Visit to b-side Festival – DYCP R&D

I had the great pleasure of attending b-side Festival on the Isle of Portland 7th – 9th Sept 2023. Their theme ‘This Land’ celebrates Portland in all its splendid, fragile beauty through new commissioned artworks, walks, talks, and participatory activities across the entire island.

Entry by Heinrich & Palmer
Crossing between houses, one main road for the entire island and steep stone steps, ‘Entry’ by artist duo Heinrich & Palmer was screened in a community centre’s basketball hall. A mesmerising film and sound work, deeply rich in digital technologies utilising photogrammetry and 3D scanning on the vulnerability and life on Brandy Row – the remains of the last Tudor cottage, of which still stands (just about!). 

The Weather or Not Station by Kneed
Brandy Row was once a chocolate box vision of thatched cottage houses, built in a row right next to the sea. For hundreds of years, villagers lived here, a community, bearing the forces of the weather. ‘The Weather or Not Station’ artist duo Ishwari Bhalerao and Leonie Rousham aka Kneed also respond to this site creating a collaborative sound work involving conversations with residents, experts, workers, and young people exploring the stories of Brandy Row and discussed future alternatives – drawing on wider conversations of resilience, the climate crisis and ecology of Portland. As part of the festival at the Brandy Row site you can listen to this work – soon to be made available online. The Story of Brandy Row is also shown as research exhibition by the local community at Stone Hall. 

Constant Effort by Emily Tracy
Moving towards the more rugged and rural areas south of the island showed ‘Constant Effort’ – an installation by Emily Tracy at the Bird Observatory, visualising the data collected from the last 60 years from voluntary birdwatchers observing and recording the migrant, resident, and vagrant birds. 

Day one of the festival was rounded off by Electric Pedals at Pennsylvania Castle for the most wonderful outdoor cinema experience of the French animation ‘Belleville Rendezvous’. 

Talks & Films:
b-side included talks and conversations with commissioned artists on their experiences of practice, collaboration, and co-creation. Kneed discussed their materials of practice with Bristol based collective ‘Dhaqan Collective’ which includes Fozia Ismail & Ayan Cilmi, a feminist art collective of Somali women, and artist Antje Rook in front of a live audience at Portland’s Royal Manor Theatre. It was here b-side also screened films by Turner prize nominated artist Roy Pilgrim ‘Rift’ & ‘The Undercurrent’. These loaned films interrogated young people’s views, future solutions, and ideas of resilience in a rapidly changing environment in The Undercurrent. The second film, Rafts sensitively explored people’s processes overcoming depression, anxiety and loneliness, and connections with our built and natural environments, and how nature can act as a vehicle for support and transition. 

Walks & Mining:
A guided group walk led by artist Fran Cottell & architect Marianne Muller across a pathway under threat by quarrying and mining in the area, questioned what would a bridge look like to cross the quarry if residents could soon no longer walk around it? An actual genuine threat to this place and indeed questioned threats to our natural resources and waste through a participatory drop-in session ‘Modern Mining’ with artist Katie Surridgeart. Stands filled with tools to rip out copper, gold and more from thrown away cables and electrical units to provide the artist with the essential materials create a statue model of herself – an image revolved around our obsession with digital devices. The entire workshop was a truly meditative process, to give time to think about our throwaway culture, rubbish vs resource and where Portland stands on the proposal of building a waste incinerator on the Port. 

Call to action:
Seen as a dumping ground and a poor relation to Dorset Council – Portland gets a bad rep with its x2 prisons, the Bibby, quarried to death and little or no heritage/environmental protection of its spaces/places. These issues and more were discussed at a community campfire session (but without the fire due to the late summer sun). There feels like a genuine call to action with the work produced here at b-side. With very little areas listed ‘at risk’ (although they clearly are) or even protected areas of land, it shows through the work and the communities that have come together to co-create with the commissioned artists, there IS a real need to support, protect and preserve these areas. 

Uncommon Land by Wildworks
My final day rounded off into twilight – a place where theatre company Wildworks feel anything is possible. After working with community members leading up to the festival, they responded to the voices of the community, the desire for more respect for the land and its biodiversity. Performed on the southernmost tip of the Island, Portland Bill, where the land is as it was – untouched, unquarried, unscratched, they paid homage to the animals and the land in an interactive, outdoor immersive performance involving – everyone! Folklore, fire, dance, singing and ritual. Wildworks invited everyone to be a part of a celebratory act, giving nature a chance to thrive.  

Reflections & considerations
All the commissioned artworks gave a truly memorable experience which encapsulated everything b-side was about this year ‘This land’. Their rich and varied programme touched on almost every part of Portland life and its people. From finding curiosities in a souvenir machine at Portland Museum, of small 3D printed artefacts referencing the wreckage of the Earl of Abergavenny for £1 by artist Christopher Lee, to the Portland Parade celebrating a fringe festival throughout the island! Portland have adopted the saying ‘Keep Portland Weird’, this energy had elements of our own Ventnor Fringe on the IW, who also adopt the name ‘Keep Ventnor Weird’ – essentially evoking an openness and endless curiosity.

So why go? B-side has a brilliant reputation for responding to the things that matter most on their island. I met with their Director Rocca through the VASW Steering Committee – who introduced me to their amazing festival. Rocca explained the logistics behind the festival, the commissioning process, the commitment from artists, the research, the funding, the voluntary work – a entire machine behind the scenes making the festival what it is today. And somehow she still had time to give me a lift to a couple of places on the Island!

This was such great timing for me to go away and visit an established festival like b-side. I’ve not immersed myself in an arts festival for about 5 years, essentially not since I’ve had children. Those with caring responsibilities can relate. Life has just got very hectic with three small humans and with work focussed on developing cultural and creative networks and opportunities on the IW, now felt like a good time to take a step back and reflect on how other islands, other arts festivals, producers, directors, commissions, artists, communities, all respond to place-based working with communities and new technologies. This is part of my ACE DYCP research & development, which includes 121 online mentoring and guidance, which will come to an end in early 2024.