebald exhibitions
Timed to be part of the Festival are also two linked exhibitions dedicated to Max (WG) Sebald, a writer and lecturer at UEA who was much-loved before his untimely death in 2001. This year would have been his 75th birthday and so Norwich Castle and the Sainsbury Centre have brought together a duo of exhibitions to celebrate his life and work. Although many people in Norwich may not know much about him, he was a very well-respected international author and these exhibitions are a great opportunity to find out more about him.
Sebald was born in Germany in 1944 and relocated to Norfolk to become Lecturer at the University of East Anglia in 1970. In the space of a decade, Sebald underwent a meteoric rise from unknown academic to internationally celebrated writer, winning numerous awards before his premature death in 2001.

He is primarily known for his four novels that he described as ‘prose fiction’, Vertigo (1990), The Emigrants (1992), The Rings of Saturn (1995) and Austerlitz (2001). His literature explores history, memory, loss, identity and what it meant to be German in the wake of the Second World War. The exhibition at the Castle is sponsored by East Anglian Art Fund and The BookHive. The Book Hive, Norwich ‘s independent bookshop in London Street has a special interest with bookshop owner Henry having published Ariadne’s Thread – a book written by Philippa Comber about Sebald’s transition as a writer. The Book Hive is running a Sebald Book Club through the summer – find out about it here – you can buy a membership with or without a set of Sebald books https://www.thebookhive.co.uk/shop/

The two exhibitions are:
W.G. Sebald: Far away – but from where?
Sainsbury Centre, UEA 11 May – 18 August 2019
Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park
Norwich NR4 7TJ
scva.ac.uk

Lines of Sight: W.G. Sebald’s East Anglia
An exhibition celebrating the work of the author W.G. Sebald
Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
10 May 2019 – 5 January 2020
The exhibition includes many photographs and artefacts relating to one of Sebald’s most well-known books The Rings of Saturn, a prose fiction which traced a walking journey around the Suffolk coastline, starting on the train in Norwich and returning there some months later. The book is slow, walking pace even and pensive. I started to read it many years ago and didn’t finish but this exhibition has inspired me to try again. I found this article in the New Yorker very illuminating and helpful.

Looking around the exhibition today, it is clear that he was writing and taking photographs of even the smallest incident or detail - a kind of collector of life, a documenter or recorder of minutiae. He started writing as an escape from academic writing, his job, sadly curtailed by his early death from a heart attack resulting in a car accident at 57. Anyway, he is clearly someone that should be better valued and celebrated in Norwich and hopefully these exhibitions will bring him more clearly into the public eye and heart as he was evidently very much loved and respected at UEA. I’ll let you know about the Sainsbury Centre exhibition in the next missive as it opens on Saturday.

Also at Norwich Castle (and other venues around the city centre) as part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival artist  Will Teather is exhibiting his amazing painted globes, three dimensional scenarios. Very clever and show Will's skill as an artist. He is also doing a talk and a workshop - details below.
Saturday 11 May – Sunday 1 September
Globes Across Norwich City Centre
Artist talk, Wednesday 22 May, 2pm, Norwich Castle, included in museum admission.
Artist workshop, Wednesday 22 May, 3pm, Norwich Castle, included in museum admission, but spaces are limited, call 01603 493625 to book your space.  More info

East Gallery NUA
Anthony Caro : Iron in the Soul at NUA East Gallery 8 May to 20 July
Sadly I missed the preview of this exhibition which opened earlier this week at the East Gallery in St Andrew’s Street with a piece in St George’s Street outside the main entrance to the University of the Arts. A post-war artist, Caro was internationally-renowned, working for many years until his death in 2013. The exhibition includes 20 pieces that have not previously been on public view spanning from 1951-2011. Monumental pieces with bright colours, Caro was a 1960s revolutionary who changed the face of gallery sculpture. The exhibition is curated by Neil Powell of NUA.

Houghton Hall
Henry Moore at Houghton Hall 1 May – 29 September 2019
Further afield, a new exhibition has opened at Houghton Hall, near King’s Lynn - it’s a set of sculpture by Henry Moore, curated by Sebastiano Barassi and the Henry Moore Foundation. The exhibition shows the link between Moore’s work and his observation of nature and natural forms. I spent a very happy few hours there last week and also at the pop-up art and craft show Norfolk by Design which is in the Old Stables. I have written a review with some photos here. It is highly recommended as you can buy a ticket to tour the house, the permanent outdoor sculpture collection as well as Moore and Norfolk by Design.

Blickling
The Edge of Things at Blickling 17 May-27 October 2019
If you like large stately homes then the National Trust Blickling Estate also has a new exhibition starting 17 May called The Edge of Things. Following on from their very successful and dramatic The Word Defiant last year, they are continuing to work with their book collection, this time with artists Neville Gabie and Joan Gabie. Looking through a contemporary lens, the artists bring to life four books exploring lost language and the edge of science, space and discovery.
Find out more at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/blickling or on Twitter and Instagram @BlicklingNT Facebook @BlicklingEstateNT

King's Lynn
GroundWork Gallery, 17 Purfleet, King’s Lynn
GroundWork Gallery in King’s Lynn also has an exhibition which opened in March. GroundWork specialises in environmental art and this current exhibition is called Water Rising, concentrating on the effects of rising water levels and runs to 1 June 2019.

Curator Veronica Sekules is running two events next week – a one-day conference on 17 May (details and booking here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/water-rising-art-innovation-change-and-development-tickets-59087414046

and a Creative Writing Masterclass with Patricia Mullen on Monday 20 May 10am-4pm
A Journey Through Water exploring Poetic Geography
Bring lunch and your preferred notebook and pens but tea, coffee and materials are provided. £45, students and under 25s £25
Find out more https://www.groundworkgallery.com/

Open Studios and Harleston & Waveney Art Trail
Many other exhibitions start during May including the Harleston and Waveney Art Trail and Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios which sees artists studios all over Norfolk opening their doors over weekends. It is a great opportunity to buy work and also see how artists do what they do, and maybe you will also be inspired to have a go yourself. You can pick up one of the yellow brochures from many places around the county and also download a map here
https://www.nnopenstudios.org.uk/

Fairhurst Gallery, OUTPOST, The Hostry and Mandell’s Gallery also have new exhibitions – you can find out about these and more at www.artinnorwich.org.uk or by perusing the ISSUU version of the booklet here.

We’ve talked a lot about visual art but there’s lots of music coming up too. The Norfolk & Norwich Festival has a full programme of classical music including the Radio 3 New Generation Artists – young up and coming musicians as well as more established performers such as Britten Sinfonia playing Beethoven with renowned conductor Thomas Ades, Rachel Podger and Tenebrae with more contemporary musicians – keyboard player and organist Kit Downes returns to his native Norwich, and also not to miss, vibrant entertainer Chilly Gonzales, Norwegian jazz pianist Tord Gustavsen Trio and Venezuelan singer Nella Rojas. There is really too much to mention here so best to check out the Norfolk & Norwich Festival programme here at www.nnfestival.org.uk

Music in Norwich
The Festival dominates the music in May but there are many other great concerts including the Russian Philharmonic at Theatre Royal on 19 May, Mozart Orchestra on Saturday 11th May – for other concerts please check www.musicinnorwich.org.uk

Professional development
Tuesday 14 May St George’s Theatre, Great Yarmouth
Creative Centres Summit: Exploring Creating Great Places in Changing Times
Following on from last year’s very successful Creative Places Summit about artist spaces which brought together people who run artists’ spaces from all over the UK. This time the focus is on changes to the high street. The Creative Centres Summit will explore the changing nature of town centres and high streets and the role of creatives (individuals and organisations) in creating great places in this dynamic environment.

