Fringe in the City Art Trail
Over 30 venues around the city are hosting 120 Fringe artists. Many venues have mini-trails around them with installations and hung work from several artists.
The call for submissions this year asked for site-specific, innovative work and artists have risen to that challenge.
The Library Restaurant has taken in 6 artists ranging from Zacron, a well-established and flamboyant character who is an ambassador for the arts throughout the country and designer of the famous Led Zeppelin III album cover to Aaron Fickling a young, up-and–coming painter from Norwich currently studying at the Slade, Katy Armes and Velda Triffit, the 2nd year MA Fine Art course with a mini-art gallery – it fits on the bookshelves and show the work of 8 artists plus the first outing of Suzie Hanna’s new animation ‘The Girl who would be God’ about the childhood of Sylvia Plath, including a display of paper models from the filming and a series of rare films on loan from the British Council related to poetry.
Round the corner in the
Norwich Lanes, Philip Browne shows Keith Pomeroy’s installation ‘It is coming' a 2107 retrospective on 2007 fringe exhibition, based on a book by Doris Lessing – a comment on present-day consumerism and a view from the future back to the 2007, Perfect Pad show photographs by group ‘Beyond the Image’ and gallery Horace Blue has a show of recent work by Colin Self and a rare opportunity to buy work from Norwich’s own very collectable 60s pop artist. The Lanes trail is completed by the Grosvenor Fish Bar and The Birdcage (old Pottergate Tavern) which is also a performance venue for the Fringe cabaret on Wednesdays during the festival.
St Gregory’s Church, The Maddermarket Theatre Bar, SinsSins, Ruby Rumba,
Bridewell Museum, The Red Cross, Norwich Studio Art Gallery and Fabulous Frames are also Norwich Lanes venues to look out for.
St Gregory’s Centre for the Arts has an 80th anniversary screening of two 1927 Janet Gaynor archive films ‘Sunrise’ and 7th Heaven on Saturday 29th at 6.30pm
Going out of the city centre along Earlham Road you will find The Workshop, a newish venue that does great tapas and home-made pizzas but is also looking after Thelma McFarlane’s small photographic canvasses and Cherry Style’s autobiographical photographs as well as hosting a day of performance on Saturday 6 October (see below). The Green Grocer (at Earlham House Shopping Centre) has Kally Davison’s fungi and the Green Fringe Food and Ale Fest, and afternoon of entertainment, food and cooking demonstrations, including a beer and cider marquee on 14th October. Finally the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital at Colney has a intervention by Annie Brundrit.
Another mini-trail is a little out of the city centre at Alan Boswell’s and Will Giles’ Exotic Garden on Thorpe Road. Situated where the old AA HQ was, there is work in reception by Gena Ivanov and Nick Ball’s giant wicker brazil nut on the grass verge along the A47. There are site-specific installations throughout the garden areas behind the building. Will Giles’ garden is open on Sundays and it is a fantastic opportunity to visit this unusual garden complete with works of art from six artists, including Nick Ball, Sue White, Marcela Tresova, Caroline Fisher, Ros Newman while Helen Wells and Juliette Adair have collaborated on a story-telling and visual installation in the tiniest summerhouse. The garden will be at its peak in October with bananas and all.
Performance Highlights
Several of the art venues are also performance venues; there are three nights of words and music at Dragon Hall, Maddermarket Theatre Bar and The Crypt Café at St Andrew’s Hall mixing the talents of poets, writers and musicians in a typical Fringe style. Stop Sharpening Your Knives at Dragon Hall will showcase the best of new poetry and Lucky Jim and friends will be playing at The Workshop in Dereham Road. At the Workshop, there is also a special event for young bands to showcase their talent on Saturday 6 October from 12-5pm. Another Dragon hall gig and the Fringe Finale is NuFolk for Norfolk with Ruby ‘n’ Pink, Diefenbaker and plus mystery headline band as well as comic interventions by Dr Quackers to celebrate the end of the Festival.
On Friday 12 October don’t miss Barnaby Brown Orphan Exraordinaire by Dog-Eared Collective at Blackfriar’s Hall. Last year their show was a complete side-splitting hit and we are really looking forward to their new show, fresh from Edinburgh, supported by performance poets Rupert Mallin, Papa41 and 18th Arrondissement (French chanson).
Keeping up the capers look out for Cosmo and the Foolhardy FolkRockstars gun amnesty for children – Guns are not Toys. The clowns will be exchanging toy guns for gifts and entertainment around the city centre on October 6th.
And visit the Millennium Library throughout the festival to try out Paul Strickland and BBC Voices’ V-Box which will transport you to another world. A sensory experience for people of all ages, and it’s free like most Fringe events.
Things to do
Workshop Day at the Bally Shoe Factory on 29 September 11-3pm– various workshops, mostly free
Enter the Fringe Creative Writing Competition details on www.norwichfringefestival.co.uk
Keep your eyes peeled
Around the city Nicola Simpson has made a trail of Poems in Baby Changing Rooms so keep your eyes peeled if you have a nappy to sort out. Fringe Online has an artists’ blog by Mark Sargeant – log in to www.norwichfringefestival.co.uk or www.flatlandscape.blogspot.com to interact with the artist.