The Festival of Britain and Walsall
Artsfest / Artsfest 2021 / The Festival of Britain and Walsall
ArtsFest Online and the Black Country Studies Centre are pleased to present a series of events commemorating the 70 years anniversary of the Festival and its impact in the Black Country.
‘We Are Illuminated’, undertaken with The New Art Gallery Walsall, was a project concerned with the leisure life of Walsall; the history of the cinemas, fairs, Walsall Illuminations, and carnival queens in the area, exploring Walsall centre, and surrounding locations to situate the archival research in the present day. In this research, Sian uncovered a script for a Walsall play, performed at the Festival of Britain, 1951. This lengthy and detailed document presented the history of Walsall in a series of tableau, exploring key moments in Walsall’s past. The enactment of this script, with local students, became a key part of the project. The work resulted in an exhibition within the gallery, of video and original artefacts, exploring this rich history.
In this talk Sian Macfarlane will outline the research into the Festival of Britain and Walsall that was undertaken as part of this project, and explore the ways in which this became a key element of creative work.
Sian Macfarlane is an artist working with photography, video, performance and archive. Her work concerns hidden histories, folk lore customs and beliefs, and the rituals found within domestic spaces, activating these archival elements through the exploration of synchronicity, building new relationships between the historic and the now. She has exhibited at the New Art Gallery Walsall, Photofusion Brixton, and performed in multiple festivals such as Supersonic Festival Birmingham and Hunters Moon Festival Leitrim. She performs live under the name SWLLWS.
This event was recorded on 17th August 2021.
Festival of Britain
Artsfest 2021
January 2021 Recordings:
February 2021 Recordings:
April 2021 Recordings:
- Yam Cams: Photography in the Black Country
- Blown Away Winner Elliot Walker Demonstrates Hot Glass at the University of Wolverhampton
- HoPIN Webinar: Illustrated Print for Industry and Commerce
- All the Writing Selves We Have to Be - A Discussion on Writing Careers
- Masters in Conversation - Stephen Snoddy
May 2021 Recordings:
- Intellectual Property Series: Inspiration or Imitation? Copyright & Moral Rights in Artistic Works
- HoPIN Webinar: The Rise of Photographic Illustration 1839-80
- Your Future - Fashion and Textile Careers
- Revisiting a Tonic for the Nation: Introduction to the Festival of Britain
- Lyric Writing Master Class with Xidus Pain
- World IBD Day: When Art and Medicine Meet
- Paul Cox - His Illustrated Life and Career
- The Wrenna by R.M. Francis - Book Launch
- Intellectual Property Series: Intellectual Property and Photography - Creators, Owners and Licences
June 2021 Recordings:
- Intellectual Property Series: What’s in a Name: Trade Marks and Brands – Workshop
- British Art Show 9 and Socially Engaged Art
- In Conversation - Dr Louise Fenton and Artist Paul Cox
- Intellectual Property Series: Fashion, Textiles and Intellectual Property: Patchworks, Quilts or Veils?
- Intellectual Property Series: Intellectual Property and the Music Industry: Mapping the Maze
- Bilston Enamels: Talk and Q ∓ A
August 2021 Recordings:
September 2021 Recordings:
October 2021 Recordings:
- Trans and Non-Binary Representation in Musical Theatre with Andi Lee Carter
- Creative Futures - Lynsey Harris Designer Maker
- East Asian Representation in the Broadway Musical Allegiance
- Creative Futures: Jason Fernandes, 3D Designer ∓ 3D Design Lecturer
- Cultural Appropriation in Film, Music and Fashion Creative Industries
November 2021 Recordings:
- Black Representation in Musical Theatre
- Creative Futures: David Longworth Exploring Careers at the BBC
- South Asian Representation in Musical Theatre
- Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man at Seventy
- Creative Futures: VOiD Applications Web Design
- The Top Secret Poetry Notebook of Willis the Poet
- HoPIN Webinar: Illustrating Industry
- Creative Futures: Naomi Jacques Glass Artist
- Family Planning - The Lived Experience Through Art - Panel Discussion
December 2021 Recordings:
- Creative Futures: Nick Cohen Creative Director, Writer and Maker
- Why Bother? The Art of Disability: Practice Does Not Make the Perfect (Disrupting Bodies)
- How a Manchester Gallery Supports Disabled and Neurodivergent Artists
- Simon Briercliffe in Conversation with Professor Keith Gildart
- Creative Futures: Eighty3 Design, Web Design and Branding
- Poetry on Prescription: Creative Writing & Wellbeing
- The Art of Disability History: A personal view through NDACA (the national disability arts collection and archive)
- It’s An Artists Life: Talk with Artist Tanya Raabe
We are embracing Black History Month beyond the confines of a single month. Our intention is for Black History Month to transcend seasonality and 'tokenism’ so that the original initiative itself is eventually no longer required.