Bloomsbury Festival 2020 Brochure

2020: VISION

A world-class festival from a local community

bloomsburyfestival.org.uk

bloomsburyfestival.org.uk ● Listen at Bloomsbury Radio online 3pm-9pm daily ● Call 0203 280 6905

2020: Vision The 2020 Bloomsbury Festival investigates the many meanings of ‘vision’ through 10 days of performances, exhibitions, online broadcast and outdoor events. For this year’s Festival we have had to be inventive and flexible to enable us to confidently programme around 100 events and, where we hope to have indoor audiences, to offer both digital and socially distanced options.

We invite you to join us either at our events and exhibitions, in person or online from home.

and artists who are at the start of their professional careers. We are delighted to offer them a platform, and also to offer opportunities to our many volunteers and interns for whom this festival is a stepping stone to a new career while joining the creative industries at a very difficult time.

Our exciting programme explores future vision and sustainability, we illustrate aspects of sight such as our reactions to light, colour and optical illusions, and look at the artistic and scientific ideas that affect our senses.

I would like to thank all of our partners, supporters and sponsors, and the Festival team, who have given me such a warm and generous welcome as Director of the Bloomsbury Festival 2020. Bloomsbury is an area filled with potential and opportunity and we want to enable as many of our local residents and visitors to join with us to enjoy the wide range of events during the Festival this year.

We shine a light on the hidden places and people of Bloomsbury, and look at how we see and are seen in the world around us.

And our New Wave programme highlights the creative talents of the future - a young generation of musicians, theatre makers

In 2020 we are also delighted to be commissioning new artworks from YARA + DAVINA, Bureau of Silly Ideas and street artist Mohammed Ali plus exhibitions from local photographers in Bloomsbury.

Rosemary Richards Festival Director

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Welcome 2020 Highlights Selecting your festival week can be a daunting task when faced with over 100 events. Each day the Festival team have picked an event and other highlights will appear on our website in the leadup to the festival; Fri 16 Oct, 12pm - 8pm (see page 13) Sights on Store Street, A Promenade Street Event Sat 17 Oct (& Sun 18), 11am - 5pm (see page 19) Visioning the Future, Conway Hall Hub Sun 18 Oct, 7pm (see page 23) Music X Art: Goodensemble Mon 19 Oct, 9am - 6pm (see page 9) New Wave: Claire-Anne Abi Ola Art Prize 2020 Tues 20 Oct, 7pm Invisible Me - Bren Gosling (see page 25) Wed 21 Oct, 7.30pm The New Mirror (see page 27) Thurs 22 Oct, various times (see page 29) Second Star to the Right - A Storytelling Walk Fri 23 Oct, 2pm/6.30pm (see page 31) Who am I? Workshop/Immersive performance Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme, occasionally changes may occur that are beyond our control, including updates to government guidelines.

Sat 24 Oct, 12pm - 6pm (see page 33)

The programme is correct at time of printing check bloomsburyfestival.org.uk for updates.

Romantic Remnants: Music, Dance, Videography & Photography

Seeing & Perceiving, Festival Hub at Cromer St Sun 25 Oct, 6.30pm (see page 37)

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bloomsburyfestival.org.uk â—? Listen at Bloomsbury Radio online 3pm-9pm daily â—? Call 0203 280 6905

Bloomsbury Festival 2020 – How it will work this year Bloomsbury Festival 2020 has been planned, programmed and reimagined to ensure events are safe and engaging. The safety of our audiences, participants, artists, partners and staff is paramount. This programme includes all our current plans which may be subject to change dependent on government restrictions and social distancing requirements.

Please check our website for all updates.

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DIGITAL EVENTS

Look out for this symbol throughout the brochure.

This year, for the first time, Bloomsbury Festival will be showcasing a whole host of events digitally.

We are planning to stage our events live from Bloomsbury venues. We hope we will be allowed to invite a live audience into each venue, even if audiences have to be considerably smaller than usual.

Meanwhile we have also arranged to film and broadcast online the majority of talks, concerts and theatre events.

If you buy a ticket for an event which is only live and has no digital coverage advertised, and that event has to be cancelled, you will receive a full refund. However please note many events are being broadcast online, with tickets being sold for the digital event, and if permitted a live audience. If these events go ahead online you will not be refunded. If the online broadcast had to be completely cancelled (for example if venues were not allowed to have the performers and filming crew there, and alternative arrangements could not be made) then you would receive a full refund.

Ticket Information INDOOR EVENTS AUDIENCE

WALKS

FREE AND TICKETED EVENTS

At the time of printing socially distanced audiences are allowed at live indoor theatre and music events.

Tickets are limited to comply with social distancing recommendations, and should these change further tickets will be made available.

Over 60% of the Festival is FREE.

Each participant will be issued with a receiver and disposable earphones, so that they are able to hear our tour guide microphone system. If you are able to bring along your own earphones/headphones (with mini-jack) to use instead of the disposable ones provided, please do.

FREE - Just turn up events do not require tickets. These events will be stewarded for your reassurance.

As government advice updates and if we continue to be able to invite a live audience to the events, those who have already booked will be contacted and invited to join the in-person audience. If we have to limit the capacity of the live event, due to social distancing restrictions, those that booked first will be the first to be offered a seat at the venue.

We will look at what restrictions are in place in October and be in touch if this applies to you..

Please check bloomsburyfestival.org.uk for the most up-to-date information.

DIGITAL ONLY EVENTS Several events will only be available digitally including our ever-popular New Wave Lunchtime Concert series via our YouTube channel ‘Bloomsbury Festival Official’.

LIVE EVENTS Where we are able to present live events, including our outdoor programme, these will adhere to the latest guidance for audiences and participants reassurance.

Cleaning of venues will take place before and after each event, and way finding signage will ensure social distancing can be maintained.

BOX OFFICE: bloomsburyfestival.org.uk Advanced booking until 2 hours before the event

INFORMATION LINE: 0203 280 6905

FREE - but pre-booking essential is applicable for many events that have limited capacities.

CONCESSIONS £2 off where ticket prices are over £5 (under 16s, full time students, senior citizens, unemployed, disabled people).

ACCESS If you have access requirements please visit venue websites for information on facilities available or contact admin@bloomsburyfestival.org.uk.

THE WEATHER Our outdoor events will continue whatever the weather unless safety is compromised.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK Look out for feedback forms at Festival events or fill in our online survey afterwards – we’d love to know what you think.

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Map & Locations 1. The Art Worker’s Guild 6 Queen Square, WC1N 3AT

FESTIVAL HUB (Sat 24 Oct): 12. Cromer Street WC1H

23. St George’s Gardens Heathcote Street, WC1N 2NU

2. Atelier Tammam 5 Hastings Street, WC1H 9PZ

13. The Crypt Gallery Euston Road (Entrance in Duke’s Rd), NW1 2BA

HEADLINE EVENT (Friday 16 Oct): 24. Store Street WC1E

3. Bertha DocHouse Curzon Bloomsbury, The Brunswick, WC1N 1AW 4. Bloomsbury Institute 7 Bedford Square, WC1B 3RA 5. The British Library 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB 6. The Brunswick Art Gallery Marchmont Street, WC1N 1BS 7. The Brunswick Centre Bernard Street, WC1N 1BS 8. Brunswick Square Gardens WC1N 9. The Building Centre Store Street, WC1E 7BT 10. Cockpit Arts Northington Street, WC1N 2NP FESTIVAL HUB (Sat 17 & Sun 18 Oct): 11. Conway Hall 25 Red Lion Square, WC1R 4RL

14. Holy Cross Church 98 Cromer Street, WC1H 8JU 15. Kings Cross Brunswick Neighbourhood Association Youth Centre 51 Argyle Street, WC1H 8EF 16. Lansdowne Terrace WC1N

25. Swedenborg House 20 - 21 Bloomsbury Way, WC1A 2TH 26. William Goodenough House Goodenough College, Mecklenburgh Square, WC1N 2AN Pin positions are approximate - please check exact venue locations on a detailed map.