Keynote Speech by Bill Grimsey
Setting the scene - how and why the high street has changed so dramatically and rapidly as well as predictions for more changes to come. Bill Grimsey worked his way up from a butcher's boy in a local department store to being head of Iceland food stores and has earned a well-founded reputation as a turnaround specialist. He recently wrote the Grimsey Review, highlighting that radical transformation is required if our high streets are to have any chance of survival. www.vanishinghighstreet.com

There are many more speakers and it will be a great value day. It is programmed by Kaavous Clayton of originalprojects; who has organised this summit as part of Making Waves Together, a Creative People and Places project funded by the National Lottery.
Book via eventbrite reduced price tickets for residents at £20, full price £40

Also by originalprojects;
'At the End of Lines' 11 May to 13 July 2019, noon to 6pm
An exhibition of paintings made in Norwich and Great Yarmouth in 2019.
originalprojects; have taken over the former Marks & Spencer store in the middle of Great Yarmouth and are starting to programme exhibitions. It is called Ex Marks the Spot and I would suggest that we all watch this space in the coming months. End of the Lines involves 29 artists from Norwich and Great Yarmouth, with many well-known names exhibiting alongside newer artists and is part of Making Waves Together, a Creative People and Places project funded by the National Lottery. With thanks to National Lottery Players.
Thanks also to support from the East Anglia Art Fund.

Job opportunities
Into Opera are currently recruiting for two roles in Norfolk:
Norfolk Into Opera Festival Coordinator
Fundraising Associate
https://into-opera.org.uk/current-projects/jobs/
Deadline Saturday 11th May.

More job opportunities
Norfolk Arts Forum has a whole list of job opportunities with some great roles in arts and culture. Rather than list them here, here is a link to the latest newsletter and jobs.

That's all for now as I need to send it out before it all goes out of date, but stand by for more next week.
Marion

PS Just to be clear and upfront, I don't get paid to write any of this, it is just me sharing what I know about. I sometimes get invited to previews and launches and that enables me to know more and so I can write better guidance. If you want me to send something out let me know and I will if I can. Also follow me on Facebook @marioncatlin @artinnorwich @musicinnorwich
Twitter @norwichcultcity @marionofnorwich @artinnorwich @musicinnorwich

The Shift Norwich: Culture Shift, Design Shift, Digital Shift
Developing and promoting Norwich as a city of culture

Marion Catlin
Director Culture Shift network

Telephone 07946 261651
LinkedIn Marion de Mello Catlin  Skype marionecatlin
Twitter accounts marionofnorwich and norwichcultcity
Website: www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk

Culture Shift Network is a free communication resource for the arts and cultural community of Norwich. If you would rather not receive email updates please email back asking to unsubscribe. Please feel free to forward on to other networks and contacts, and if you would like to be added to the list for your own copy, please email me at culture@theshiftnorwich.org.uk or visit www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk. Thank you]]><![CDATA[Henry Moore : Nature and Inspiration at Houghton Hall]]>Wed, 08 May 2019 19:56:54 GMThttps://www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk/blog-shift/henry-moore-nature-and-inspiration-at-houghton-hallHenry Moore : Nature and Inspiration at Houghton Hall
1 May to 29 September 2019

‘The observation of nature is part of an artist’s life, it enlarges his form,-knowledge, keeps him fresh and from working only by formula, and feeds inspiration. The human figure is what interests me most deeply, but I have found principles of form and rhythm from the study of natural objects such as pebbles, rocks, bones, trees, plants etc. There is, in Nature a limitless variety of shapes and rhythms (and the telescope and microscope have enlarged the field) from which the sculptor can enlarge his form-knowledge experience’ Henry Moore 1934

A real privilege to be sitting in Sky Space – James Turrell’s site-specific, permanent installation at Houghton Hall  – writing this review. I am at Houghton Hall to preview the new exhibition of Henry Moore sculptures, curated at Houghton by Sebastiano Barassi and the Henry Moore Foundation at Perry Green, Hertfordshire.

The exhibition is perfectly sited in the grounds and house here at Houghton, with its extraordinary outdoor spaces, vistas and eyelines which allow breathing spaces for large pieces combined with dramatic views and classical interiors which complement smaller sculptures, detail drawings and compositions of artefacts and references inside the house.

The first room, the South Wing Gallery, houses the enormous elephant skull accompanied by a set of etchings showing how Moore observed, drew and reconstructed this eroded bleached object, a gift from friends, into its component parts, abstracting the skull into shapes and details as he progressively studied and sketched the skull, getting to know every curve of the form.

Sebastian explained Moore’s fascination with nature and human form, geography and sculpture, materials and textures/patterns into landscapes and figures, drawing references from generations of classical artists before him but making the most of his status as a contemporary artist exploring new materials and new relationships.

Working with form and scale Moore became one of the foremost sculptors of his era, choosing to work in a studio in rural Hertfordshire rather than the urban setting of London where he found endless inspiration in flints, bones, birds, hills, sheep and human beings, and the space to explore different backdrops and settings.

Along the ground floor, another small gallery room shows a smallish knobbly flint in a cabinet which was the starting point for Spindle Piece. A series of photographs show the process and progression of the abstraction and scaling up of the flints, approx 200mm high to a monumental bronze via a maquette or working model in fibreglass -  a new light-weight material at the time - demonstrating the stages of inspiration through abstraction, enlargement and production.

In the Stone Room on the first floor of the house, are two smaller sculptures. One, Reclining Figure : Bone in Travertine marble clearly shows a relationship between bone and the human body translated into a landscape with open-pored, striated stone chosen to accentuate the layered pattern. Bird Form a dark sculpture made from black serpentine, is juxtaposed with an ancient bronze classical sculpture, linking diagonals - a vehicle for the curator to place and link works in their site specific location.

Out of the window, one of two large pieces located either side of the house occupies a view almost destined to be a frame for this work - a huge long vista leading the eye beyond the huge bronze Vertebrae into the far distance. Again, this work, a huge bronze this time is inspired by three vertebrae stacked together, glistening in the sun and showing the marks inscribed into the surface, allegedly made with a cheese grater - a popular tool in Moore’s studio. It hard to imagine how this piece could exist elsewhere, it looks so at home.

Around the west side of the house, equally dramatic is a white, bone-like fibreglass sculpture, a figure indeterminate from behind but clearly a reclining woman from the front, her arms as arches to the ground, her smooth body-form crawling along the grass, bonelike but still fulsome. From the house is a view of the back of the sculpture and walking around shows Reclining Figure outlined against the house and set in the grass lawn.

Walking away and into a wooded garden, I find myself in a central spot occupied by The Arch, again fibreglass and bone-white, a large structure to walk through and under but captured by its green and wooded surroundings. Emerging from the garden yet another vista opens up. I am quickly learning that the design of the outdoor spaces at Houghton is almost entirely intended to explore vistas and sight-lines.

It is almost impossible to capture the visual and emotional impact of seeing these huge works out in a landscape of such symmetry and perspective that I am compelled to try a number of ways. I am standing at a point with an avenue of planted and sculpted trees directly ahead, creating a most amazing view: the house - a backdrop for the white reclining figure; The Arch visible along a diagonal path framed by hedges and to my left Two Piece Reclining Figure - another large double sculpture with a magnetic tension between the two bronze sections with a pavilion/folly framed between them in the distance. With a large Richard Long slate sculpture behind me there is a dramatic longshot view in all directions. I tried to draw it but scale and perspective made this very hard. I tried to describe it in words - pretty useless too. In the end a diagram had to suffice, the only way that I could hold this image, albeit inadequate anyway. It was literally breath-taking especially when the sun came out and brilliantly illuminated The Arch.

Approaching the last piece I could see down another long pathway, lined by hedges, a Classical Greek piece, or so it seemed, appeared at the end. Until closer, a truncated figure, a mother and child caught in a tensile gaze with each other, a moment lasting forever. The marks on the bronze resemble the marks on drawings and etchings which no doubt initiated the piece – tender, smooth and strong.

