the wellington college year book 2010/2011
63
Artsfest Parade
artsfest
I
have never worked at a
school so remarkable in its
scale of ambition. I can think
of no better example of this
than Wellington College’s
fourth annual Arts Festival. Taking place in
late June, this was a truly extraordinary four
day event. The ‘Magic Circus’ theme set out
to delight, engage and educate everyone who
got involved.
Kicking off with the ArtsFest parade,
masterminded by the wonderful Hannah
Gomersall, seventeen houses had to choose
a carnival ‘theme’.
Led by irrepressible
percussionist Jonti Finn and a hastily put
together Samba band comprising of both
Edgbarrow and Wellington pupils, this most
extraordinary of sights saw all of our pupils
begin parading from the Festival Circus tent
all the way up to Great Gate, snaking around
to South Front where the Arts Festival was
opened in the marquee on South Front by
acclaimed broadcaster Katie Derham. With
the ArtsFest officially open, there followed
four days of workshops including ice-cream
making, circus skills, ballet, street dance,
comedy, pottery, poetry, lantern-making,
sweet-making, fashion design and a whole host
of other enticing skills based arts workshops,
courtesy of our own talented staff as well as
externally run activities.
ArtsFest fringe events included, among
other delights: an ‘Open Mic’ session in
Prince’s Quad, an ‘Art Attack’ huge canvas,
a Sixth Form Comedy Revue and a ‘Human
Beatbox’ session in the Auchinlek Room. The
erratic weather couldn’t dampen sprits during
this most magical of weeks?!
The ‘Have to Dance’ competition final was a
feast of dance with luminaries Twist and Pulse
and Turbo, among others. With an audience
of nearly a thousand, this extraordinary dance
show got the week started with a ‘bang’ and
set the tone for what turned out to be an
action packed week. Oscar nominee Gregg
Helvey screened his mesmerising, moving
film Kavi, about dignity in the face of extreme
adversity. Gregg was incredibly generous with
his time, running a well received Director
Master Class workshop which included his
experiences of the Oscars, Hollywood and
how to raise funds for making independent
films. During the ArtsFest week, there were
back-to-back screenings of a whole range of
films including Catfish, Breakfast at Tiffany’s,
The Social Network, Moulin Rouge and the
iconic Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Visual Arts hit an all time high with
the extraordinary Psi Girls installation by
acclaimed artist Susan Hiller. Psi Girls, created
in 1999, comprised of five floor-to-ceiling
projections which engulfed the viewer in
terms of their audio visual impact. Old Hall
was entirely filled with the artwork for the
duration of the festival. This was the first
time Psi Girls has been exhibited in a school
context, making this the most ambitious
visual arts project Wellington College has
ever undertaken. The overall effect of this