17. London House Goodenough College, Mecklenburgh Square, WC1N 2AB 18. October Gallery 24 Old Gloucester Street, WC1N 3AL 19. The Penn Club 1 - 23 Bedford Place, WC1B 5JJ 20. Russell & Chapple 30-31 Store Street, WC1E 7QE 21. The Studio Theatre, RADA Studios 16 Chenies Street, WC1E 7EX 22. St George’s Bloomsbury Bloomsbury Way, WC1A 2SA

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bloomsburyfestival.org.uk ● Listen at Bloomsbury Radio online 3pm-9pm daily ● Call 0203 280 6905 ONCE UPON A TIME IN KING’S CROSS CATHERINE PACKARD An affectionate depiction of community life in a once infamous King’s Cross neighbourhood during the 80s and 90s. This spirited community continually fought for a better quality of life in an area stigmatised by the media and feared by the wider public.

Brunswick Square Gardens/Lansdowne Terrace Railings and online Fri 16 - Sun 25 Oct; FREE - Just Turn Up

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES MAHLIA AMATINA & GYAN SHARMA An exhibition of work by two visual artists on the autism spectrum.

Mahlia Amatina’s tactile art explores the creative side of neurodiversity in a multisensory experience of colour, line, shape and form. Gyan Sharma’s work can be found at the cusp of abstraction and figuration in a deeply expressionist style, awash with colour and texture.

Online Event Fri 16 - Sun 25 Oct; FREE Online Event

WINNERS OF THE 2020 CHILDREN’S ART COMPETITION An exhibition of the winning entries from the annual Bloomsbury Festival Children’s Art Competition. The artworks respond to their vision of the world 100 years from now.

A Bloomsbury Festival project in partnership with the Sir Hubert Von Herkomer Arts Foundation.

Lansdowne Terrace Railings and online Fri 16 - Sun 25 Oct; FREE - Just Turn Up

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Two Sisters (2020) by Claire-Anne Abi Ola

Throughout the Festival NEW WAVE: CLAIRE-ANNE ABI OLA - ART PRIZE 2020 Claire-Anne Abi Ola, has just completed the first year of her MA in Fine Arts (Painting) at the Slade School of Art. This exhibition of new and existing works responds to the 2020 Festival theme.

Abi’s artworks play with pattern, shapes and optical illusions. The patterns are inspired by British and West-African fabrics and textiles that her family wears.

A Bloomsbury Festival project.

Building Centre, Store Street and online Fri 16 & Mon 19 - Fri 23 Oct; 9am - 6pm FREE - Just Turn Up

REFRACTED SITES - THE BARTLETT SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE In March 2020 the students of the Site-Writing module at the Bartlett in Bloomsbury planned works that critically and creatively engaged with diverse sites: museums, historic houses, marginal and urban nature, contested city planning, and more. As Covid19 emerged, the group dispersed across time zones, geographies and virtual realities. Through text, image, sound and film, Refracted Sites presents these works as they converge once again.. online at refractedsites.cargo.site

WRITERS FROM 26 IN RESIDENCE

HAUNTED BLOOMSBURY AUDIO TOUR

Members from award-winning writers’ group 26 will attend festival events daily to write creatively, engagingly and objectively about everything they see going on around them.

(See page 31 for live event details)

A Bloomsbury Festival Commission.

Published daily online at bloomsburyfestival.org.uk & 26.org.uk

BLUE, GREEN, BLACK AND A DAPPLED GREY HORSE - MARY KUPER

This audio walking tour will be available to download via bloomsburyfestival.org.uk for selfguided tours.

Available at bloomsburyfestival.org.uk from 16 October

ENCOUNTERS - KHUSHNA SULAMAN-BUTT

Russell & Chapple

A series of portraits based on close encounters between the artist and subject. The subjects are put in a position of liberation as they are given freedom to dress and pose however they feel confident, reclaiming their identity, sexuality, their religion and the values they place upon themselves.

Fri 16 - Sun 25 Oct; FREE - Just Turn Up

The Brunswick Art Gallery

An exploration of the colour of words. The human eye sees more than a million colours but we name only a few. This exhibition explores how we talk about colour, from the specialist artist’s vocabulary to languages with no word for colour.

ABSENCE - LUKE ALLEN Luke Allen spent lockdown photographing and filming Camden. What he missed the most were people’s faces. Neighbours, friends and acquaintances were missing from the streets and when they slowly emerged their faces were obscured. Allen’s new work explores what for many people will be a loss; the loss of the familiar face, the smile, the non-verbal language and selfidentity in a post-lockdown masked world.

Supported by Camden Alive.

Brunswick Square Gardens/Lansdowne Terrace Railings and shopfronts in Brunswick Centre and online Fri 16 - Sun 25 Oct; FREE - just turn up

Fri 16 - Sun 25 Oct; FREE - Just Turn Up

HEBREW MANUSCRIPTS: JOURNEYS OF THE WRITTEN WORD Journey beyond the Bible to discover the history, culture and personal stories of Jewish people from all corners of the world through the ages.

Through rarely-seen treasures from as far back as the 10th century, this exhibition takes you from Europe and North Africa, to the Middle East and China to explore the relationships between Jews, their neighbours and the world they lived in.

British Library Fri 16 - Sun 25 Oct; Tickets: £7 (advance booking essential)

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Silent Audience (2020), 250cm x 180cm, Oil on Linen; by Khushna Sulaman-Butt

Throughout the Festival THE PENN CLUB CENTENARY EXHIBITION The Penn Club opened in October 1920. This exhibition celebrates the first 100 years of The Club which has been located in Bloomsbury since its very beginning when it was founded to create a community for like-minded men and women.

The Penn Club Fri 16 - Sun 25 October, 12pm - 8pm FREE - Just Turn Up

OPINION POLE - YARA & DAVINA The Opinion Pole invites the public to consider their visions of the future.

Maypoles are rooted in folk tradition in Britain, as a symbol of community, layered with metaphor.

The large scale interactive sculpture will share different visions for the future printed on each ribbon, collected from local community groups, and will be activated by music composed by Kevin Davidson in collaboration with the local community, playfully combining traditional folk music with contemporary music from popular culture.

A Bloomsbury Festival Commission.

Brunswick Square Gardens Sat 17 - Sun 25 Oct, 12pm - 5pm

HELLISH LOVE: AN EXHIBITION OF OBJECTS FROM THE SWEDENBORG COLLECTION Students of the Royal College of Art Creative Writing MA have each chosen a single object on which to write a short text, alongside which their object will be displayed. The objects range from ear bones to spirit photographs, and are drawn from the eclectic and intriguing Swedenborg Collection.

Swedenborg House Mon 19 - Fri 23 Oct, 10am - 4pm plus virtual opening 7pm - 9pm on Fri 23 Oct Free - but pre-booking is essential

ATELIER TAMMAM SUSTAINABLE COUTURE WINDOW SHOWCASE Following the Tammam roving catwalk show through the streets of Bloomsbury (see page 15), enjoy a static exhibition in the windows of Atelier Tammam and delve deeper into the stories of the Tammam sustainable supply chains.

Atelier Tammam Mon 19 - Sun 25 Oct FREE - Just Turn Up

Schools visits, Tues 20 (see website for details)

A PLAY ON LIGHT - KIERAN SLYNE

Activity Day, Sat 24 Oct, 11am - 3pm (see pg 35)

Kieran Slyne, Irish director of photography, has travelled the world for 40 years always seizing the moment to take stills. This rich collection encapsulates his relationship with life, colour and light - always the light.

FREE - Just Turn Up

ROOTING FAILURE PAOLO DI GENNARO & SARA COPPA Inspired by Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth, this interactive installation challenges common understandings of failure. By taking a self-exploratory walk through the subterranean spaces of The Crypt Gallery, participants undergo a journey of recollection, discovery and revelation.

The Crypt Gallery Wed 21 - Sun 25 Oct, 10am - 6pm FREE - Just Turn Up

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: THE FIGHT FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS From bodily autonomy and the right to education, to self-expression and protest, this exhibition explores how feminist activism in the UK today has its roots in the complex history of women’s rights. Recognising that inequality is experienced differently depending on race, gender identity, class and sexuality, this exhibition celebrates those who have struggled to overcome the barriers to living a full realised life.