Rounding the corners at Houghton is occasionally literally breath-taking, made remarkable by the fact that the setting cannot just be conjured up at a moment’s notice as is possible in many galleries - a day or two allocated to mount and dismount and paint to completely change the context. No, this is the result of centuries of care and cultivation, full of wildlife (a hare scampers by as I write) and the work has to fit in - it is a two-way relationship where the art cannot dominate, it has to live alongside the context. The skill of the curator has been to find the perfect spots and match them to works in the Foundation’s collection, a challenge that he has met extraordinarily well.

The exhibition is open 1 May to 29 September so there is time to see it over the coming weeks. It will change as the summer progresses and of course there is a permanent sculpture collection in the grounds which includes work by Richard Long, Rachael Whiteread, James Turrell, Stephen Cox and others. There is space for the energetic to stretch their legs so visit prepared to take your time and enjoys the gardens and permanent collection as well as the Moore. In the stables is Norfolk By Design : Festival, a curated collection of high quality art and crafts for sale by eminent locally-based artists, running alongside the Moore exhibition.

I am told that if you are inspired by this exhibition, the next visit should be to the Henry Moore Foundation at Perry Green, where Moore lived and worked for many years and now a dedicated centre for his life and work - I will be making the trip soon!

For more information about the Moore exhibition and Norfolk by Design : Festival

https://norfolk-by-design.co.uk

https://www.houghtonhall.com/visitor-information/times-and-prices

Review by Marion Catlin, Culture Shift Norwich www.artinnorwich.org.uk

]]><![CDATA[Culture Shift update : Autumn mists and quinces]]>Fri, 12 Oct 2018 12:13:59 GMThttps://www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk/blog-shift/culture-shift-update-autumn-mists-and-quincesHello again
Isn't it a lovely autumn? And so warm too. And my quince tree has produced lots of lovely fragrant quinces for quince pie and membrillo. This is a long update so please feel free to scroll down till you find bits that interest you most.

Thomas Browne Day 19 October
A few short weeks ago I had a bit of a brainwave. I had been looking for the right speaker for the annual Sir Thomas Browne Day talk on Friday 19 October and not really coming up with quite the right people. Those that I had asked were too busy, or have spoken recently and in any case there are not that many people confident about speaking about Browne. But I was at the launch of the Talking Statues project (more about that later) when I realised that Wymondham-based poet George Szirtes had written the monologue for the Browne statue on Hay Hill, which had been subsequently voiced by Adam Buxton. It came to me in a flash that of course, George is just the right person. However, George was not so quick to agree 'I am no Browne expert' he said on the phone. I didn't want to pressurise him so I said 'But you are a literature expert, George, and intelligent, thoughtful and well-read. I don't want a Browne expert who will just tell us about Browne (although they are enjoyable too) but someone who can discuss why Browne is said to have one of the best prose styles of anyone in English literature and maybe why he chose some of the topics that he wrote about'. I know George to have an opinion about many things - not opinionated, but rather that he considers something that has happened or he has seen, thinks about it and then writes about it (often on Facebook). this is very Brownean.

Anyway, by a bit of gentle coaxing and not too much pressure, I persuaded him and how pleased I am that I did. I have just read his first draft and it is as thoughtful, perceptive and intriguing as I hoped. I am not going to give anything away but it will provoke interesting discussion -for the conversation George will be joined by two more left-field requests. My friend and co-conspiritor Lucy Ward of Wavelength Films and write2screen network was equally reluctant initially but she again, has a very incisive and questioning brain (also a lawyer) and, unlike many people has read Browne in the past. I thought she would be a great person to interview George. Eventually she was convinced that intelligent questions were what was needed, not encyclopaedic knowledge of Browne. And then I was put in touch with Anna Wyatt from UEA's School of Literature who has been studying Browne for some years now - she was very willing to come along and she will supply the Browne expertise. So I am really pleased with this line-up, plus we are in the fabulous surroundings of Dragon Hall, now the National Centre for Writing. The talk is next Friday 19 October at 7pm and there will also be a bar run by the Bicycle Shop so it will be a very convivial evening in good company, much better than Friday night TV, so come along - it is a pay-what-you-can on the door kind of event but if you can RSVP via Eventbrite then we can get the right number of seats out.
STOP Press: I am told that we may also get a surprise visitor (but can't talk about that until confirmed)

There are more Sir Thomas Browne Day events too - at 10.30am Friday 19 October Barbara Miller will be conducting a tour of Browne artefacts in St Peter Mancroft Church. Barbara is a fount of knowledge about Browne's life in Norwich, and the objects in the church. The tour is free, just assemble at the church by 10.30 on 19 October.

Later in the morning, I will be out with my good friend Maggie Wheeler cleaning the sculptures on Hay Hill - the brain, eye and seats. It is only right and proper that the stones get a birthday cleanup at least once a year - they get so messy with pigeons, milkshakes and Maccy Ds. And the cleanup will be in preparation for long-time Browne proponent Kevin Faulkner to come along in costume for a recital of one of Browne's works 'Letter to a Friend' from 12.30 to 1.30pm - weather permitting - let's hope this autumn weather carries on! If it does, Kevin will be around in the afternoon to talk to people about Browne.

There will also be a team from Talking Statues Norwich who will be there to tell you all about the trail of statues around Norwich that you can receive a free phone call from by scanning their blue plaque with your smartphone. Through the phone call you can find out what George Szirtes wrote on behalf of Browne - read by comedian Adam Buxton who may just also turn up in person - who knows?

So that's a long post but I want to get a really good turnout for the talk and all these events so make sure you check in when you can. There's more info on www.sirthomasbrowne.org.uk, and just because he is a 17th century man, it doesn't mean he is dull and boring. If he was alive today he would be a blogger I reckon and he was curious about everything around him - a good principle to live by .

Other things on 19 October - well I guess I have to tell you about those too! the Hostry Festival is running the Norfolk Arts Awards ceremony, which sets out t recognise those that excel in or contribute to the arts in Norfolk. I missed my chance at an award last year, pipped by property developers Architekton but lots of my friends will be there this year, hopefully being recognised for their good work - best of luck to them all. The Hostry Festival starts this Saturday 13 and runs through October. It includes Paint Out Norwich this weekend (here some of the county bravest painters get outdoors and paint what they see, there and then. Artist James Colman and his team have developed this event (called plein air painting) over the last few years and have been running Paint-Outs around the county. Find out about it all here www.paintoutnorwich.org and about the Hostry Festival  www.hostryfestival.org. Paint Out dates Saturday 13th through Tuesday 16th Octobe with a public ‘paintout‘ on Sunday 21st, and a Private View, Awards & Art sale on Wednesday 17th October, followed by an exhibition at The Hostry until 28 October.

All Mouth No Trousers : The Story of Norfolk's Radical Women
...is Common Lot's latest production. Famed for their award-winning 'Come Yew In' last year and Kett's Rebellion the year before, the Common Lot are at it again. With 5 dates in venues around Norwich from 19-28 October, this is one to catch for sure - it will cheer you up with rumbustuous radical rollicks (I think!)
https://thecommonlot.org/project/all-mouth-no-trousers-norfolks-radical-women/

Norwich Science Festival also launches on 19 October
19-28 October at The Forum
There are many, many fascinating events so I will just point you to their website to find out more. On the weekend on 27/28 October, the giant Guardians of the Gut science installation will be there with an opportunity to see how scientists from the Quadram Institute, members of Norwich Hackspace and artists and constructors Tin House worked together to make this interactive giant pink gut that you can walk through. the installation shows how the 'microbiome' in our digestive system keeps us healthy. The Science Festival has become an amazing event in the city calendar.  See www.norwichsciencefestival.co.uk for events and bookings

