Maritime Mix Continues with Cultural Olympiad Delights in Dorset
The London 2012 Olympic Games are over but the Maritime Mix – London 2012 Cultural Olympiad by the Sea continues to deliver creative delights across the county. As Dorset’s largest creative festival to date, Maritime Mix events have attracted large audiences. Eight thousand people watched Coastal Voices and Welcome Songs on Friday 27th July, eleven thousand people watched the finale of Battle for the Winds and its spectacular Torch Wade with 2012 people entering the sea holding flaming torches on Saturday 28th July. The area has also enjoyed Tibetan Monks performing sand mandala workshops and destructions, dance festivals at the ICCI360 Arena, Monsieur Poo-Pourri pointing at objects along Weymouth Esplanade and Weymouth Brass performing new musical arrangements by Hywel Davies as the town bridge opened. The Boat Project has delighted crowds with its living archive of people’s lives on Weymouth harbourside and there is still more to come for the Paralympic Games and during the preceding fortnight.
ICCI360 Arena will continue with its programme of panoramic entertainment including Judge Jules on 24th August, 7.30pm – 1am, interactive gaming, VDJ Space nights and Silent Discos. From now until 9th September Exploratory Laboratory presents a series of site responsive works inspired by the geology of the Jurassic Coast. Artist Simon Ryder exhibits A Natural History of Pseudomorphs at the National Coastwatch Training Centre, Portland Bill, Portland; Mat Chiver’s Overlay of Erosive Rhythm at Spyway Barn and Bournemouth Natural Science; Proboscis – Storyweir at the Hive Beach, Burton Bradstock; Zachary Eastwood – Bloom’s Digital Earth at Walford Mill Crafts & Durlston Country Park and Simon Callery’s Inland Sealand in Sherborne. Onboard continues with its flights to Pangea, courtesy of Jurassic Airlines flight simulator as part of the Jurassic Coast Earth Festival 2012.
For the Paralympic Games the Maritime Mix programme will deliver some ground-breaking creative work. Tickets are now available for Sue Austin’s Creating the Spectacle 29th – 1st September, Osprey Leisure Centre. Sue and her self-propelled underwater wheelchair will create a stunning and surreal performance in front of underwater and poolside audiences. For in pool audiences requiring training and or equipment tickets are £30. In pool audiences with a diving qualification and own equipment tickets are £25 (must bring a full tank of air) and poolside audiences tickets are £10. Tickets can be purchased through the Creating the Spectacle website. A 360° film of Sue’s underwater performance will also be shown at the ICCI360 Arena as part of the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, 29th August.
Inside Out Dorset will deliver Pierre Sauvageot’s Harmonic Fields to Portland from 31st August – 9th September. A sensory journey created by an installation of three hundred musical instruments played by the wind in Bowers Quarry, Portland for all to enjoy free of charge.
b-side festival picks up again 29th August – 9th September with more challenging and inspiring contemporary arts to include; telepathic drawing lessons with The Ganzfeld Project at The Cove Inn, Portland and SALT, Weymouth; an evening concert with Eyebrow in the stunning location of Sandsfoot Castle and A&Bs roaming choir performances to appear on buses, pubs and at the Drill Hall Gallery, Portland.
There’s also a celebration of Morris dancing with Dinosaurs Not Allowed, 7th & 8th September and a grand finale to the programme with Bandstand Marathon, a nation-wide concert where 300 bandstand and public spaces will come alive with local bands, followed by the rescheduled Moving Tides Procession on 9th September.
“It’s amazing just how many people have engaged with and enjoyed the Maritime Mix to date. We had over a thousand local voices participating in the Coastal Voices choral concert and 2,012 wading into the sea with flaming torches, which was breath taking. But we’ve also had thousands of people through the ICCI360 dome; on virtual flights along the Jurassic Coast; on “misguided tours” as part of b-side festival and working with artists or creating a mandala with Tibetan Monks on Portland. And that’s not even mentioning the hugely successful screenings of the sporting events at the Live Site. It’s been an amazing event so far. One all involved with delivering should be really proud of. It illustrates that Weymouth and Portland are well placed to host high quality events and festivals, featuring sport, the arts and all things cultural in the future. Looking forward now to the great events we have lined up in the Paralympics and, of course, the ongoing programme,” said Richard Crowe London 2012 Creative Programmer for the South West.
For the full programme of events visit www.maritimemix2012.co.uk