British Library Dates, Times and Tickets TBC

St George’s Bloomsbury Tues 20 - Sat 24 Oct, 10am - 5pm FREE - Just Turn Up

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Inset photos: Opinion Pole (top); Store Street 2019 by Aaron Galway (bottom)

Opening Event - Friday 16 October Sights On Store Street A Promenade Street Event Bloomsbury Festival Production

Can you believe your eyes? Is all what it seems on Store Street? Join us for a promenade where we present our exploration of 2020 Vision!

We reveal illusions, magic reflections, colour, rainbow ribbons, and invite you to join our top secret Illusion Laboratory experiment.

Walking along the street transformed you will meet musicians, performers, entertainers and purveyors of visual illusions. Enjoy the sights and sounds, explore shops and cafes. Question what your eyes see, what you imagine for the future, and join the sometimes hidden communities of Bloomsbury.

some stunning examples of classic visual illusions – and they ask you to consider for a moment, is what you see real or an illusion? Why do your eyes and brain play tricks on you?

Join us and become part of a new vision for Store Street.

Supported by The Bedford Estates.

Friday 16 Oct 12pm - 8pm FREE - Just Turn Up

Artists YARA + DAVINA’s Opinion Pole invites the public to consider their visions of the future, as the artists bring people together with a specially commissioned community maypole.

Our Store Street event is designed for Sights on Store has had to be you to enjoy as a gentle promenade – considerably scaled perhaps part of your dailyback walk, from in onesthe or twos,previously or in small household groups advertised as allowed by any social information, due todistancing government requirements at the time. This safety guidelines.

Please visit our first event will be stewarded for your website for full details. reassurance.

Roger Hartley of Bureau of Silly Ideas offers a laboratory of visual illusions and Andrew Stockman and colleagues from the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology present

Please note this event is subject to change as required by government and local council recommendations on outdoor events. Please check website for up to date information.

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PLAYING OUR PART IN THE BLOOMSBURY COMMUNITY SINCE 1669 WWW.BEDFORDESTATES.COM 14

bloomsburyfestival.org.uk

Friday 16 October

Special Events TRUTH TO POWER CAFÉ Jeremy Goldstein’s Truth to Power Café is a profound reflection on loss, hope and resistance told through memoir, image, poetry, music, and live and spontaneous testimony from participants with stories to tell in response to the question ‘who has power over you and what do you want to say to them?’

Online from Conway Hall 4pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

ATELIER TAMMAM SUSTAINABLE COUTURE ROVING FASHION SHOW Atelier Tammam, Bloomsbury’s very own sustainable couture fashion studio presents a visionary ethical and environmentally conscious catwalk, roving through the streets of Bloomsbury.

See the action along a route selected to pass some of Bloomsbury’s iconic heritage sites. Visit tammam.co.uk/bf20 to find the route of the show.

From Atelier Tammam to Store Street 4.30pm - 6.30pm; FREE - Just turn up

ZOOMSBURY SALON PARTY Taking inspiration from the creative pursuits, D conversations and parties of the infamous LEan Ljoin Bloomsbury Group, City Nights invite you to E C immersive digital salon experience. A AN contemporary C gathering, reinterpretation of a Bloomsbury S Group I T all taking place digitally with experiences, EN artistic Vsecret debate, discussion and digital dens hosted E S by immersive performers.

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8pm; SO Tickets: £5

Atelier Tammam Sustainable Fashion

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Music NEW WAVE LUNCHTIME CONCERT: SIYU SUN (PIANO) A programme of visionary, passionate, and transcendental Romantic piano music, including works by Beethoven, Liszt and Rachmaninoff.

Recorded live at the Music Room, Great Ormond Street.

YouTube: Bloomsbury Festival Official Premieres 1.10pm; available until 25 Oct FREE online event

BRIGHT THE VISION - ROSSINI & FRIENDS Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle performed by ArchiCantiores under the direction of Douglas Tang. The programme also includes secular motets and anthems about visions, glories and dreams from the same period, all introduced by church architect and baritone Jonathan Louth. There will be an opportunity to “Come & Sing” and/or an afternoon online Choral Workshop for the Rossini chorus section (See website for more details).

Online from Holy Cross Church 7pm; Tickets: £8 (£6)

THE COLOURS OF MUSIC (See page 19) Online from Conway Hall 8pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

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Unsightly Drag and Friends - Quiplash

Saturday 17 October Performance & Film

UNSIGHTLY DRAG AND FRIENDS! QUIPLASH

Walks, Talks & Tours

MAGELLAN

Blind and visually impaired people from across the disability and LGBTQQIA+ spectrum dive nose first into gender bending fabulousness. This raucous and accessible show is one small step for quips (queer crips) and one giant leap for queer kind. Relaxed peformance, with integrated audio description and BSL interpretation.

SHAPING BLOOMSBURY

500 years ago, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Spain with the vision to open a new westerly route to the Spice Islands, in modern day Indonesia. His tragic tale comes back to life portrayed by Antonio Riva, Fabio Turchetti and their musicians, in this poetic and captivating music & theatre piece.

Online from The Art Workers’ Guild 5pm; Tickets £12 (£10)

EYE SAY, EYE SAY, EYE SAY! - EXTANT Eye Say, what do you get when over a dozen visually impaired comedians come together? Eye Say, Eye Say, Eye Say! A night of eye-watering comedy from Extant offering 20/20 insights from a range of visually impaired comedians on their diverse experiences living in the capital!

Online from William Goodenough House, Goodenough College 6pm; Tickets: £5

SEEING EARTH (See page 19) Online from Conway Hall 6.30pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

Online from William Goodenough House, Goodenough College 8.30pm; Tickets: £8 (£6)

Family FAMILY ART DAY A fun session for children aged 0-7 and their families using play, drama and art making to engage in the current exhibition and the Festival theme of vision.

October Gallery 10am - 11.30am; FREE - please arrive by 10am, places are limited, first come, first served

All kinds of people and organisations have shaped Bloomsbury over the past three centuries, making it the extraordinary area it is. Join Brian Turner to learn more about the visions of these participants, and to feast your eyes on Bloomsbury.

Walk begins in Bloomsbury Square 11am; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

IN CONVERSATION WITH MR NICHOLSON - FINE PRINT, FORESIGHT, AND FUEL CELLS A conversation with the ghost of Georgian polymath William Nicholson (1753-1815), with a demonstration of clean energy by UCL’s electrochemical energy outreach group.

St George’s Gardens 2.30pm (also online on Tues 20 Oct, 2.30pm see page 25); Tickets: £8 (£6)

LOOKING FOR BLOOMSBURY’S LOST BOOKSHOPS Bloomsbury is famous for its connections with writers like Virginia Woolf and Lytton Strachey - but its history as a hub of London’s rare books and manuscripts trade is more hidden. This self-guided walk invites you to peer below Bloomsbury’s surface for a closer look at some familiar buildings, and the richly decorated medieval manuscripts once sold there.

Online live presentation 3pm; available until 25 Oct FREE - but pre-booking is essential

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Visioning The Future Conway Hall Hub, Day 1 11am - 8pm A two-day hub exploring visions of the future. Is a zero-waste lifestyle possible? How might A.I. be used to improve medical imagery? What do our urban futures look like as we challenge inequality? Give your thoughts on the future of London transport.

Academics, artists and scientists bring the latest thinking with talks, debates, exhibits and thought-provoking performances from some of the boldest and bravest voices around, in Bloomsbury’s home for those who dare to dream of a better world, Conway Hall.

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Uncle Errol in Truth to Power Café 2019; Photo by Andras Jamvoor

Festival Hub - Saturday 17 October Talks & Discussions

Workshops & Participate

All Talks and Discussions will be online, with a limited number of live tickets available subject to government regulations.

Visit bloomsburyfestival.org.uk for up to date information.

THE ZERO-WASTE LIFESTYLE: FEASIBLE OR IDEALISTIC?

THE COMPUTER WILL SEE YOU NOW?

An interactive workshop aiming to spread awareness on the Zero-Waste movement where participants can make zero-waste ‘do-it-yourself’ versions of common products such as deodrant and soap.

