HIP x a curious town dreams festival
Curious Agenda CIC was featured in the Hastings Independent Press for their work on A Curious Town Dreams Festival. Read the article below, first featured on HIP in print and online.
Curious Agenda CIC had a mission this summer to put Hastings on the map as the ‘world’s most curious town’! The people and community of Hastings made this a reality, embracing and immersing themselves in Curious Agenda’s inaugural combined arts festival at the Observer Building and Gotham Alley this June.
A Curious Town Dreams Festival had a jam-packed schedule with something for everyone, including workshops, performances, unusual shows, a dreamy art exhibition, storytelling, poetry, immersive installations and more. The festival transformed the venue into an eclectic mix of artistic curiosities, including an exhibition of local artists’ work as well as bed installations by local creatives Peter Quinnell, Laurie Piper and Montague & Armstrong.
Gotham Alley became an intriguing treasure trove, with additions from local artists Mark Daniels and 2eyesblind, alongside quirky set pieces by artists Kate Bruce, Charlotte Rose and Dave Reading. One of Harper’s Caves was transformed into a woodland ‘living bed’ installation, a collaboration between Curious Agenda, horticulturist Kiya-Ellen Rose and Radiator Arts. Another cave was metamorphosed by Bristol-based Otter Produces into a black and white illusory ‘Ottopia’, capturing visitors’ imagination.
Each day offered an array of workshops for all ages, including craft-based activities like bookbinding, lino-cutting, or needle felting, alongside the more adult-themed ‘smutty letter writing’. Those with a musical mind could try steel pans with musician Jim Bernardin, or experiment with handmade instruments in the Sonic Garden by Lifesize. Over the weekend, visitors were invited to get curious and discover a host of free performances too.
On Friday, Little Mashers ran Curious Kids takeover day, offering seven different craft-based stations which kids could get stuck in and try, creating awesome festival memorabilia. With art and oddities in every direction, one attendee said it felt like they had been “transported into a magical world.”
The evening shows were specially curated by Curious Agenda. The opening night saw ‘Bedtime Stories for Adults’ and an ethereal sound bath by Sound Apothecary. Thursday’s Drag Bingo was a display of queer fun, presented by Heather Duster. Friday’s evening show saw a Curious Cabaret line-up that was second to none, emceed by Des O’Connor and his puppet mother. The night offered a mix of drag, burlesque, character, and hoop performances, finishing with a flourish down Gotham Alley for the final act of fire, aerial shows and dancing.
One audience member said “It was so original and quirky… honestly fantastic! The decoration was spectacular and to top off the night going down to Gotham Alley was just so so fun, it was like we were at a festival, not in Hastings!”.
Saturday’s evening show boasted a night of off-beat comedy headlined by BBC actor, comedian and writer Nick Revell, and hosted by local comedian, artist and sleep paralysis demon, Juliet Brando. The festival was then rounded off with an evening of live music from Audiotrope, a curation of up-and-coming local artists and bands.
If you missed out on the festival, you can still do Twice Shy Theatre’s story trail, A Curious Yarn, created for it. The twisting tale runs through Hastings Old Town, inviting you to listen to the audio story as you walk. This will be accessible for the rest of the year, with audio files available on acurioustown.co.uk, as well as a physical copy of the map being found at a variety of local spots in the Old Town.
A Curious Town festival will return annually with a new theme, leaving plenty of room to explore a whole new mix of curiosities and local creatives. Roll on next year!
For more information about Curious Agenda’s exciting ongoing projects, follow them on Instagram @acuriousagenda.
Photo by Ali Jassim
