The VECTAR Project launches state of the art virtual studios
In the Spring of this year, we were so excited to hear the news that industry leading, carbon neutral, independent film and TV production facility The VECTAR Project had launched two brand new state of the art virtual studios in our hometown of Greater Manchester, at its base in Heaton Mersey, Stockport.
The VECTAR Project is the first independent and self-funded studio to bring this game-changing film and television production technology to the North West, and when Managing Director Tom Henderson approached us to help get the word out about his wonderful new facilities, we were more than happy to help spread the news.
Offering a vital service for commercial use, film and television production and even live events, such as virtual conferences, which will be available and accessible to producers of all sizes, the newly refurbished studios offer real time virtual production, which combines live action footage and CGI or photo real backgrounds in real time, using a variety of different techniques.
The VECTAR Project’s ambition to offer no-energy filming, is incredibly exciting for the industry and with the new studios this can be delivered not only by its real-time virtual sets, but by further green enhancements such as LED lighting powered by the sun, paperless production and virtual attendance for producers.
We were absolutely delighted to be able to share the news for Tom exclusively in one of the biggest TV trade titles in the UK, Broadcast in May 2021, where the team shared an excellent piece on the new facilities in their weekly tech newsletter.
In the following days, we went on to achieve further coverage across a variety of other trade press including TV trade titles Prolific North and Televisual, plus local Manchester title About Manchester and business title The Business Desk also shared the news.
So far VECTAR Project has worked with a host of impressive clients including BBC, ITV, Netflix, Universal, Amazon Prime and has helped to deliver content for TV shows including Big Talk Productions’ Cold Feet, Saffron Cherry’s ‘The World According to Grandpa’, which how our team was introduced to Tom.
The VECTAR Project has so many exciting productions in the pipeline and we are looking forward to working with Tom and the rest of the team in the near future. If you would like to find out more information on The Vectar Project and to book the studio, please visit: vectarproject.co.uk
Lost Horizon: a real festival, in a virtual world
At Sundae, the summer is our favourite work season, we love music, art, sunshine (and rain), ice cream (clearly), but most of all, we love people. We love bringing people together for new experiences, challenges, and everything that goes along with being at a festival.
I absolutely LOVE working with Shangri-La at Glastonbury, and naturally was devastated when it was cancelled, whilst of course understanding that that loss was a fraction of what it meant to the people that create it. I think for me, that was the moment when I really realised how big an effect, from a work perspective, the coronavirus was going to have on us and our friends and our colleagues.
As you might have read, we’ve been working hard to make the best of a very difficult situation, and have been lucky (in a way) that the TV work we do is adaptable, we’ve launched shows that were already made, created video content, and spent some time becoming the audience. It’s hard but the very medium means it’s possible to create new ways of making content to beam into people’s living rooms.
But what about live entertainment, specifically music festivals, and all the people that work tirelessly to create them? This was a problem that seemed insurmountable at first.
Then we got a phone call….
I was ecstatic, but in some ways not surprised , to hear what Kaye, Robin and Chris had in mind, as they are constantly listening, reacting, adapting and evolving. It seemed crazy, but most of the best ideas do, and no matter might ensue, I was 100% along for the ride.
Fast forwarding through a massive learning curve, an emotional rollercoaster, a million zooms, and here we are, one week out from the launch of Lost Horizon and utterly delighted.
Set to be the world’s largest virtual reality music and arts festival, taking place on 3rd and 4th July, Lost Horizon has been created to support The Big Issue and Amnesty International in this time when they really really need it, and as an outlet and platform for all the creatives are spending the summer at home. We’ll be treated to four stages, (Freedom, Gas Tower, Nomad and SHITV), some of which Shangri-La regulars will recognise, more than 50 music acts, more than 100 artists, over 50 films, and over 250 artworks.
Lost Horizon fully interactive and multi-stage event to explore via PC, VR or mobile app (iOS and Android) and streamed live and direct to wherever you are on the planet via Beatport and Twitch, and via partner and artist Facebook, YouTube and Twitch accounts. The festival is a deep multi-layered experience, filled with wild dance-floors, secret headliners, a visual feast of art and performance, hidden venues and huge artists.
The line up is out of this world. On the Gas Tower alone, the brilliant Orca Sound Project has programmed Andy C, Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim, Jamie Jones, Noisia (DJ set), Peggy Gou and Seth Troxler among many more, whilst Global Local have A. Skillz, Alabama 3, Coldcut, Frank Turner, My Baby, My Bad Sister and Krafty Kuts on the Freedom Stage.
Nomad, programmed by Lost Horizon co-director Robin Collings, is a brand new stage for 2020 featuring underground artists from labels including 24 Hour Garage Girls, Kaotic Kartel and Run Tingz, whilst SHITV (Shangri-La International Television), Lost Horizon’s media centre will broadcast everything from the absurd to the enlightened, from the sidelines, frontlines and backstages of alternative culture, all curated by creative director Kaye Dunnings.