SUSTAINABLE FASHION Sustainable fashion trailblazer, Ms Tammam, takes you through her journey to create a sustainable couture fashion label and her vision for the future of fashion, with an opportunity for a Q&A with the artist.

1pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

HEART N SOUL AT THE HUB - INCLUSIVE FUTURES Heart n Soul at The Hub is a research project led by people with and without learning disabilities and autistic people, exploring the value of difference and challenging what is ‘normal’. In this session the Inclusive Futures team will share their project and think critically about our world and our future.

2.30pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

THE NEW (NEURO) NORMAL Presented by Headway East London, brain injury survivors talk about the unexpected opportunities and futures a more digital-based society offers them. How can we ensure that the ‘new normal’ works for the neurodiverse? And what emerging practices and arrangements might hold the key to a more accessible future?

4.30pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

Join engineers and scientists from the UCL Centre for Medical Image Computing to explore visionary new methods that help save lives. Take part in interactive games and activities that demonstrate the techniques used to meet the challenges of modern surgery and delve under the skin.

11am-6pm; FREE - just turn up

CLIMATE CRISIS EXHIBITION BOOTH/ VISUALISER Visualising the extent to which the climate emergency has impacted our world is often sometimes difficult and not a reality people are willing to confront. A booth, presented

by UCL Climate Action Society, with simple, visually-pleasing representations of the negative implications of climate will help spur that confrontation.

Open 11am-5pm in the Foyer (and Sun 18 Oct) FREE - just turn up

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT LAB @ VISIONING THE FUTURE Bloomsbury Festival Creative Development Lab, led by artistic associate Orit Azaz, brings together artists, academics and residents to exchange perspectives, find out about each others’ contexts, and explore creative responses to future Bloomsbury Festival themes. As part of Visioning the Future hub at Conway Hall, we invite young creative thinkers from the area for a taster Creative Development Lab experience.

11.30am; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

Performance & Film All Performance & Film events will be online, with a limited number of live tickets available subject to government regulations (unless stated). Visit bloomsburyfestival.org.uk for up to date information.

SEEING EARTH Lunar Salute Dance visualises the earth’s future from the perspective of the lunar astronauts who first saw the beauty of our planet. Climate change, soil, sun and sea depict our situation.

6.30pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

THE MIRROR TRAP An online immersive experience about quantum physics and psychology, followed by a discussion with its creator, Simon Watt, physicist Harry Cliff and psychologist Julia Shaw.

7.30pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

THE COLOURS OF MUSIC

11am-8pm (and Sun 18 Oct)

Pianist Anna Szałucka and cellist Margarita Balanas connect captivating classical music with live painting discovering the borders between imagination and presence in The Colours of Music.

Email admin@bloomburyfestival.org.uk for info

8pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

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Envisioning Urban Futures

Festival Hub - Sunday 18 October Visioning The Future Conway Hall Hub, Day 2 11am - 8pm

Talks & Discussions All Talks and Discussions will be online, with a limited number of live tickets available subject to government regulations.

Visit bloomsburyfestival.org.uk for up to date information.

VISION THROUGH BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS How does what we see affect our daily decisions?

How do humans look at their futures? Evidence from behavioural economics have demonstrated that the way in which a problem is presented might change our final answer. This talk by Dr Lorenzo Lotti from the UCL Energy Institute, will explore evidence and the main findings.

11.30am; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

INNOVATION IN PERIODS OF EMERGENCY The Centre of Innovation Management Research at Birkbeck reflects on the experience of Covid-19 in its different phases, from lockdown to a new start, looking at how innovation processes, modes and practices have evolved.

1pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

ENVISIONING URBAN FUTURES As we increasingly come to inhabit cities, researchers from Birkbeck, Kings College and UCL set out some ideas for what our urban futures may look and feel like, featuring case studies from around the world.

Workshops & Participate CLIMATE CRISIS EXHIBITION BOOTH/ VISUALISER (See page 19) Open 11am-5pm in the Foyer (and Sat 18 Oct)

1pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

FREE - just turn up

AI FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PANEL DISCUSSION

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT LAB @ VISIONING THE FUTURE (See page 19)

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to be a key ingredient towards solving global and societal challenges, such as climate change, global food security, or reducing inequalities. UCL’s Centre for Artificial Intelligence explores why and how AI can be useful to make and measure progress towards sustainable development.

11am-8pm (and Sat 17 Oct)

2.30pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

AWAKENING TO CRISIS FUTURES: ARE YOU ‘PREPPING’ FOR APOCALYPSE? Preppers have been subject to societal and media ridicule for holding dark visions of apocalyptic futures. But then came 2020, bringing fire, locust plagues, a pandemic and social unrest. Have we been ‘awakened’? And are we all preppers now? A talk with Dr Kezia Barker from Birkbeck, University of London.

2.30pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN CLIMATE ACTION - PANEL DISCUSSION

Email admin@bloomburyfestival.org.uk for info

Performance & Film All Performance & Film events will be online, with a limited number of live tickets available subject to government regulations (unless stated). Visit bloomsburyfestival.org.uk for up to date information.

BEETHOVEN TRIO CYCLE 2

D

Conway Hall’s Director of Music, Simon Callaghan, LE EL and friends continue their year-long exploration C N of Beethoven’s complete works for CApiano trio.

IS variations on Ich Programme includes the curious T bin der Schneider Kakadu EN(I am Kakadu, the tailor) EV from Wenzel Müller’s opera, Die Schwestern von S I Prag, the effervescent E flat trio, and the Archduke TH trio, dedicated Y - to Archduke Rudolph of Austria.

RR

6.30pm; Tickets: £TBC SO

A panel discussion from UCL Climate Action Society about the disproportionate vulnerabilities and health burdens of climate change. Tackling climate change cannot be separated from the challenges of promoting inclusivity and diversity.

4pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

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The Colours of Music - Anna Szałucka

Sunday 18 October Music

Walks, Talks & Tours

Performance & Film

NEW WAVE LUNCHTIME CONCERT: LA MASCARADE - SERGIO BUCHELI

ALTERNATIVE KINGS CROSS AND BLOOMSBURY

I SEE IT DIFFERENTLY

In the 17th Century, the lute was one of the most popular instruments in Europe. This recital is a celebration of music traded and shared across borders. Recorded live at the Music Room, Great Ormond Street.

Chris Foster was a Bobby on the Beat in Kings Cross fifty years ago. He will lead you through the back streets south of Euston Road and shine a light on some forgotten corners, entertaining you with historical facts and personal memories from his policing days.

YouTube: Bloomsbury Festival Official Premieres 1.10pm; available until 25 Oct

Walk begins at Kings Cross Station

FREE online event

11am (also at 2pm on Sun 24 Oct) FREE - but pre-booking is essential

BEETHOVEN TRIO CYCLE 2 (See page 21) Online from Conway T IS ENHall

EV - THIS 6.30pm; SORRYTickets: £TBC

D CELLE

CAN

MUSIC X ART: GOODENSEMBLE Visual art has always inspired music. In this concert, Goodensemble (conducted by Owen Ho and Will Sharma) present a series of musical works that are in one way or another connected to the visual art world. Includes works by Purcell, Lully, Elgar and Mussorgsky.

UTOPIAN BLOOMSBURY Bloomsbury has at times in its history been much associated with visionary, utopian thinking and writing. This walk with Dr Matthew Ingleby will explore that history. From socialists and anarchists to feminists and queer artists, the neighbourhood has inspired a distinctly futural imagination.

A series of illuminating short films from thought provoking perspectives. Reflecting both personal and universal narratives, from local and global talents these films dig into the theme of Vision through culturally rich filmmaking.

Online from Bertha DocHouse 4pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER BE●WILDER THEATRE Presented by RADA graduate company be•wilder theatre, Tomorrow Will Be Better is an immersive sensorial tragicomic play, set in a modern day Asclepeion, the legendary Ancient Greek temple of healing. Join us on a soul-searching journey of dreams, dance, rituals, catharsis, cinema and light, leading towards recovery, and perhaps happiness..