Academy of St Thomas 45th Anniversary Concert Saturday 13 October 2018
Norwich welcomes new guest conductor and talented soloist Richard Harwood, cello with Benjamin Pope, conductor
Delius The Walk to the Paradise Garden
Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor
Brahms Symphony No.4
Richard Harwood performs concerti and chamber music in concert halls all over the world, he is regularly heard on BBC Radio 3.
The Academy is delighted to introduce Benjamin Pope as its conductor for this concert.
Buy tickets from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/norwich/st-andrews-hall/45th-anniversary-concert
or at St George's Music Shop by telephone or visit Norwich NR3 1AB - Tel 01603 626414

Brook Street Band in King’s Lynn for Festival EXTRA 2018
Sunday 14 October 2018, 7.30pm (doors 7pm)
St. George’s Guildhall (former Arts Centre), King Street, King’s Lynn, PE30 1EU
The renowned King's Lynn Festival has an extra autumn festival this year, in the amazing St George's Guildhall one of the largest surviving medieval guildhall buildings. The Brook Street Band will be playing a varied programme including their signature interpretation of Handel's Trio Sonata Op.5 No. 6 See www.kingslynnfestival.org.uk

Also opening in Kings Lynn at GroundWork Gallery, 17 Purfleet (just opposite the Customs House)
Friday 12 October
A new exhibition opens at the GroundWork Gallery this weekend, the lovely converted carpenters workshop near the river in Kings Lynn, involving a range of artists and styles of work, all with an environmental perspective.
Theories of Earth : Wayne Binitie, Shaun Fraser and Flora Bowden
Glass and bronze sculptures, drawings, sound installations about elemental aspects of the environment
Laura Huston, Femke Lemmens : Colour, form, ceramics and woven textiles using natural materials
Plus jewellery, books and small works by selected artists. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday 1am-4pm
www.groundworkgallery.com

The Word Defiant at Blickling Estate
Last chance to catch this installation in the grounds and hall at Blickling - ends 28 October - see Facebook BlicklingEstateNT

Circus Show of Shows - a celebration of 250 years of circus at Time & Tide Museum, Great Yarmouth
Saturday 6 October 2018 – Sunday 3 March 2019
I didn't get to the opening of this exhibition but it is definitely on my list, plus I love Time & Tide
This exhibition details the origins of Circus from the Ancient Greek ‘Hippodromes’ through to the Great Yarmouth ‘Hippodrome’ of modern day, and will feature a series of loans from private lenders and objects drawn from the Norfolk Museum Service collections.
Entry to the exhibition is included with the normal museum admission charge. Find out more here and treat yourself to a day in Yarmouth at this lovely museum.

Elisabeth Frink : Humans and Other Animals at the Sainsbury Centre
13 October 2018 to 24 February 2019
This weekend, Saturday 13 October is the launch of a new exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre. Elisabeth Frink was a major British sculptor till her death 25 years ago, working as a radical and Bohemian woman in the 1950s and then over four decades. here sculptures are striking, sometimes dark. The exhibition, which is the largest and most significant since her death will connect and juxtapose her work with other contemporary masters such as Rodin, Picasso and Bourgeois. Exhibitions at the Sainsbury Centre never disappoint, with the crack exhibitions and curatorial teams always pulling out all of the stops for Norwich. Can't wait to see it. www.scva.ac.uk

Armistice: Legacy of the Great War in Norfolk opens 20 October at Norwich Castle
20 October 2018 to 6 January 2019
As well as announcing their successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £9.2million to turn the Castle Keep back to its former Medieval glory, Norwich Castle is launching their newest exhibition Armistice : Legacy of the Great War in Norfolk.
This major centenary exhibition commemorates the end of the First World War and explores the effect of the War on Norwich and Norfolk, from the physical impact on the county to the stories of communities and individuals whose lives were transformed. The exhibition runs until Sunday 6 January 2019 - see www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk for more

Orla Kiely at East Gallery NUA
East Gallery NUA also has an exhibition coming up - Orla Kiely : A Life in Pattern opens on Tuesday 30 October. Orla Kiely is now a household name as her designs have been applied to everything from bedclothes to mugs, with bold, colourful, geometric but organic repeating patterns being her trademark. See https://www.nua.ac.uk/university-life/east-gallery/exhibitions/for updates on exhibitions

Dyad Creative to curate Cley 19
Franco-British collaborators Hannah Hudson Wallis and Théodora Lecrinier have been chosen by the North Norfolk Exhibition Project to curate the next Cley Contemporary Art Exhibition for 2019. Following in the footsteps of many experienced and renowned curators over the last 19 years, Hannah and Théo are embarking on a new style of working for them. They currently run Dove Street Studios, a venture they set up following graduation from NUA. Founded on a common principle of communication stemming from individual backgrounds of Théo being French and Hannah being deaf, their practice focuses on visual arts and contemporary performance, with an emphasis on the essence of language. In questioning what performance is they explore themes of curation, spatial awareness and audience experience through diverse art projects, and social engagement with the running of creative spaces. It is clear that they will bring a fresh and contemporary style to this wel-respected annual exhibition. Their call for submissions will be out soon so check www.cleycontemporaryart.org

October exhibition calendar - see more at www.artinnorwich.org.uk
6-27th Caputo and French : Mandell’s Gallery, Elm Hill, Norwich
6-31 Harding & Anderson : Bircham Gallery, Holt
12.10-16.12 Theories of Earth : GroundWork Gallery, Kings Lynn
13 NNAC Artist Workshop : Ian McManus 21
13.10-24.02 Elisabeth Frink : Sainsbury Centre UEA Campus
14/15/16 Paint Out Norwich Competition
18-28 Paint Out Norwich Exhibition : Hostry Norwich Cathedral
18.10-01.12 Gary & Jo Hincks : The Corn Hall Diss
20.10-6.1.19 Armistice: Legacy of the Great War in Norfolk : Norwich Castle
25 ncas talk : Roger Malbert : The Forum Norwich
30 Orla Kiely : East Gallery NUA

Audition for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain in Norwich this November!
Sunday 18 November, Booking online at www.nycgb.org.uk from Thursday 27 September
If you’re passionate about singing in choirs and vocal ensembles and want to make music with the best young singers of your age from around the UK, then an audition for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYCGB) could be the start of something amazing.

In 2018, NYCGB is holding auditions in Norwich on Sunday 18 November and would love to hear as many talented young singers as possible. So go on: #StartSomethingAmazing!

The audition day is for anyone interested in joining the following NYCGB choirs:
• National Youth Boys’ Choir – for singers in school years 5-10
• National Youth Girls’ Choir – for singers in school years 6-10
• National Youth Training Choir – for singers in school years 9-13
Online booking for auditions: www.nycgb.org.uk from Thursday 27 September
Auditions are £35, or FREE for children in receipt of free school meals.

The National Centre for Writing is on the hunt for the next fiction bestseller
Escalator Talent Development Scheme now open for applications
The National Centre for Writing is on the hunt for ten exciting fiction writers (novel or short story) in the East of England to take part in the talent development scheme.
The successful applicants will receive five sessions of one-to-one mentoring, a writers' retreat in Norwich UNESCO City of Literature, workshops and development sessions, and a showcase event in London.
Application deadline: 5pm on Monday 29 October

Experience J.M. Coetzee's Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life & Times of Michael K
Thursday 18 October, 7pm, National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall, King Street, Norwich NR1 1QE
A live storytelling event with the Booker Prize Foundation - come and experience this interactive way of engaging with literature - fresh from its premiere at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, this event brings Michael K to life through staged readings and film footage. An immersive new way of enjoying books by Story Machine Productions. Offer: £5 tickets for students and under 25s. Book tickets here

Theatre at The Garage Chapelfield, Norwich
Thursday 18 & Friday 19 October, 7.30pm
fEAST Theatre : INTO THIN AIR
It’s 1982. The Falklands War is on the telly, Dexy’s Midnight Runners haunt the airwaves and fifteen-year-old Norfolk schoolgirl Susan Kemp is going off the rails. And then she vanishes... into thin air. Thirty five years later her brothers Pete and Melvin are still living in the shadow of Susan’s disappearance.
Age: 16+ Running Time: 120 minutes  Tickets: £15/£10 students and under 25s.
www.thegarage.co.uk

Job opportunities

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR WRITING
Programme Assistant, Full time. Permanent £17,403 - £19,368
National Centre for Writing (NCW) is a leading literature organisation committed to developing the artistic and social impact of creative writing, reading and literary translation.

