Latest news with #artfestival
The National
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Are Britain's clean seas a thing of the past?
A few miles along the coast from Dover's white chalk cliffs the English seaside town of Folkestone is holding an art festival, but with a difference. Every three years the 'Folkestone Triennial' commissions art works in which the town is the 'gallery'. As you walk around you will come across 20 or so artworks of different kinds responding to Folkestone's landscape and history. I've been visiting the "Minister of Sewers'. The Triennial guide says it's 'a creative project by the Turner Prize-nominated artists Cooking Sections' created as 'a platform for the public to voice concerns about coastal water pollution and share their experiences with sewage spills and related issues'. The project, in the harbour's old Customs House, begins with a friendly welcome and a display about water pollution and sewage, but behind it is a serious purpose. Folkestone, like much of the English coast, is delightful to live in and visit, but bathing in the sea is nowadays not always a pleasure. It can be a risk, especially after heavy rain. Too many of the beaches in prime swimming areas of England – including lakes and rivers as well as the sea – have seen bathing water quality dip from 'excellent' to 'good' or worse. Heavy rainfall can lead to overflows in the often antiquated sewage systems. When that happens the water quality drops to 'poor'. There is no official 'Minister of Sewers' in England, but the Folkestone arts project encourages visitors to make an appointment for a chat with one of the volunteers. The 'Minister' dressed in an official-looking 'Minister of Sewers' costume sat with me for a chat. She took notes about my own experiences as a sea swimmer on this lovely coast to gather evidence and create a "Log of Grievances" to support collective action and push for better water quality. Too many of the beaches in prime swimming areas of England – including lakes and rivers as well as the sea – have seen bathing water quality dip from 'excellent' to 'good' or worse Art in Action strikes a chord with the British public because sewage, water quality and the cost of drinking water are big news right now across the UK. We think of ourselves as a wet little island, but we have serious water problems and possible future shortages. We have a growing population in the south east, an area which has much lower annual rainfall than rural areas like the Scottish Highlands, and despite significantly increased demand for water we have failed to build any new major reservoirs since 1992. The Starmer government is promising action. They commissioned a review of the water industry in England and Wales by a respected former civil servant, Sir Jon Cunliffe. It was published last week and calls for once in a generation fundamental reforms to address what is being called Britain's 'Great Stink moment'. The Great Stink is a reference to the shocking state of the River Thames at Westminster in Victorian times. In 1858, the river was so polluted with sewage and the smell so bad that Members of Parliament refused to meet. A massive public works programme followed and a world-leading sewage system for London was built. A similar kind of energy and investment is now being promised although the details are as yet unclear. What is clear is that the privatisation of the water industry in England and Wales by Margaret Thatcher in 1989 has been a profound failure. Privatisation extracted private profits for shareholders and paid huge bonuses to some employees while failing to invest in reservoirs, better sewerage and fixing broken pipes and waste. The 464-page Cunliffe review has provided 88 recommendations for change, but re-nationalisation is not being contemplated largely because it would demand a vast amount of public money, which is not available. The Water Services Regulation Authority, or Ofwat, will be scrapped and what follows is billed as 'the biggest overhaul of water since privatisation'. Well, we shall see. But it's worth pointing out that Britain is not alone in having a water problem. Rising demand, growing populations, changes in our climate, and arguments about water quality are nothing new. The South African city of Cape Town came close to running out of water entirely a few years ago with 'Day Zero' – no tap water – a real possibility. The Afghan capital Kabul right now has severe water shortages. India and Pakistan's recent short-lived conflict over the terrorist attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir led to threats that India would abrogate the Indus Waters treaty that has shared waters between these two nuclear armed powers since 1960. In France, pollution of the River Seine caused the French government considerable embarrassment during the 2024 Olympics. They have cleaned things up since then at great cost. And in the first days of the Trump administration in January this year the new President and California Governor Gavin Newsom argued not just about California wildfires but about lack of water to fight them. It's predicted that the world in the 21st century will see water conflicts even water wars over this most precious resource. We can hope not. As for me, I just want my children and other families to be able to swim in our beautiful clean seas without worrying about the possibility that we really need a Ministry of Sewers.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘Victoria Park, Home County, inseparable': Home County Festival returns after hiatus
Music fans packed into the centre of Victoria Park Saturday as hometown singer Leanne Mayer kicked off the return of the Home County Music and Art Festival (HCMAF). 'Victoria Park, Home County, they're inseparable,' said Bev Camp, known as the 'Dancing Cowboy' and a fixture at local festivals. 'This is the life of the city, even for a day. Look at the people here from all over. Same as Sunfest, it's the best.' The 49th annual HCMAF returned to Victoria Park two years after organizers with the Home County Folk League (HCFL) paused due to financial constraints. Home County Music and Art Festival 2025 Bev Camp, known as the 'Dancing Cowboy' is a fixture at London, Ont. music festivals (Brent Lale/CTV News London) A year ago, they held a small festival at London Brewing Coop. This year they came back downtown with just one stage instead of five. 'It's a testament to Londoners love of Home County,' said Artistic Director Darin Addison about the large afternoon crowd. 