Online from Holy Cross Church 7pm; Tickets: £8 (£6)

Walk begins at fountain in Russell Square 2pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

Online from London House, Goodenough College 7pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

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Who Am I? - Sunara Begum

Tuesday 20 October Music

Walks, Talks & Tours

STUDIO TOUR: INSPIRATIONAL JEWELLERY

NEW WAVE LUNCHTIME CONCERT: MY HEART IS IN THE EAST

IN CONVERSATION WITH MR NICHOLSON - FINE PRINT, FORESIGHT, AND FUEL CELLS (See page 17)

Meet three jewellers making unique, distinctive – and often spectacular – pieces, Mark Nuell, Maya Selway and Meron Wolde. Visit their Holborn studios to experience their craft, and the stories behind it, at first hand.

A journey through some of the magical and mesmerizing music of three great and important composers: Schubert, Tchaikovsky and Copland with soprano Adaya Peled and pianist Chaudar Mazgalov. Recorded live at the Music Room, Great Ormond Street.

YouTube: Bloomsbury Festival Official Premieres 1.10pm; available until 25 Oct FREE online event

Performance & Film INVISIBLE ME - BREN GOSLING As three Londoners - Alec, Lynn and Jack - turn sixty, each has an encounter, which profoundly shifts how they see themselves. From that moment on, they stop being trapped by the past, and new found identities arise from sexual adventures in uncharted territory. Drama with comic elements. A new play by writer Bren Gosling..

Online from TBC 7pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

Online Event 2.30pm (also Sat 17 Oct,2.30pm); Tickets: £5

Cockpit Arts 6.30pm (also Wed 21 Oct, 6.30pm)

COMMONWEALTH VISIONS: BLOOMSBURY PERSPECTIVES There has never been a more important time for members of the Commonwealth to come together to tackle the challenges of climate change and rapid urbanisation. This event will engage Bloomsbury-based Commonwealth organisations with a broader audience and contribute to discussions ahead of the 2021 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda.

Online from Bloomsbury Institute 6pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

PODCAST LISTENING EVENT CONSENT: WHAT’S MISSING FROM THE CONVERSATION?

FREE - but pre-booking is essential

HAUNTED BLOOMSBURY: AN ‘EXPERIENCE’ WALKING TOUR OF SPIRITUALISM, GHOST STORIES & GIN

D

The Victorians had long been fascinated by aLE EL be wide range of phenomena that might loosely NClines of termed the ‘occult’. Tracing Spiritualism’s A C origin, we’re driven through these IS occult pathways TJoin N into the heart of Bloomsbury. your tour guide E EVan evening stalk of gothic Dr Romany Reagan for S I intrigues and T Victorian ghosts, ending with a gin at a H local hostelry Y - to settle your nerves.

R

R Starting SO at a secret location in Bloomsbury (ticket holders will be notified) 7pm (also Fri 23 Oct, 7pm); Tickets £12 (£10)

Join Dr Stephanie Wright & Emma Yapp from the Sexual Harms + Medical Encounters (SHaME) Research Hub at Birkbeck to discuss “consent” - how it’s been viewed in the past, how we think about it now, and the future of consent in a post #metoo world.

Online Event 6.30pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

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Rooting Failure - Sara Coppa, Paolo Di Gennaro

Wednesday 21 October Performance & Film

Literature

Walks, Talks & Tours

THE BETRAYED GIRLS

THE SECRET DIARY OF BLOOMSBURY: LIVE!

BLOOMSBURY VISIONARIES FROM NORTH TO SOUTH

For four years now the Secret Diary of Bloomsbury has been collecting stories from across the area, from Russell Square to the Bloomsbury Coffee shop. For this festival event guest readers will bring some of the best entries to life, and there will be a ‘diary open mic’ that will offer an opportunity to share stories of your own.

This walk, moving north to south, focuses on several figures linked with major Bloomsbury institutions, over fields as diverse as medicine, political reform, bookselling and evolutionary biology. Led by Camden guide, Paul Guest.

The Sexual Harms + Medical Encounters (SHaME) Research Hub at Birkbeck presents a special screening of The Betrayed Girls documentary, and panel discussion with its acclaimed director Henry Singer, consultant paediatrician Dr Deborah Hodes, and historian Dr Ruth Beecher.

William Goodenough House, Goodenough College 6.30pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

THE NEW MIRROR Blending fairytale, verse fragments and surreal imagery with uncanny theremin-led soundscapes, this experimental retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen is a crazy ride through a familiar landscape, turned inside out.

With storyteller Laura Sampson and musician Sam Enthoven.

Holy Cross Church 7.30pm; Tickets: £8 (£6)

Online Event 6pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

26 WEEKS Writers’ group 26 shares some of the conversations its members initiated since the pandemic struck, taking snapshots & notes across 26 Weeks. Creative projects on art, wildlife and community emerged, and 26 share the fascinating results, in prose, poetry and visual art.

Online from The Art Workers’ Guild 7pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

Walks begins outside Euston Square Station 11am; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

CRITICAL GUERRILLA URBANISM: SKATEBOARDING AND THE CITY An interactive group walk through some of Euston’s sacred skateboarding spots, exploring how street skateboarding in London has developed over the last 30 years creating a collective subcultural practice which gives new semiotic meaning to spaces and objects.

Walk begins at The Bartlett, UCL 2pm; Tickets: £8 (£6)

STUDIO TOUR: INSPIRATIONAL JEWELLERY (See page 25) Cockpit Arts 6.30pm (also Tues 20 Oct, 6.30pm) FREE - but pre-booking is essential

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Lido - A Dip into Outdoor Swimming Pools; Photo by Charlotte Bland

Thursday 22 October Music

Walks, Talks & Tours

CAMDEN VOICES

SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT - A STORYTELLING WALK ABOUT JM BARRIE

D

Camden Voices is a collective of talented LLE musicians, instrumentalists and educators CE at the AN singing. leading-edge of contemporary ensemble C IS Spanning a huge breadth ofTrepertoire, the choir showcases fresh arrangements EN from the worlds V of a capella, jazz Iand S Epop written with the diverse and unique qualities TH of the group’s voices in mind.

RY from Holy Cross Church ROnline O S 7.30pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

Scary Little Girls bring the streets of Bloomsbury to life in a treasure hunt of performance, art andD E song celebrating the life and work of JM Barrie.

LL CE to Explore this fascinating area in small N groups enjoy these intimate, outdoor performances and CA IS your city was discover secrets you never knew T N keeping! Performed with VEstudents from RADA.

SE

Various locations HI - Ticket holders will be notified of the starting - Tpoint of the walk

RY

Literature

R Peformances start every 20 mins between 11am SO (and Fri 23 Oct) 1.20pm

LIDO: A DIP INTO OUTDOOR SWIMMING POOLS

Tickets: £10 (£8)

Architecture and travel writer Christopher Beanland, author of Lido, takes us on a tour around the very best outdoor swimming pools, from London and beyond in this illustrated talk.

Along the way he explores the history, design and people that make outdoor swimming so special.

Online from William Goodenough House, Goodenough College 6pm; Tickets: £5

SANATORIUM - ABI PALMER Join Abi Palmer for a live, hallucinatory performance of Sanatorium, her debut book that interlaces memoir, poetry and meditations on the body. Palmer’s writing challenges preconceptions around chronic pain, the queer body and disability.

Online from William Goodenough House, Goodenough College 7pm; Tickets: £5

THE ART OF BLOOMSBURY Explore Bloomsbury’s great artistic heritage with Richard Cohen. You will see works by Jacob Epstein & Rex Whistler and pass the homes of some of the great writers, artists and intellectuals of the Bloomsbury Group, as well as enjoying some of the art treasures of University College.

A WALK IN THE STEPS OF FRANCES TAYLOR

ED

A walk in the footsteps of religious founder,LL CEwho author and philanthropist Frances Taylor, AasNa lady accompanied Florence Nightingale C S volunteer nurse to the Crimean T I War. Visit the sites ENlived in, and stop by St of some of the housesVshe Patrick’s Church, ISoho S E Square, built in her honour.