About the role: The role of Programme Assistant will provide high level administrative and organisational support to the Programme Team as it grows and develops its artistic and learning programmes. This role provides an ideal opportunity for someone who is interested in pursuing a career in the arts and literature sector.
About you: You will bring with you a strong interest in literature and in working in artistic and community settings. You will have excellent communication, writing and IT skills and at least one year’s experience of administrative support, preferably in the arts or wider cultural sector.
Recruitment timetable : Closing deadline: 9am Monday 22nd October 2018
Short-list confirmed: 6pm Thursday 25 October 2018
Selection interviews: Tuesday 30 October 2018 at Dragon Hall
When you submit your application, please ensure that you are available to participate between 9.00am – 6.00pm on the selection day.
Send your application form, CV and equal opportunities monitoring form, and personal statement by email to Freya Gallagher Jones, Operations Assistant on Freya@nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk
If you would like to have a confidential discussion about the role with the Programme Director Peggy Hughes please email her at peggy@nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk to arrange a convenient time to speak.

Norfolk & Norwich Festival Vacancy
NNFestival are currently recruiting a number of posts throughout the Festival team. These include Production Officer, 2 x Communications and Development Trainees and a Production and Producer Trainee.
This is an exciting time to join. Both the Festival and Festival Bridge are at the start of new four-year National Portfolio Organisation funding agreements with Arts Council England and we are taking this opportunity to refresh our artistic and organisational vision. We are working to build a dynamic festival programme in Norwich and around Norfolk and to extend our reach and influence year-round across East England through projects and initiatives.

Production Officer – full time, permanent
We are recruiting a Production Officer to assist and support the Production and Programme Team to develop and deliver events throughout the year and across the busy May Festival period.
Deadline for applications: 12 noon on Wednesday 31 October

Production and Producer Traineeship - full time, fixed term (6 months)
The Programme and Producer Trainee post is a new role at Norfolk & Norwich Festival. We are looking for someone to support Norfolk & Norwich Festival’s Production and Programme team in the development and delivery of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival and our other initiatives. In addition the trainee will develop skills and knowledge through on-the-job and other training.
Deadline for applications: 12 noon on Monday 5 November

Communications and Development Traineeships – full time, fixed term (1 x 6 months, 1 x 18 months)
We are looking for two Communications and Development Trainees to support Norfolk & Norwich Festival Communications and Development team in their communications, audience development and fundraising across all activities and initiatives. In addition the trainees will develop skills and knowledge through on the job and other training.
Deadline for applications: 12 noon on Monday 5 November
You can download job packs and the relevant forms from our website https://nnfestival.org.uk/about-us/vacancies/

Schubert Ensemble Trust Commission Grant Scheme
As you may know, The Schubert Ensemble gave its final concert after 35 years on Saturday 30th June.
The Schubert Ensemble Trust (Registered Charity No. 1002244) supported the Ensemble in many of its activities, particularly its prolific commissioning of new works. Over its 35-year career, the Ensemble commissioned 50 concert works from many of the UK’s leading composers. The Trust has some funds remaining, which will be used to promote public performances of these works commissioned by the Schubert Ensemble, a full list of which can be found on the Ensemble’s website (details below).
Applications for grants towards performances can be made by ensembles and concert promoters from 1st September 2018.
Details of the scheme are available on a newly launched archive website at www.schubertensemble.com. Please go to the ‘SE Trust’ page https://www.schubertensemble.com/s-e-trust for further information and for a downloadable application form.
For details of the 50 or so works that qualify for a grant please go to the ‘Archive/Commissions’ page https://www.schubertensemble.com/s-e-trust. Most of the works are for various combinations of piano and strings.

If you know anyone who might be interested applying for one of these grants we would be very grateful if you would pass this information on. We will be relying largely on word of mouth to publicise this scheme. For those of you on social media, there are recent posts that can be shared on Facebook and Twitter:http://www.facebook.com/schubertensemble1
http://www.twitter.com/Schubert_Ens

Norfolk County Music Festival Events Officer, part-time
We are looking for a highly-organised Events Officer to produce Norfolk County Music Festival, which takes place throughout Norwich, every March.
Norfolk County Music Festival encourages and supports amateur music making and teaching throughout the county and beyond.
The successful candidate will be a freelancer looking to extend their experience of event management and promotion.
The bulk of the work takes place programming the festival between Jan – March (around 40 hours / week). This involves processing entries to the Festival via the website and online booking system, programming the event the timetable (approx. 500 festival entries, around 4000 people) liaising with music / singing teachers (via Facebook, email/phone and MailChimp), drafting programme text for the designer, arranging publication of the printed programme, organising accommodation and chasing payments. The rest of the year (5 hours/ week) involves drafting the syllabus (early programme), updating the website, booking venues, adjudicators and contracts for adjudicators and managing the festival committee meetings.
Salary: £7,980 pa Closing date: 5pm, Tuesday 23rd October. Interviews from 1st November. To apply, please send a recent CV and a covering letter (letter should be no more than 2 pages) which explains how your skills and experience make you suitable for the role, to info@norfolkmusic.org.uk . For an informal conversation about the role please contact Laura Middleton on 07968 316265. http://norfolkmusic.org.uk/
https://gratisjobs.com/job/norfolk-county-music-festival-norwich-uk-45-events-officer/

OK, that's all for now. I have probably missed something really obvious but please support music venues, theatre venues, art exhibitions and all the efforts that people make to make Norwich a true city of culture
back soon and I hope that you enjoy the update
Marion
ps one more thing - as an aside, I have a batch of lovely Sicilian olive oil for sale, straight from my friend's farm in Sicily . If you are interested please get in touch. It is organic, unfiltered and made from 100% Nocellara de Belice olives from the Belice Valley in Western Sicily, really gorgeous oil. See more here http://www.comradescanteen.uk/ or email me if interested to know more.

The Shift Norwich: Culture Shift, Design Shift, Digital Shift
Developing and promoting Norwich as a city of culture

Marion Catlin
Director Culture Shift network

Telephone 07946 261651
LinkedIn Marion de Mello Catlin  Skype marionecatlin
Twitter accounts marionofnorwich and norwichcultcity
Website: www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk

Culture Shift Network is a free communication resource for the arts and cultural community of Norwich. If you would rather not receive email updates please email back asking to unsubscribe. Please feel free to forward on to other networks and contacts, and if you would like to be added to the list for your own copy, please email me at culture@theshiftnorwich.org.uk or visit www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk. Thank you

]]><![CDATA[July 31st, 2018]]>Mon, 30 Jul 2018 23:09:04 GMThttps://www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk/blog-shift/july-31st-2018Hello culture-shifter

I hope that you have been enjoying the hot weather. I have – I even took the odd day off during the sunshine but now a rainy Monday afternoon prompts me to share more cultural news with you. Be warned, it's a long one...

Firstly, I am pleased to say that along with Hudson Architects and Erika Watson from Greenwell Consulting, I have been set to work in Kings Lynn for the next few months. As a group (the Norwich Consortium), we have been commissioned to deliver a feasibility study into whether or not a creative hub could be viable in Kings Lynn and if so, what form it should take – artists’ studios, meeting spaces, hot-desk facilities, startup retail, rehearsal or making spaces, a gallery, a hackspace or incubator units for creative businesses – or all of them – how could it be run and could it be financially sustainable. Should it be a new-build? Reuse of a heritage building (and Kings Lynn has some beauties) or maybe a campus approach using several smaller sites – it is all to play for. So I will be out and about asking questions and very happy to hear from anyone that has a view on what is needed in the West Norfolk area centring on Kings Lynn. Just reply to this email to get in touch.

