ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Creative Folkestone Triennial
Announces New Extended Summer Dates for Fifth Edition , THE PLOT : 22 JULY – 2 NOVEMBER 2021
CREATIVE FOLKESTONE IS DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THE NEW DATES FOR THE FIFTH FOLKESTONE TRIENNIAL , THE PLOT , FROM 22 JULY – 2 NOVEMBER 2021 . WITH AN EXTENDED RUNNING TIME NOW SPANNING ACROSS THE SUMMER , AUDIENCES CAN SAFELY ENJOY OVER 20 OUTDOOR , NEWLY COMMISSIONED PUBLIC ARTWORKS IN FOLKESTONE ’ S SCENIC COASTAL SETTING , BY ARTISTS INCLUDING ASSEMBLE , RANA BEGUM , GILBERT & GEORGE , ATTA KWAMI , PILAR QUINTEROS , AND RICHARD DEACON .
RANA BEGUM , NO . 1054 ARPEGGIO , COMMISSIONED FOR CREATIVE FOLKESTONE TRIENNIAL 2021 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FOLKESTONE AND HYTHE DISTRICT COUNCIL . Photo by Tom Bishop
Free to the public , the Triennial marks one of the UK ’ s most ambitious art exhibitions . Following its run , some works will remain as permanent additions to Creative Folkestone Artworks , which currently features 74 artworks located across the town and harbour , and accessible throughout the year . Dedicated to producing and enabling the very best creative activity that has transformed Folkestone and East Kent , and continues to do so , Creative Folkestone ’ s mission is to make the town a better place to live , work , play and visit .
Alastair Upton , chief executive , Creative Folkestone writes : “ After a year ’ s delay , and all that has happened in that time , we are delighted to present the return of the Folkestone Triennial this summer . Folkestone ’ s communities have been so supportive of each other these last twelve months and have shown incredible resilience despite being one of the hardest hit by Covid-19 . The pandemic has highlighted the value of culture in our everyday lives , and now we can celebrate our town , reimagined by a brilliant line-up of artists , and show the world what Folkestone is made of .”
Curated by Lewis Biggs , Folkestone Triennial 2021 The Plot invites visitors to consider urban myths and their relation to verifiable realities : the gap between the story and the materiality . Here , new , site-specific sculptures and installations will be sited along three routes synonymous with historic Folkestone narratives . By borrowing from , or lending to , these stories , the exhibition raises questions around the correlation between tales and the urbanism of the town , calling upon a consideration of ‘ place-making ’.
Lewis Biggs expands : “ When I started planning this exhibition and inviting wonderful artists to consider sites in the town , I couldn ’ t have imagined how the coming pandemic would foreground The Plot ’ s global themes . Ownership of the truth and of scientific method have never been more contested , as different social and economic interests battle to determine the narrative about , and reaction to , Covid-19 and its variants ( as well as to the climate emergency , BLM , the US Presidential election , human rights in China etc ). Perhaps more surprisingly , lockdowns , travel bans and ‘ staycations ’ have demonstrated just how important to our well-being is the neighbourhood outside our front doors , leading us to re-evaluate the material quality of our local environment and amenities , the corner shops and parks no less than the broadband , as being ‘ vital ’ rather than merely ‘ desirable ’.”
Artists featured in Creative Folkestone Triennial 2021 include Assemble , Rana Begum , Sam Belinfante , Stephenie Bergman , Patrick Corillon , Shezad Dawood , Richard Deacon , Jacqueline Donachie , genuinefake , Gilbert & George , Tina Gverovic , Mariko Hori , Christopher Houghton Budd , Atta Kwami , Morag Myerscough , Jacqueline Poncelet , Pilar Quinteros , Mike Stubbs , Jason Wilsher- Mills , Winter / Hörbelt , and HoyCheong Wong & Simon Davenport & Shahed Saleem / Makespace .
Reflecting on the town that hosts them , many of the Triennial artworks have been created with , or inspired by , Folkestone ’ s local communities . The notion of place as a transitory state of evolving change and renewal is revealed in works such as Jacqueline Donachie ’ s Beautiful Sunday , a vast dance floor and film celebrating the night-time revellers of Folkestone , honouring the social club which was once located on the site . Nearby , Turner Prize-winning multidisciplinary collective Assemble have collaborated with local skate boarders to create a series of interactive sculptures , Skating Situations , to be used by the community . Meanwhile , Rana Begum has transformed the beach huts which line more than a kilometre of promenade with an entirely new colour scheme , using compositions which play with geometry , colour and light – one of the largest and most joyful artworks in the country .
In addition , and for the first time , Creative Folkestone will bring the Triennial online through virtual tours and video content . Committed to championing the creative community , the Triennial highlights the strength and resilience of the creative industries , underlining how contemporary art can shape and enrich the public realm for both local communities and visitors alike .
www . creativefolkestone . org . uk
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