H

T Walk begins Y - on the corner of Percy Street and Tottenham RR Court Road O

S 5.30pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

VISION - OPEN DISCUSSION ABOUT THE UNDERLYING SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS Andrew Morris will first set out the potential scope for discussion on the Festival’s theme of “vision”, then invite participants to explore with him our understanding of how we perceive visually. Andrew, an experienced science teacher, has developed an approach for adults who are curious about the natural world, but lack a background in science.

Online Event 6pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

Walk begins at Tottenham Court Rd Station

EVENT IS THIS Y IT OUR R R O pre-booking FREE -Sbut isEessential ASE VIS L P .

D E F AN L CANCEL FOR DETAILS O NT E E V IT ITAL E WEBS IVE DIG T A N R E ALT 2pm (and Sat 24 Oct 11am) LIVE

FAIL BETTER TALKS X ROOTING FAILURE It’s daring to take risks in design, and talking about them when it all goes pear-shaped is even more gutsy. Fail Better Talks gives voice to four intrepid speakers to speak candidly of the worst work they’ve ever created and, more importantly, what they’ve learned from it.

This talk is a Rooting Failure exhibtion associated event (see page 11).

Online Event 7pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

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Patterns of Adsence - Conrad Shawcross RA Courtesy the artist and Château La Coste; Photo: François Deladerrière

Friday 23 October Music

Performance & Film

SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT - A STORYTELLING WALK ABOUT JM BARRIE

MUSIC AND RENEWAL - NW LIVE ARTS

THE TEXTURE OF AIR

(See page 29)

World class musicians - Adriano Adewale (percussion), Kuljit Bhamra MBE (tabla) and the Alkyona String Quartet - use a dynamic mix of music from Europe, South America and India to explore concepts of renewal. Alongside, NW Live Arts presents exciting and innovative video art created by local artists.

A collective memoir of two recently closed hospitals (the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital and the Eastman Dental Hospital, both on Grays Inn Road) featuring a screening of audio-visual artwork followed by a tour.

Various locations - Ticket holders will be notified LLED of the starting point of the walk CANCE

Online from Holy Cross Church 7.30pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

Participate WHO AM I? MOVEMENT AND MUSIC WORKSHOP

William Goodenough House, Goodenough College 4.30pm; Tickets: £5

WHO AM I? An immersive performance that traces the cycle of life through film, music, movement and text, taking viewers on a journey from the past to the future, from the inner to the outer. Written and performed by Sunara Begum in collaboration with sound artist and composer, Tunde Jegede.

ENT IS

EV 20 mins between 11am PeformancesTstart IS every Y- H 1.20pm SORR(and Thurs 22 Oct) Tickets: £10 (£8)

HAUNTED BLOOMSBURY: AN ‘EXPERIENCE’ WALKING TOUR OF SPIRITUALISM, GHOST STORIES & GIN (See page 25)

LLED

ANCE

IS C Starting at a secret location VENTin Bloomsbury (ticket E IS holders will-be notified) H T ORRY

S (also Tues 20 Oct, 7pm); Tickets: £12 (£10) 7pm

A participatory movement and music workshop exploring memory, sound and nature of our own body. Using subtle gesture and spontaneous composition we will focus on breath, vibration, skin and everyday movements to access emotional forms of expression. For anyone interested in movement, sound and deep inner process and with the option to take part in Sunara Begum’s performance of Who Am I? in the same space.

The Studio Theatre, RADA Studios

PATTERNS OF BEAUTY

6.30pm; Tickets: £12 (£10)

The Studio Theatre, RADA Studios

A presentation and discussion about a collaborative research and development process involving stroke survivors, artist and scientist. This will culminate in a series of online digital artworks and an immersive physical installation with sculpture, sound and projected imagery, inviting an audience to experience the visceral reality of life with post stroke fatigue. Commissioned by neuroscientist Dr Anna Kuppuswamy, conceived and created by artist Sofie Layton.

A multi-sensory, multidisciplinary evening, exploring the role patterns play in perceiving beauty in art. Semir Zeki, pioneer of the field of neuroaesthetics, shares his wealth of knowledge, illustrated by live music and a selected gallery of artworks. Next, Professor Barry Smith leads a conversation on how philosophers, scientists, artists and the brain itself depend on patterns to understand, explore, create and sense beauty.

The panel also includes artists Giulia Ricci and Conrad Shawcross RA.

2pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

Walks, Talks & Tours ENSNARED - THE INESCAPABLE REALITY OF FATIGUE

Online from The Art Workers’ Guild 7pm; Tickets: £8 (£6)

Online Event 11am; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

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Photos from Bloomsbury Festival 2019 by Stuart Keegan

Festival Hub - Saturday 24 October Seeing and Perceiving Festival Hub at Cromer Street for all ages Have you ever wondered how the brain helps you see? Is what we see real? What does the brain actually look like? Explore the answers through stimulating activity, immersive workshops, artistic responses, thought provoking talks, and VR experiences.

Join Francis Crick, UCL, Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, Holborn Community Association and many others to explore how we see and perceive the world. It’s not what you think it is!

MAKE

11am - 12 noon

● Create your own brain structures and add to a giant sculpture (autism friendly) with Holborn Community Association

Autism friendly opening suitable for families who prefer a quiet environment.

● Respond to what you’ve seen throughout the day with eye opening activities

EXPERIENCE ● Using VR walk through a brain and discover it’s inner workings with the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre ● Join UCL in an immersive sensory experience to discover how our new digital lives have affected how we sense the world

FREE ticketed event

12pm - 5pm

Due to current government FREE - Just Turn Up restrictions, changes have had to be Events will take place at Holy Church, made to this event.

The Cross hub events outdoors andbe online. will now digital, and will take Keep anbetween eye on our 11am website more place - for 4pm on the information!

Festival Facebook page. Please visit our website for full schedule.

LEARN ● Join researcher, Annamaria Caursi, to encounter images of ‘our’ brains. ● Do we learn to see? The Royal College of Opthamologists tell you how! ● Discover the connection between hearing and sight with The Francis Crick Institute ● Do you have synesthesia? Join researcher Rachel Mason in an informal synesthesia meet-up!

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Sounding the Cosmogram- Helen Anahita Wilson; Photo by James Bellorini

Saturday 24 October Music

Special Event

Performance & Film

NEW WAVE LUNCHTIME CONCERT: ROBERT FINEGAN

MURAL AT KCBNA YOUTH CENTRE BY MOHAMMED ALI

NEW WAVE: RADA MA THEATRE LAB GRADUATES

Irish saxophonist, Robert Finegan, accompanied by harpist Tara Viscardi, will perform a diverse range of music both written and arranged for the saxophone, from Baroque to the modern-day, as well as wide-ranging genres such as Classical, Jazz and Irish traditional.

Internationally acclaimed street artist Mohammed Ali MBE, returns to Bloomsbury to update the narrative in his Cromer Street mural, A Few Pounds in My Pocket (created for the 2019 Bloomsbury Festival). His new mural brings a focus to the lives of young people of Bangladeshi and other diverse origins living locally.

Mohammed will be painting this mural during the day (weather permitting).

An opportunity to see London’s brightest talent creating new theatre at a time when theatre and performance is undergoing its greatest threat for generations. These short pieces of unique, innovative, performance showcase the next generation of theatre makers ‘at source’.

YouTube: Bloomsbury Festival Official Premieres 1.10pm; available until 25 Oct FREE online event

SOUNDING THE COSMOGRAM Debut performance of Helen Anahita Wilson’s latest solo project for vocals and electronics, which explores ancient Tantric diagrams as musically navigable graphic scores. Using live and looped South Indian vocal percussion known as konnakol, Wilson “colours in” projected geometric cosmograms with sound, generating complex layers of rhythm.

Online Event 8pm; Tickets: £8 (£6)

Kings Cross Brunswick Neighbourhood Assocation Youth Centre, Argyle Street 10am - 4pm; FREE - Just Turn Up

Walks, Talks & Tours THE ART OF BLOOMSBURY (See page 29) 11am (and Thurs 22 Oct at 2pm) FREE - but pre-booking is essential

ALTERNATIVE KINGS CROSS AND BLOOMSBURY (See page 23)

Participate

Walk begins at Kings Cross Station

OPINION POLE ACTIVITY DAY

FREE - but pre-booking is essential

(See page 11 for details of Opinion Pole)

EYE:SPY

Join in with activities and maypole dancing at artists YARA + DAVINA’s specially commissioned community maypole.

