(Above) Quinnell Fletcher's work at Coastal Currents, which starts this weekend
Festival: Coastal Currents, various venues, Hastings, until September 30 2010
Having been widely praised as one of the best UK arts festivals held outside London last year, Coastal Currents returns for 2010 with a packed programme and a deserved level of assuredness.
“Last year was just a huge learning curve, and this year has been a lot easier,” reflects Co-Director Lorna Crabbe, whose Creative Coast alliance – which she instigated with fellow artist Sarah Yates 18 months ago – ran the festival on behalf of Hastings Borough Council for the first time in 2009.
“Our HQ is actually in a former empty shop. We got in there, stripped the floorboards back, painted the walls and that kind of thing.
“There was no time for pondering, really. We just got in there. It’s like the first time you do anything – you learn a lot, don’t you?”
Shakespeare in the Park
Their inaugural attempt to “find out how it all worked” resulted in a deluge of positive feedback, and this year they’ve chosen a theme of Tracing Hastings, aiming to inspire young and old visitors to discover the historic town’s past through formal tours or their own meanderings.
Performances including Shakespeare in the Park at St Leonards Gardens and an open studio programme offering more than 100 artists feature alongside Place, a newly-commissioned project with 24 artists specialising in public art.
“It kind of builds on the public works from last year, but it’s much bigger now,” says Crabbe.
“I think last year it did go very well and we were lucky to get a lot of good publicity, which drew a new audience in. Generally there’s a bit of a buzz around Hastings at the moment – we’ve got the Jerwood Gallery coming next year and there’s a big cultural strategy being drawn up by the local council to make a public arts space.
“The town has suffered economically and there have been lots of empty shops and that kind of thing, but it has all been used quite positively. There’s been a lot of support.”
Jorg Rost is one of the artists taking part
Perhaps the most eye-catching talk comes in the form of a Dadaist “travelogue and odyssey” between writer Iain Sinclair and filmmaker Andrew Kotting.
“They’ve hatched this plot to take a pedalo boat from the lake up to the Olympic site in Stratford,” explains Crabbe.
“They’ve been talking about that for years. I went to a talk three or four years ago – before I moved to Hastings, actually – where Iain mentioned it. I used to work at the London College of Communications and we did a project with Tate Modern, and I met him through that.
“It’s one of the things we’ve thrown into the mix this time which aren’t necessarily visual arts, but are really quite interesting.”
Launches today (August 27 2010). Visit Coastal Currents or email Creative Coast for the full programme.
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