Summer hols
Although we have had weeks of hot weather, we still have weeks of the summer left to go - with school holidays starting in earnest this week so look out for activities at The Garage in Chapelfield, Norwich Puppet Theatre, and Theatre Royal Stage 2 as they have all been busy preparing great stuff for your children to do. They also have many classes for adults too including 50+ ballet at The Garage which must be great for keeping joints supple and muscles strong, plus there are sculpture trails (see below) and many exhibitions to explore en famille as well as art summer schools run by Artpocket, Salt Glass Studios and Anteros Arts. There's a page of art classes on www.artinnorwich.org.uk as a guide to contact details.

I have just sent a new edition of Art in Norwich off to print and it will be out and about at the end of this week. Find a free printed copy (Arts Roundup racks, TIC, Norwich Cathedral, Sainsbury Centre, East Gallery, Norwich Arts Centre and many more venues, bars, cafes, churches, garden centres in  Norwich and around the county too or download a pdf version from the website.

Although it is called Art in Norwich and centres around the city, the booklet also reaches out to major towns around Norfolk. This time I am pleased to welcome in the Corn Hall Diss and designermakers21 who are artists and makers based in Diss. As well as the printed booklet, you can download a pdf from www.artinorwich.org.uk. I will shortly be starting work on Music in Norwich too which will cover 6 months of classical music, jazz and world music from September 2018-April 2019.

You can’t have missed the GoGo Hares trail either – they are all around us and beautifully painted, mostly by local artists and illustrators. There are some events associated with the Hares trail so find out all about how you can get involved here https://www.gogohares.co.uk/. I think the hares are my favourite of these animal-themed sculpture trails so far.

Speaking of sculpture trails, the Waveney Valley Sculpture Trail is open at the Raveningham Centre from 17 August - 16 September with fields and woods filled with 3D art installations and sculpture. The Ravenous cafe is also open for the duration. It is also something that children will enjoy exploring.

And the Bedlam Triangle exhibition in the Undercroft by painter Gennadiy Ivanov has been extended to 5 August, open daily so you have a few more days to catch that too.

There are lots more exhibitions including East gallery, Sainsbury Centre, Norwich Castle, Time & Tide (fab Cotman and co show called Drawn to the Coast at Time & Tide), Fairhurst Gallery, Hostry, Mandell's summer show, Anteros and more on at the moment but I can't list them all here - you will have to pick up Art in Norwich to get the details.

Meanwhile, other news…
Write2screen/BFI Network meetup at Cinema City’s John Hurt Centre is tomorrow Tuesday 31 July 6-8pm – we haven’t had a w2s meetup for a while but things have been changing in the world of film and script-writing as responsibilities for funding many activities have shifted from Creative England to BFI Network. Creative England still manages Ifeatures but BFI Network is now taking over the provision of talent development in the form of support, funding and activities for first-time and emerging film-makers, so Lucy Ward from Wavelength Films will be telling us a bit about the new arrangements, plus there is the opportunity for a bit of general networking over a glass of wine. The event is currently booked up but keep an eye on Eventbrite https://write2screen-network.eventbrite.co.uk for extra ticket availability, and if you can’t make it this time, then we will be organising more meetups soon.

Cley Contemporary Art : Cley 18
Cley18 – it is the last week to visit this broad-ranging exhibition at Cley-next-the-Sea which closes at 5pm on Sunday 5 August. If you haven’t been yet, you can see over 60 artists exhibiting on a theme set by Dr Caroline Fisher, former recent curator of East Gallery NUA . The theme is The Greater the Distance the Clearer the View part of a phrase which comes from the writings of Max (W.G.) Sebald, much-loved lecturer at UEA who was heavily influenced by Sir Thomas Browne, 17th century physician, philosopher, early scientist and writer who lived in Norwich for most of his adult life. The Cley18 work is distributed between St Margaret’s Church, the Norfolk Wildlife Trust Centre and the beach and is well worth seeing – not least because there is a piece by yours truly (and my better half Andrew Smith) calledHomesick – a tucked away neon sentence which aims to express the hidden away but intense and burning feeling that people sometimes get when they are away from home – anyway, go and see it in situ at the Church and you will see what I mean.

There are also still some events to go – on Friday 3 August 1.30pm, leaving from Cley Church landscape architect and artist George Ishmael is guiding a walk around Cley based on his View from a Pew installation. This two-hour ramble will help you to a new view of what is around Cley and also the artworks within the landscape and on the beach.

At 7.30pm on the same day Friday 3 August, classical guitarist, sailor and raconteur James Boyd will be performing in the church. Called Echoes and Evocations, James say of the programme: Many of you will know I have based much of my career around English music old and new. I was astonished to find, when sitting in the silence of St Margaret's just a few weeks ago, that the music that flowed into my mind evoked other countries.

I had expected that in creating a concert programme for this space, with the surrounding salt marshes and cobbled villages that have been part of my life since I was small, I would raise echoes of Britain.

Instead, a series of music from Bach to Manuel de Falla began to flow. And a return to some of the music that fascinated me as a young artist.

It is easy to see how Bach might come to mind in response to the vast architecture and presence of St Margaret's. The three preludes I have chosen, by turn seem to crystallise that space into musical form, stretch toward an elusive goal, and find joy in a return to earth.

The Villa lobos prelude that follows has faint traces of Bach's influence on the Brazilian composer and yet is firmly rooted in the folk music and poetry of his own land. A singing cello line with breadth and solemnity that soars into a dance like middle section before returning to its haunting beginnings.

Then a flight south of the Mato Grosso to the world of the guitar legend Augustin Barrios Mangore. His sublime le Catredal is a three movement work of great power moving from grief to exultation and then to chaos. This is followed by an earthy and seductive Moorish dance Serenata Morisca.  Here is Barrios the showman, the improviser and playful virtuoso captured in a rarely heard piece.

And with dance in the air we'll turn to Rodrigo and finish with a masterpiece by Manuel de Falla - his only work for guitar. I'll tell you more about these pieces on the night. They are extraordinary.
NB Tickets for this performance are £10 and available on the door. There is plenty of space in the church so no need to book ahead

Supporting Cley Contemporary Art
When you are there don’t forget to buy a catalogue. It is only £2 and that just about covers the cost of production but it helps enormously. You could also consider donating the change to North Norfolk Exhibition Project whose volunteer committee organise Cley Contemporary every year. Initially, in 2000, their project was to create an opportunity for contemporary artists to exhibit and for people to be able to see good quality art without having to go further afield, plus it is an attraction for tourists from the Midlands and elsewhere but North Norfolk District Council and Arts Council funding has depleted and so in order to keep the exhibition going with free entry, the Cley committee are encouraging catalogue purchases and voluntary donations. If every visitor donated even just a pound, the picture would be much healthier. It costs around £20k per year to run Cley Contemporary as they pay for their venues, marketing, catalogue, curator and other support, even though all other time is voluntary so it is not a huge amount to raise for such a popular annual exhibition but nevertheless, it does need to come from somewhere so if you would like to see it continue, please visit and please donate what you can. If you have the means and desire to be a more substantial supporter, please contact Mary Crofts via cleycontemporaryart@gmail.com

Music!
Assembly House Classical SPECIAL OFFER !!
The next lunchtime recital will be from the award winning Sacconi Quartet - Thursday 13th of September at the usual time of 1pm.
Programme: Haydn; Quartet Op 76/3 Emperor, Debussy: Quartet in G min Op 10
Advance tickets are available online here or see below for a special offer...
Book all four remaining 2018 concerts for the total price of £40
(Cheque / Cash payments only) Cheques should be made payable to 'Assembly House Classical' and posted with a stamped addressed envelope to 'Assembly House Classical, 28 Leonards Street, Norwich. NR3 3BW'

The special offer price includes tickets for:
Sacconi Quartet - Thursday 13th September 2018
Tom Poster - Piano - Thursday 25th October 2018
Grimwood / Cohen / Rashidova - Piano Trio - Thursday 22nd November 2018
Ben Comeau - Piano - Wednesday 12th December 2018
You can of course also book for the events individually by cash or cheque for the advance price of £12 each. Just remember to let me know which event/s you would like to book for and include an S.A.E or email address for ticket delivery. Any questions please call 07786940878 and leave a message.