Brunswick Square Gardens 11am - 3pm; FREE - Just Turn Up

2pm (also on Sun 18 Oct at 11am)

Award-winning writers’ group 26 take you on a walking talking tour of Bloomsbury, bringing its streets to life through stories & haikus.

Walk begins at Charles Dickens Museum, Doughty Street 4.30pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

Online from The Studio Theatre, RADA Studios Full details to be announced in late September

IN THE SECRET GARDEN OF FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT HELIX PRODUCTIONS A one-woman play underscored with live music on accordian and celtic harp, telling the story of the author of The Secret Garden, whose life story and considerable literary output remains largely unknown.

Online from William Goodenough House, Goodenough College 3.30pm (and Sun 25 Oct); Tickets: £10 (£8)

VIRGINIA WOOLF: KILLING THE ANGEL A new one-woman play with music that weaves the life of Virginia Woolf, as expressed in her own words, with music and songs by female composers who were her contemporaries - much of which is out of print and rarely performed.

William Goodenough House, Goodenough College 7pm (and Sun 25 Oct); Tickets: £12 (£10)

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bloomsburyfestival.org.uk ● Listen at Bloomsbury Radio online 3pm-9pm daily ● Call 0203 280 6905

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RNTNEH Hearing Aid Museum; Bernadette Devilat in collaboration with On the Record & the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

Sunday 25 October Music NEW WAVE LUNCHTIME CONCERT: VISIONS OF WAR 20th century masterpieces for violin and piano influenced by the horrors of war. Performed by Kevin Ng (Violin) and Thomas Ang (Piano).

YouTube: Bloomsbury Festival Official Premieres 1.10pm; available until 25 Oct

BLOOMSBURY VISIONARIES A guided walk by Keith Turpin, through some of Bloomsbury’s finest locations in pursuit of prominent members of the Bloomsbury Group. Take in some of the loveliest squares and corners of this fascinating area, long renowned for its cultural and academic associations, exploring visionary journeys towards new ways of creating.

Walk begins at Warren St Tube Station 11am; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

FREE online event

ROMANTIC REMNANTS: MUSIC, DANCE, VIDEOGRAPHY & PHOTOGRAPHY Romantic musical works from the contemporary repertoire, including Joan Tower’s refreshing concert opener, Petroushskates, Aaron Copland’s vast and rhythmically-driven Appalachian Spring Suite, and the world premiere of Owen Ho’s latest cross-art collaboration, Romantic Remnants.

Online from London House, Goodenough College 6pm; Tickets £12 (£10)

Walks, Talks & Tours BLOOMSBURY: A MUSLIM HISTORY TOUR Unearth some of the many secrets of Bloomsbury, from the earliest Muslim connection to England 774, the mystery pavement sign of a Turkish bath, the vanishing mosque 1899, the last home of William Henry (Abdullah) Quilliam the founder of England’s first Mosque, Noor Ayat Khan a Muslim spy, the first Pakistani embassy, table cloths and prayers and much more! Led by AbdulMaalik Tailor.

Walk begins at Holborn Tube Station 11am; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

THE 1920’S IN BLOOMSBURY: A VISION FOR THE FUTURE A walk with Oonagh Gay around Bloomsbury looking at visionary political and cultural thinkers of the 1920s. Although we tend to associate Bloomsbury with the Woolfs, there were many more important cultural and political influencers living there, developing visions for the post Great World War world.

Walk begins at The Foundling Museum 2pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

ARCHITECTURAL VISIONS FOR BLOOMSBURY From the creation of classical Arcadia to the Brave New World of modernism, different generations of architects and developers have had their visions for what Bloomsbury should be like. Alec Forshaw, local historian, town planner, conservationist, and author, gives a richly illustrated talk about the remarkable variety of buildings, streets and spaces that have shaped the area over the last 350 years.

Online from London House, Goodenough College 3pm; FREE - but pre-booking is essential

Literature LONDON STREET SIGNS Alistair Hall - art director and author of London Street Signs - gives an illustrated talk exploring some of the capital’s most beautiful and curious nameplates, sharing the fascinating stories behind these unassuming treasures.

Online from London House, Goodenough College 1.30pm; Tickets: £5

LIVING WITH ANNIE Robert West, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at UCL and a leading expert on behaviour change and addiction, talks to Bloomsbury author Simon Christmas about his novel, Living with Annie.

They will explore questions of identity, motivation, and what it really means for a person to change.

Online from London House, Goodenough College 4.30pm; Tickets: £5

Performance & Film IN THE SECRET GARDEN OF FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT (See page 35) Online from William Goodenough House, Goodenough College 3.30pm (and Sat 24 Oct); Tickets: £10 (£8)

VIRGINIA WOOLF: KILLING THE ANGEL (See page 35) William Goodenough House, Goodenough College 7pm (and Sat 24 Oct); Tickets: £12 (£10)

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Your Home Away from Home in the Heart of Bloomsbury Long stay rates from

www.StGilesHotels.com Rate is subject to availability. Other restrictions apply. +44 (0) 207 300 3000 book@stgiles.com

LOCAL, GLOBAL, INSPIRING Bloomsbury Festival is a small charitable organisation bringing big ideas to the fore. Uniting world-leading academics and artists with local people, Bloomsbury Festival is a cultural event with a mission – to enhance lives, provide opportunities, alongside putting on one of the capital’s most fascinating, playful and intriguing programmes of events.

Each year we need to raise £200,000. We rely on the generosity of individual supporters to help us reach this target and as little as £5 can make a difference.

bloomsburyfestival.org.uk/support-the-festival

Information BLOOMSBURY FESTIVAL FESTIVAL PATRONS Her Grace The Duchess of Bedford Professor Michael Arthur, President and Provost of UCL The Rt Hon Keir Starmer QC MP

FESTIVAL TRUSTEES Professor Maurice Birotti (Chair)

Kate Anderson

Stella Bruzzi

Tim Coker

Joe Hancock

Gill Henderson

Nicole Logan

Nick Potter

John Robinson Abigail Tan-Giroud

FESTIVAL TEAM Festival Director

Rosemary Richards

Artistic Associates

Bill Gee and Orit Azaz

Senior Programme Manager

John-Paul Muir

Programme Manager

Avni Patel

Operations Manager

Melanie Wilson

Production Manager, Events

Jessica Hudsley

Marketing Manager

Claire Bowdler

Press and PR Representative

Michael Eppy

Designer Gillian Allmark Marketing and Admin Officer

Nicole Atkinson

Bookkeeper

Penelope Eaton

Digital Production Technical Manager

Ed Borgnis

Digital Stage Manager

Hannah-Louise Batt

With thanks to our many partners, artists, crew members, volunteers and interns who are vital in the production of the Bloomsbury Festival.