We’re honoured to have contributed an amazing Design Manchester partnership, with our one and only Malcolm Garrett co-curating Yours Truthfully with Kaye, bringing in designers including Paula Scher, Morag Myerscough and Patrick Thomas, to contribute to a virtual exhibition that will appear on billboards towering around the Freedom Stage. IRL prints of their virtual work will be available to purchase in aid of The Big Issue and Amnesty UK.
The whole event is an epic undertaking, condensing what shoulda woulda coulda’ve been years of work into a couple of months. We’re looking after press, social media and marketing, plus working with our very good friends and superheroes Instruct Studio, who created the incredible brand and website faster than a speeding car.
Virtual reality is not a replacement for a real life festival, but it is a new way for people to share their art and music, be creative and most importantly interact and be part of a community. You can’t help but be amazed by what is possible as a result of the technology brought to the project by Sansar and VRJAM.
Kaye has transported the aesthetic she creates at a real life festival into an incredibly accurate and detailed virtual world. Robin has moved heaven and earth, along with partners Orca Sound Project, to arrange for some of world’s biggest DJs, and some of the best underground acts, to be transported into virtual reality via green screen, whilst their co-director Chris Tofu Macmeikan has magically brought the virtual vibes, with a Freedom stage line up that feels like a real life festival.
The reaction across press and socials after just a week has been absolutely incredible with the news covered in nearly 250 titles (and counting) across the globe, from the The Guardian, BBC Radio 6 Music, Radio X Asian Image, Music Week, Campaign, Total Production International, Billboard, DJ Mag, Mixmag, Shortlist, Design Week, Time Out, Metro, Yahoo, MSN, EDM.com, BroadwayWorld, plus a very special partnership with long time Shangri-La fans NME.
Social media has been ablaze with the news, and the campaign has had nearly 2 million impressions in just over a week.
Lost Horizon is a real festival, in a virtual world. Come join the future.
www.losthorizonfestival.com
Fiona x
Sundae Shakes Up New Press Campaign For Daisy & Ollie!
It’s been a very surreal year so far for Sundae, one that we would never have anticipated.
One of the biggest challenges to the lockdown has been leaving our office and working from home. Not only do we miss the social aspect but we miss the buzz of working together as a team, bouncing off creative ideas, celebrating successes and meeting with our clients.
However, even though we have had to completely change the way we work and exchange physical meetings for Zoom meetings with our cats, we have achieved some amazing results through hard work and determination.
We also came to the realisation that everyone is in the same boat and have utilised that opportunity to develop even stronger relationships with journalists by mucking in together and helping one another. Whilst they all sensitively share all the breaking news that comes with a global pandemic, they are also keen to keep audiences and readers entertained with more positive news.
Our main highlight so far has been working with our lovely client, Hoopla to launch a brand new series of Daisy & Ollie on its new home on Channel 5’s Milkshake! in March.
Daisy & Ollie, which is voiced and exec produced by British comedian Jason Manford, is a 2D animated show, which aims to help preschoolers explore the world around them and helps to answer some of life’s biggest questions.
Before the Coronavirus lockdown, we had planned an autism-friendly preview screening in Manchester to celebrate the very special episode created in collaboration with the National Autistic Society (NAS), hosted by a presenter from Milkshake! along with NAS ambassador Christine McGuinness but then the Coronavirus outbreak changed the world, and we found ourselves in the midst of breaking news and a whole new way of PR life.
We had to think on our feet and approach the publicity campaign in a brand new way. The new series was still set to launch and we were armed with an array of amazing celebrity cameos including Paddy & Christine McGuinness and stand up comedian Romesh Ranganathan. Either way, we were determined to make this a success for not only Daisy & Ollie but to also shine a light on the fantastic work that the National Autistic Society do and World Autism Awareness Week
In the following weeks, we worked closely with all parties in order to deliver an incredibly impactful press announcement for ‘How Do I Make Friends With Theo?’, the special Daisy & Ollie episode which aired on World Autism Awareness Day.
Sundae delivered an outstanding nationwide press, digital and social campaign to launch the new series and as a result, landed blanket coverage for Daisy & Ollie in nearly all key national newspapers including Mail Online, Daily Star, Daily Express, PA, The Sun, Metro Online and The Daily Telegraph.
With daytime shows such as This Morning and Good Morning Britain also in the midst of constant breaking news and adapting to a new way of working, airtime was like gold dust and we were delighted to land some key interviews for Christine McGuinness and Jason Manford on these shows via Skype, raising even more awareness around the campaign.
Other broadcast interviews followed, including Granada Reports, BBC Radio Manchester and also Channel 4’s brand new daytime programme The Steph Show, in which Jason was able to announce Romesh Ranganathan’s special episodes.
The Romesh press announcement was also picked up by comedy title Chortle and the Daily Star, which was fantastic.
To support the campaign further, Sundae also worked closely with Hoopla and the celebrity guest stars’ press teams to promote the show via their social channels, resulting in some fantastic reach.