Norwich now has a National Centre for Writing nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk
Opening in late June, the newly extended Dragon Hall has become the National Centre for Writing, a more accurate description that Writers Centre Norwich. Why?? Because the reach of this well-founded literature development agency is much wider than Norwich. Norwich is a UNESCO City of Literature and the Centre organises and takes part in many national and international activities.
The new extension will enable it to run more publicly accessible workshops and school sessions and has created a proper reception area which this beautiful building previously lacked. The opening follows many years of fund-raising and planning in order to move from its offices in Princes Street to Dragon Hall in King Street, (helped by the City Council, County Council, Arts Council, Norwich Freeman's Charity, Foyle Foundation and many more trusts and supporters) and then to rearrange the building to suit the new activities. You can see more and also sign up for updates of activities here
The changes are a good example of how architecture can develop over centuries without losing its integrity. Dragon Hall was a medieval merchant house and if you have never been in a visit to the National Centre for Writing in King Street is a must.
And if you think King Street is a bit out of the way you are wrong – opposite is the Butterfly Café and a little down the road is Bicycle Links shop and café, plus the coffee roaster Smokey Barn just alongside the Waterfront plus the Julian bridge over to pubs, bars, restaurants and the cinema on Riverside.

Noirwich 13-16 September
But the piece de resistance of the National Centre for Writing is that, in partnership with UEA they run the crime-writing festival Noirwich noirwich.co.uk in September (13-16 September). It runs over a weekend and brings together crime-writers and enthusiasts from all over the place. You can buy a wristband season ticket or drop in event by event. But remember, Norwich has the best crime-writing festival in the country and it is on your doorstep!

On the subject of writing…
Wells Maltings www.wellsmaltings.org.uk has opened recently on the north Norfolk coast – a significant investment into arts in this area. They have kicked off with an ambitious heritage art trail curated by John and Yvonne Millwood and are planning more exhibitions and events. I haven't been there myself yet but on the early doors is a course open to all.

Creative writing course at Wells Maltings
Tidelines at Wells Maltings Trust – short story creative writing course beginning September 2018.
This ten-week course gives participants an unrivalled opportunity to connect and engage with Wells Maltings its history, people and the coastal environment while developing creative writing and storytelling skills. There will contributions from heritage and visitor guides to help participants learn about the history of the Maltings and Wells-next-the-Sea.
Guided by local author Patricia Mullin, this is a chance to discover the mechanics and central tenets of creative writing; you will come away with a toolkit for writing; classes are fun and informative. This course is suitable for complete beginners and more experienced writers; an enthusiasm for literature and reading is all that’s required to take part.
Patricia Mullin (MA) is a published author and an experienced creative writing tutor.

Dates: Tuesdays 10-12.30 am  Sept 18, 25 Oct 2, 9,16
Half term no session then Oct 30 Nov 6, 13, 20, 27
Fee: for all 10 sessions £180.00 Concessions: 2 places at £170.00 if in receipt of benefits.
Strictly limited to 12 participants, early booking is advised. Wells Maltings Trust will be taking bookings from 1st August. Email: hello@wellsmaltings.org.uk Tel: 01328 P711378
Feel free to contact Patricia directly if you would like any further information.
Telephone: 01485 578153  Email: mullinpatricia@gmail.com

Sculpture and painting summer schools in Whissonsett
Also, more summer schools out in the county - at Church Farm Barn Studios in Whissonsett there is a sculpture course starting towards the end of August. Sculptor Duncan MacArthur has worked for many years as a sculptural prop-maker for the film industry. Now returning to his teaching roots, he is running sculpture classes of the human form including modelling and casting. Duncan’s next summer school is 24–26 / 28 August 2018
Modelling the Head with Option to Cast
His partner Carolyn also runs drawing and painting summer schools and classes. Get the full picture from their website. Their beautiful surroundings mean that you will get a lovely country break at the same time.

Job opportunities
Norfolk & Norwich Festival are recruiting for a new marketing and development officer and a Comms manager – details are below. These are great jobs for someone with the right experience and qualifications as the Festival is moving in new directions with a change of artistic director from William Galinksy who left in March 2017 to Daniel Brine, previously director of the Junction in Cambridge who took over earlier this year. Here are the details:
Norfolk & Norwich Festival Vacancies
We are restructuring to create a Communications and Development Team which will bring together income generation and management of our public profile.

The Head of Communications and Development is a new post which will lead the team and take the lead on brand management and income generation through communications, audience development, and fundraising across all activities and initiatives for Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

The Communications Manager is a new role in the team, which will deliver Norfolk & Norwich Festival’s communications and marketing, including taking the lead on delivery of print marketing.

These are both exciting opportunities for people who have the skills and experience to meet the challenges of these jobs and who can bring new energy to our organisation.

This is an exciting time to join us. Both the Festival and Festival Bridge are at the start of new four-year National Portfolio Organisation funding agreements with Arts Council England and we are taking this opportunity to refresh our artistic and organisational vision.
You can download job packs and the relevant forms from our website https://nnfestival.org.uk/about-us/vacancies/
Deadline for applications for the Head of Communications and Development is by 12 noon Monday 13 August 2018.
Deadline for applications for Communications Manager is by noon on Tuesday 28 August

What Next for What Next? – long entry alert! Read on, especially if you work in the arts and culture sector but you might want to make a cup of tea
I have kept this till last as it is a long topic. Some of you may have vaguely wondered what happened to What Next? Norfolk. Well just a few words of explanation of where we are.

What Next? is a national campaign to advocate for the value of arts and culture in our society, both to policticans and decision-makers but also to members of the public, increasing awareness of the difference that creative, arts and cultural activities of all sorts makes to the cohesion of our communities, the well-being of individuals and the economic development of our region. This value is often hugely under-estimated with the arts being seen as ‘frilly’, high-brow activities for a minority of people that don’t compare to the real needs of our society. Well, I would argue that, as human beings, we need our health, we need employment (and therefore food and clothing) and we need housing – no-one would disagree with that – but if that was all that we had, what would we do? We would be bored, dissatisfied and under-stimulated.

Without activity our brains and personalities would shrivel up, we would fight (exactly) and we would get depressed. Some people are lucky enough to have jobs which are fulfilling, stimulate them and occupy their minds, but for many, a job is only part of their satisfaction in life. People love music, either making it or listening, they love making things – ceramic, wood, textiles, knitting and much more, they love finding out about history, food and different cultures – everyone needs something that can stir their passion and stimulate their minds. Education and learning comes into this sphere and we need people who can help people to unlock their innate creativity, and as a society, we need to divert money to help to find some of these things to benefit us all. We need culture at all levels – from everyday participation to high-brow excellence which may only appeal to a few but help to develop the artforms generally.

What Next? is a campaign to help to stand up for arts and culture, crafts, heritage, film, writing and other life-enhancing activities. There is a national base in London which meets at breakfast-time every Wednesday (at the Young Vic and open to absolutely anyone) and then Chapters all over the country including Norfolk. What Next? Norfolk started up about three years ago with NNFestival director William Galinsky and Writers' Centre Norwich CEO Chris Gribble as co-chairs, with myself joining as a co-chair later.