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bloomsburyfestival.org.uk ● Listen at Bloomsbury Radio online 3pm-9pm daily ● Call 0203 280 6905 PRINCIPAL SPONSORS

MAJOR SPONSORS

FESTIVAL SPONSORS

BUSINESS SUPPORTERS Chestertons Ecole Jeannine Manuel UK Nourish London Mishcon de Reya

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Sponsors & Funders FUNDERS

MAJOR PARTNERS

41

bloomsburyfestival.org.uk ● Listen at Bloomsbury Radio online 3pm-9pm daily ● Call 0203 280 6905

THROUGHOUT THE FESTIVAL (pages 8-11)

FRIDAY 16 OCTOBER

Once Upon a Time in Kings Cross

16 - 25 Oct

SPECIAL EVENTS (pages 12-15)

Different Perspectives

16 - 25 Oct

Sights on Store Street

12pm - 8pm

Winners of 2020 Children’s Art Comp

16 - 25 Oct

Truth to Power Cafe

4pm - 5pm

New Wave: Art Prize 2020

16 - 23 Oct

Refracted Sites

16 - 25 Oct

Atelier Tammam Sustainable Couture Roving Fashion Show

Writers from 26 in Residence

16 - 25 Oct

Blue, Green, Black and a Dappled Grey Horse

16 - 25 Oct

SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER

WALKS, TALKS & TOURS (page 23)

Absence

16 - 25 Oct

FESTIVAL HUB (full event listings pages 18-19)

Haunted Bloomsbury Audio Tour

16 - 25 Oct

Visioning the Future Conway Hall Hub - Day 1

Alternative Kings Cross & Bloomsbury

Encounters

16 - 25 Oct

FESTIVAL HUB (full event listings pages 20-21)

4.30pm - 6.30pm

Zoomsbury Salon Party

CANCELLED

11am - 8pm

MUSIC (page 16)

16 - 25 Oct

Lunchtime Concert: Siyu Sun

16 - 25 Oct

Bright the Vision: Rossini & Friends

7pm - 9pm

Opinion Pole

17 - 25 Oct

The Colours of Music

8pm - 9pm

Hellish Love

19 - 23 Oct

PERFORMANCE & FILM (page 17)

1.10pm - 2pm

A Play on Light

20 - 24 Oct

Rooting Failure

21 - 25 Oct Dates TBC

Refer to event listings on pages 8 - 11 for opening times of events running throughout the Festival, or visit bloomburyfestival.org.uk for the most up to date infomation.

Lunchtime Concert: Sergio Buchelli

1.10pm - 2pm

Beethoven Trio Cycle 2

CANCELLED

5pm - 6.30pm

EYE SAY, EYE SAY, EYE SAY!

6pm - 7.30pm

Seeing Earth Unsightly Drag and Friends!

7pm - 8.30pm

11am - 12.30pm

Utopian Bloomsbury

2pm - 3.30pm

I See it Differently

4pm - 6pm

Tomorrow Will Be Better

7pm - 8pm

TUESDAY 20 OCTOBER

Magellan 19 - 25 Oct

11am - 8pm

MUSIC (page 23)

PEFORMANCE & FILM (page 23)

The Penn Club Centenery Exhibition

Atelier Tammam Sustainable Couture Window Showcase

Visioning the Future Conway Hall Hub - Day 2

Music X Art: Goodensemble

Hebrew Manuscripts: Journeys of the Written Word

Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights

6.30pm - 7pm 8.30pm - 10pm

MUSIC (page 25) Lunchtime Concert: Adaya Peled

1.10pm - 2pm

PERFORMANCE & FILM (page 25) Invisible Me - Bren Gosling

7pm - 8.15pm

FAMILY (page 17)

WALKS, TALKS & TOURS (page 25)

Family Art Day at October Gallery 10am - 11.30am

In Conversation with Mr Nicholson

WALKS, TALKS & TOURS (page 17) Shaping Bloomsbury In Conversation with Mr Nicholson Looking for Bloomsbury’s Lost Bookshops

42

SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER

11am - 12.30pm 2.30pm - 3.30pm

Commonwealth Visions: Bloomsbury Perspectives Podcast Listening Event

2.30pm - 3.30pm 6pm - 7pm 6.30pm - 8pm

Studio Tour: Inspirational Jewellery 6.30pm - 8pm 3pm - 4.30pm

Haunted Bloomsbury

CANCELLED

See pages 4 - 5 for details of how online and live events will operate ● All events subject to change dependent on government restrictions and guidelines

Festival Diary WEDNESDAY 21 OCTOBER

FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER

SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER (continued)

PERFORMANCE & FILM (page 27)

MUSIC (page 31)

WALKS, TALKS & TOURS (page 35)

The Betrayed Girls

6.30pm - 9.30pm

Music & Renewal - NW Live Arts 7.30pm - 9.45pm

The Art of Bloomsbury

The New Mirror

7.30pm - 8.30pm

PARTICIPATE (page 31)

Alternative Kings Cross & Bloomsbury 2pm - 3pm

LITERATURE (page 27)

Who Am I? Music/Movement Workshop 2pm - 4pm

EYE:SPY

The Secret Diary of Bloomsbury: Live! 6pm - 8pm

PERFORMANCE & FILM (page 31)

PERFORMANCE & FILM (page 35)

26 Weeks

The Texture of Air

7pm - 8.30pm

4.30pm - 6pm

WALKS, TALKS & TOURS (page 27)

Who Am I?

Bloomsbury Visionaries from North to South

WALKS, TALKS & TOURS (page 31) 11am - 12.30pm

Critical Guerrilla Urbanism: Skateboarding and the City

2pm - 3.30pm

Studio Tour: Inspirational Jewellery 6.30pm - 8pm

THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER

Ensnared - The Inescapable Reality of Fatigue

6.30pm - 7.20pm

11am - 12.30pm

4.30pm - 6pm

RADA MA Theatre Lab Graduates In the Secret Garden of Frances Hodgson Burnett

Times TBC

3.30pm - 4.30pm

Virginia Woolf: Killing the Angel

7pm - 9pm

11am - 12pm

Second Star to the Right - A Storytelling Walk about JM Barrie CANCELLED

SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER

Haunted Bloomsbury

Lunchtime Concert: Visions of War

Patterns of Beauty

CANCELLED 7pm - 9pm

MUSIC (page 29)

MUSIC (page 37)

Romantic Remnants: Music, Dance, Videography & Photography

1.10pm - 2pm 6pm - 7pm

SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER

WALKS, TALKS & TOURS (page 37)

LITERATURE (page 29)

FESTIVAL HUB (pages 32-33)

Bloomsbury: A Muslim History Tour 11am - 12.30pm

Lido: A Dip Into Outdoor Swimming Pools

6pm - 7pm

Seeing and Perceiving Cromer Street Hub

Sanatorium

7pm - 8pm

MUSIC (page 35)

Camden Voices

CANCELLED

11am - 5pm

Bloomsbury Visionaries

11am - 12.45pm

The 1920’s in Bloomsbury: A Vision for the Future

2pm - 3.30pm

WALKS, TALKS & TOURS (page 29)

Lunchtime Concert: Robert Finegan 1.10pm - 2pm

Architectural Visions for Bloomsbury 3pm - 4.30pm

Second Star to the Right - A Storytelling Walk about JM Barrie CANCELLED

Sounding the Cosmogram

LITERATURE (page 37)

The Art of Bloomsbury

CANCELLED

Opinion Pole Activity Day

In the Steps of Frances Taylor

CANCELLED

SPECIAL EVENT (page 35)

Vision - Open Discussion About the Underlying Scientific Concepts 6pm - 7.30pm Fail Better Talks X Rooting Failure

8pm - 9.15pm

PARTICIPATE (page 35)

Mural at KCBNA Youth Centre

by Mohammed Ali

London Street Signs 11am - 3pm

1.30pm - 2.30pm

Living with Annie

4.30pm - 6pm

PERFORMANCE & FILM (page 37) 10am - 4pm

7pm - 9pm

Please visit bloomsburyfestival.org.uk for up to date information ● All event finish times are approximate

In the Secret Garden of Frances Hodgson Burnett Virginia Woolf: Killing the Angel

3.30pm - 4.30pm 7pm - 9pm

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AT BLOOMSBURY FESTIVAL 2020 Brought to you by Bloomsbury Institute, broadcasting from the heart of Bloomsbury.

Bloomsbury Radio will be broadcasting from the Bloomsbury Festival throughout the festival from 3pm to 9pm each day, from Friday 16 October Sunday 25 October.

Bloomsbury Festival will be working with staff and students from Bloomsbury Institute, other local volunteers and residents to cover the music, theatre, talks and arts across the festival, with interviews and features from artists, academics and participants.

Check bloomsburyfestival.org.uk for a schedule of broadcasts from early October.

bil.ac.uk/bloomsburyradio

BLOOMSBURY FESTIVAL: Senate House, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU www.bloomsburyfestival.org.uk | info@bloomsburyfestival.org.uk Registered charity No. 1149001 | Limited Company registered in England & Wales No. 07977987 VAT Registration No. 1374928 87