Art takEover. Jess Pagan
I was in luck. I was given a backstage pass to volunteer at DNweekeND, guiding passers-by to the various artists’ shows. Getting to work behind the scenes on a huge event meant I was able to meet the characters behind such a brilliant idea. They included the ever-smiling Andrew Loretto, creative producer, and Eva Wuestum, the colourful marketing manager, who spent the weekend running from stall to stall with boxes of programmes. I was supposed to be a runner, but I also became a balloon maker, stall putter-upper, shop decorator, table carrier and information goddess. I heard plenty of positive comments, particularly from parents and their young kids, about how great and vibrant it all was, how happy they were that there was something to do with the family and how fantastic it was that Doncaster was picking itself up and injecting some colour into the repetitive day to day. But it was the negative comments that threw me. People enjoyed letting off steam about the downfall of
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Doncaster. I heard lectures on the state of Doncaster’s old buildings and the economy and how benefits are to blame for the town’s lack of life. As they stood there, we were showing them how the town is bringing itself together, and showing them the unknown groups of brilliant artists that haven’t been stifled by the supposed doom and gloom of our great little city. Artists incuded Making Sense, a familyoriented puppet-making, treasurehunting, foam-forte-making space that brought the kids back more than once over the weekend, the glorious spacepunk artists Pif-Paf who rode people past my outdoor stall in the most fantastical vehicles, the Doncaster College photography space, the Endless Doodle which encouraged passers-by to draw anything of their choice and managed to spread their doodles over the front of a whole shop space. I also saw the awesome Ukulele Orchestra and visited the SineFm broadcast vehicle where I could hear my friends singing over the rush of people walking past me and of course the launch of the very first Doncopolitan magazine at Sir Nigel Gresley Square!
Best of all I got to see the reaction of stunned passers-by, who had no idea about the project and were excited to find-out more. The DNweekND took place during the second weekend of May and brought together over 8000 people over the course of the arts festival. The event is part of Right Up Our Street which is led by a consortium of Doncaster Arts organisations, supported using public funding from the National Lottery through through the Arts Council England until 2016. Jess Pagan was a volunteer on the day.
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