At that time there were regular weekly meetings, open to everyone,  at Norwich Playhouse either in the morning or in the afternoon. However, the time and energy to sustain the meetings started flagging after a couple of years and so they were put on hold, pending a review. There is a Chapter in Great Yarmouth which has also struggled with keeping up regular meetings.

The Chapter Chairs have met to discuss whether we should continue the Norfolk and Great Yarmouth Chapters given that no-one really has the resources to fully service them with no funding, although Gemma Layton (NNF) continues to send out weekly email updates. My own opinion is that What Next? is valuable - a good way to keep abreast of national issues, government policies and other matters which may affect us as cultural professionals and users/consumers of arts and culture.

It also means that even if we cannot meet regularly we are an ‘action-ready’ groups of people who can respond when there is a threat or an opportunity – look at how the public leapt into action when the Forestry Commission threatened to sell off woodland a couple of years ago, the whole country was in uproar, quite rightly. Just think of the benefit if we can generate that kind of marching power over music education or creativity in schools, protecting cultural venues and campaigning for proper pay for creative practitioners. It is also a platform for anyone to bring to the attention of the wider sector and public any ideas they have or support they need eg artists in Anglia Square.

Membership is free - it just requires a sign-up - and is open to anyone. At best, it is a really good opportunity to network with other professionals in a relaxed and informal way, and as a vehicle for information from other forums such as Norwich BID, New Anglia LEP, Arts Council England, Norwich City and Norfolk County Councils. But it does need interest from more than a handful of people to make it worthwhile
So, in the interests of deciding a way forward I would like to canvass opinion about whether or not

we should continue What Next? Norfolk
we should try and instigate regular meetings
if so, weekly, monthly, three monthly
are email updates enough to keep the basic membership in place?
any other thoughts?

If you are interested at all, please sign up for updates at www.whatnextnorfolk.org.uk and Gemma will put you on the list. We promise you won’t get many emails as we simply don’t have the time but you will be kept up to date with what happens to What Next? including your chance to say what you think.

In the next few days I will post a short survey on the What Next? Norfolk website which will be sent out to signed up members - although we will be glad for input from anyone that cares enough to fill it in.

And so, the end for now and the sun has come out again. Sorry if I left out your news, there is so much going on but at least this offers you some updates.

I am going to leave you with a lovely piece of archive film I found recently. I grew up in Harlow in Essex, at that time a new town with a new idealistic vision for the future. Whilst it didn't all come to pass, I thought that this view of their approach to music education was worth looking at. This film was made a few years before I was at school there but I did benefit from a very rounded arts education including music - which probably explains a lot! The film is called the Pied Pipers of Harlow - watch it if you can
all best and see you soon I hope
Marion
ps as usual there are unsubscribe links at the bottom of the page

The Shift Norwich: Culture Shift, Design Shift, Digital Shift
Developing and promoting Norwich as a city of culture

Marion Catlin
Director Culture Shift network

Telephone 07946 261651
LinkedIn Marion de Mello Catlin Skype marionecatlin
Twitter accounts marionofnorwich and norwichcultcity
Website: www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk

]]><![CDATA[Maya Youssef : Norwich Playhouse : 24 May 2018]]>Sat, 26 May 2018 09:47:14 GMThttps://www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk/blog-shift/maya-youssef-norwich-playhouse-24-may-2018I first heard Maya Youssef on Radio 4 a few weeks ago talking about her childhood in Damascus and the fact that as as girl it was very unusual for her to be an expert on the qanun, the traditional Middle Eastern plucked zither almost exclusively played by men and seen as a male-only instrument. But as a ‘plucky’ girl, she insisted that she was going to learn and now as a young woman, she is a virtuoso performer of growing reputation, known as the ‘queen of qanun’.

This week she played as part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse - a perfectly-sized venue for this kind of recital, mid-way between chamber and concert hall. Three performers - Maya with the 78-stringed qanun, Elizabeth Nott, percussion and Barney Morse-Brown cello. Maya declared herself a story-teller at the start and so she guided us through the background to her pieces, many written by herself documenting the emotions of a Syrian affected by the war of the last 7 years. Even though she lives with her family in London, she is clearly strongly attached to her homeland and her roots in Damascus and drew mental pictures for us of sunshine, fresh figs and coffee.

She says ‘The war started in my homeland in 2011. From that point on making music was no longer a choice, it was a crucial means to express and come to terms with intense feelings of loss and sadness from seeing my people suffer and my homeland destroyed. On a hot summer's afternoon in London in 2012 I was watching the news. At the time I felt overwhelmed, as if I was going to explode, so I held my qanun and 'Syrian dreams' came out of me. That was the very first piece of music I wrote'

And Syrian Dreams was the first piece she played, followed by a tribute to Egyptian musician Feride. Many of her pieces directly recorded events. She described a night when she heard that a four-year-old girl had died in her bed, cuddling a soft toy when a bomb fell on her home, and the falling of rose petals as a symbol of peace featured in one composition Bombs turn into Roses. The Seven Gates of Damascus uses seven scales, one for each gate. (This piece is also the basis for a PhD thesis and project.) Her music is based on classic Arabic scales but she incorporates jazz and flamenco rhythms which modernised the traditional sounds, sometimes sounding like an Egyptian casbah and sometimes a modern jazz club - although I have to say that the qanun is not perhaps really a jazz instrument. Her fingers flew almost impossibly over the strings sat on her lap, reminiscent of a harp in sound, light and twinkly or raging and powerful as she physically worked the strings with finger picks.

Her two accompanying musicians were very well accomplished - sensitive to her interpretations, watching her carefully for cues. All had a bit of an issue with tuning their instruments though - slight embarrassments on stage as first Elizabeth had trouble getting the right tension on a bohran-shaped drum and then Barney had to get his cello in tune. Maya joked that usually it was her instrument that went astray. Elizabeth’s percussion was amazing. She has long and slender arms and fingers which both held the various flat drums while she played complex rhythms, crisp and taut tambourine and larger round-framed drums, one embellished with chains on the inside to add power to the sound.

All-in-all a very warm and friendly concert, full of interest and intrigue. Maya herself open and communicative and obviously as passionate about her instrument as the nine-year-old girl that heard it playing on the radio in a taxi in Damascus. Let’s hope her road to success continues - I am sure it will.
]]><![CDATA[Provisional Figures : Drill Hall, Great Yarmouth]]>Fri, 25 May 2018 23:43:19 GMThttps://www.theshiftnorwich.org.uk/blog-shift/provisional-figures-drill-hall-great-yarmouthBrilliant. My best show of the Festival #nnfestival was tonight in Great Yarmouth.

Provisional Figures, a theatre project run by Portuguese director Marco Martins with residents of Great Yarmouth, both longer term residents and newcomers, mostly Portuguese but also Slovenian and a Brummie! But at the beginning of the project, none of them knew each other, none of them thought that they were actors or even that they could be. However, the performance is only the tip of the iceberg or the icing on the cake whichever you prefer. The value of the project is in the working together in the buildup to the final show as there are clear bonds formed between the participants and the director but the piece itself was so good. Really well paced, still in parts, dramatic, tender, active with sculptural body movements. Telling the stories of long-term Yarmouth residents and the experiences of newcomers and migrants who were mixing for the first time, learning about each other, a kind of composite of each other's situations.

The participants could have been hand-picked and professionally cast but they were not, They came together because they were invited into a project run by Seachange Arts. But their accomplished piece was so much stronger because it was clear that these were people that had really lived the life they were depicting. Notable scenes - the joys of the Bernard Matthew poultry processing factory, and the tender rendition of a kind of Swan Lake by a skinny man in trainers, long hair and a beard - not a classic ballerina! Afterwards, there was a very touching after-show panel and the chance to ask questions . The actors were clearly affected by their experience and after while were drawn out to talk about it. But this was no sympathy show. These people were strong and accomplished in their production. There is one more show tomorrow night (Saturday) and it is really worth getting a ticket if you can www.nnfestival.org.uk]]>