'We normally have five stages, going on all at the same time so there's something for everybody. If they don't like what's on one side, they go to another stage. So we had to be very meticulous about who we put on the stage. We want something that's going to appeal to a broader audience. I think we've done a great job with the lineup.' That lineup included Mayer, a contemporary singer-songwriter, as the opening act. Home County Music and Art Festival 2025 Leanne Mayer of London, Ont. opens the 49th annual Home County Music and Art Festival at Victoria Park on Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) 'It's an honour to be included in the lineup, especially in a shortened group,' said Mayer, who last played the festival in 2019. 'I've been lucky to get a lot of support from London. Home County is London's gem. Everybody loves Home County, all the Indie musicians, so it means the world to me to be included.' This year, the HCFL was taking donations at the park and asking patrons to also spend money in their beer garden or with the vendors. Organizers will assess this year's festival and then regroup as they look toward planning next year's event. Home County Music and Art Festival 2025 Hundreds of people packed the lawn at Victoria Park for the 49th annual Home County Music and Art Festival on Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) 'If we get the donations and the turnout, then that's certainly going to be inspiration to bring it back to a three-day festival and next year will be the 50th. The HCFL's new fiscal year begins in September, so they'll start talking about a return to a three-day event. 'We've got 11 months to put it together,' said Addison.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Street art festival leaving 'real legacy'
Covering some of a seaside town's buildings with murals is creating a "real legacy", says the founder of a street art festival. Artists are painting murals across Weston-super-Mare until 27 July as part of the fifth Weston Wallz event. The town's artistic takeover is organised by the Upfest team - who put on Europe's largest street art and graffiti festival in south Bristol. Steve Hayles, co-founder of Upfest, said starting Wallz five years ago in Weston-super-Mare was "pushing the boundary". The town is hosting 50 artists painting 19 murals - which will bring the total number of murals created in Weston-super-Mare during Wallz over the years to 75. And the street artists have come from all over the world. More news stories for Somerset Listen to the latest news for Somerset Sophie Odling, who travelled from Australia to cover part of seafront pub Captains Cabin in a mural, said the event had lots of benefits for the town. "It's so rewarding to be able to contribute art to the local people. "It brings culture and art to the outdoors... it creates a lot of interest and whole different vibes, it draws a lot of tourism to the area as well," she said. Mr Hayles said putting art in public spaces was positive for people who could not get to galleries. "A lot of people find it difficult to go into museums and galleries so having artwork on the street creates conversation," he said. "Whether you like it or you don't, ultimately you've got an opinion. That's the really great thing about putting it in a public space," he added. Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. More on this story Street art festival returns to city for 2024 New murals unveiled at city rail station Related internet links Upfest
BBC News
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Weston-super-Mare Wallz street art festival leaving 'real legacy'
Covering some of a seaside town's buildings with murals is creating a "real legacy", says the founder of a street art festival. Artists are painting murals across Weston-super-Mare until 27 July as part of the fifth Weston Wallz town's artistic takeover is organised by the Upfest team - who put on Europe's largest street art and graffiti festival in south Hayles, co-founder of Upfest, said starting Wallz five years ago in Weston-super-Mare was "pushing the boundary". The town is hosting 50 artists painting 19 murals - which will bring the total number of murals created in Weston-super-Mare during Wallz over the years to 75. And the street artists have come from all over the world. Sophie Odling, who travelled from Australia to cover part of seafront pub Captains Cabin in a mural, said the event had lots of benefits for the town. "It's so rewarding to be able to contribute art to the local people."It brings culture and art to the outdoors... it creates a lot of interest and whole different vibes, it draws a lot of tourism to the area as well," she said. Mr Hayles said putting art in public spaces was positive for people who could not get to galleries."A lot of people find it difficult to go into museums and galleries so having artwork on the street creates conversation," he said."Whether you like it or you don't, ultimately you've got an opinion. That's the really great thing about putting it in a public space," he added.
BBC News
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
North Shields giant artworks spark 'amazingly positive' reaction
Two giant murals created as part of a town's 800th anniversary celebrations have had a positive impact, the art festival's organisers are the first of a total of eight large-scale works on blank walls on locations around North Shields, in North Tyneside, over the by Elevation, they are part of a festival marking its history from a small village of simple huts - or shiels - into a thriving harbour completed two have sparked hundreds of likes on social media with comments being "overwhelmingly positive". Dutch artist Nina Valkhoff, who created the first mural in the town centre, said people had often stopped to watch her at work and had been "very encouraging".The second, by street artist KMG and based on a river god, covers the side of a large building on the Fish on the third is due to start on Monday. Stuart Fern from Elevation said there had been hundreds of comments on social media, which had been overwhelmingly said: "The feedback has been amazing, I know these things are often quite divisive but this has been so positive."It's had a huge impact, I've even heard about tourists from Portugal and Sweden commenting.""They are really stunning, and will still be there in 10 or 15 years time - their legacy will last." The artworks are part of the North Shields 800 celebrations, marking the emergence of the town from a small village on the bank of the River Tyne to serve Tynemouth Priory into a thriving harbour Tyneside Council has now announced that a £132,160 grant had been awarded to the Linskill and North Tyneside Community Development Trust which would manage the funds on behalf of North Shields would be used to support 10 projects to safeguard the town's maritime, industrial, railway and arts heritage. Follow BBC Newcastle on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