Overall, the press campaign and celebrity cameo announcements resulted in some amazing national coverage stemming across entertainment sites, trade press, television and broadcast news outlets. It was amazing to see Daisy & Ollie receive such wonderful recognition for the special episode and the new series.
MC x
A love letter to storytelling….
“You’re never going to kill storytelling, because it’s built into the human plan. We come with it.” Margaret Atwood.
Working in the film and television industry in both London and the North West of England over the past 15 years, I’ve witnessed some seismic changes in its culture, from the recession, to Operation Yewtree, #MeToo (me too BTW), the growth and impact of social media, the current BBC License Fee debate, and the recent, terrifying (more so as they’re not completely surprising), findings of The Looking Glass survey.
Amidst, perhaps concealed by, all the noise and politics, and fighting hard in a business built on ingrained prejudice, there is an army of determined, talented people supporting that change, and working incredibly hard to try and make creative, innovative and entertaining television that reflects the UK’s nations and regions.
My heroes are those whose ambition it is to create opportunity for new young content producers, from all backgrounds and cultures, to tell stories. There is a determined shift towards greater regionality and diversity in broadcasting, and a wealth of projects that take small steps that are our hope for the future of British content.
Back in 2013, when we were still a very young company, Universal Pictures entrusted us with Elaine Constantine’s Northern Soul – the film, her love letter to the scene, which we fell in love with. The film became a pivotal project for us. It was expected to hit 7-10 screens across the country, but what had been underestimated was the tremendous groundswell of support from Northern Soulers in the media and, most importantly, in the regions across the country. It became a break out top ten box office hit, our campaign won a BVA, and the film eventually screened in over 150 cinemas.
Elaine herself was a first-time filmmaker, and it took her 17 years to get her film made, even as a highly respected fashion photographer and image maker, and even with great friends, including Steve Coogan, Lisa Stansfield, John Thompson and Ricky Tomlinson, who guest starred in and supported her film.
Having seen first-hand the sheer force of will and boundless enthusiasm Elaine had to call upon to make her voice, and that of the Northern Soul scene, both seen and heard, we were inspired to find our own place in the industry, championing stories of different backgrounds, cultures and place.
Northern Soul – the film made us realise the power of the largely overlooked audience power in the regions of the UK. It made us realise that being Northern was our superpower, and that growing a specialist entertainment consultancy in Manchester was definitely possible, and absolutely necessary.
Seven years on, proudly based in Manchester, we’ve been honoured to raise the profile of wonderful projects from all corners of the UK.
In Manchester, we’ve delivered programme publicity for The Tez O’Clock Show, a late-night satirical comedy, made at The Studios in Salford’s MediaCity, a ‘TRULY anti-establishment show’ hosted by Tez Ilyas, a Northern working-class British-Asian-Muslim; we’ve worked with the Royal Exchange and Talawa Theatre Company on the film of King Lear, broadcast on BBC Four, which cast Lear’s family as black and raised questions about the whitewashing of British history and the lack of roles for black actors in the UK; and we’ve delivered an incredibly important campaign for I told my Mum I was going on an R.E. trip, a BBC Performance Live project from Contact and 20 Stories High, that told verbatim stories of abortion, from all sides of the debate and very different perspectives.
Across the country, we’ve produced international level red carpets for BBC Sports Personality of the Year in Leeds, Glasgow, Belfast and Birmingham; we’ve publicised London Short Film Festival, the UK’s premier showcase for emerging and established, homegrown and international short form, for four consecutive years; and we’ve launched the £57 million Young Audiences Content Fund with the BFI, dedicated to making exceptional programming that reflects the lives of all young people in the UK on screen.
Recently we’ve been working with Creative England on ShortFLIX, a flourishing short film making scheme, in conjunction with Sky Arts and ScreenSkills, which creates valuable opportunity for new voices to create diverse and representative films for broadcast. This year’s finalists hail from Newcastle, Cheshire, Wakefield and London, bringing a rich slate of short films with culturally relevant and powerful stories exploring family, friendship, rivalry, loss, survival and recovery in contemporary Britain.
We’re also about to launch The Snow Spider for the brilliant Leopard Pictures. A co-commission from CBBC and BBC Wales, the spell-binding fantasy drama is based on Jenny Nimmo’s best-selling book trilogy, and adapted for television by award-winning writer Owen Sheers. The 5×30’ series, featuring an all Welsh, and all Welsh-speaking cast, blends ancient Welsh folklore, magic and myth with contemporary adventures.
In short, in an industry where being regional is still often seen as being synonymous with a lack of ambition or talent, and where the door is so often closed, we think it is vital to celebrate difference. At Sundae, we publicise stories about people and place, from all regions of the UK, and are delighted to help give them the national and international platform they deserve.
Fiona x
A Blooming Marvellous MAFterstroke
It’s no secret that we are hugely proud of our relationship and work with our friends at Manchester Animation Festival – year on year the festival grows in stature and we are so happy to be part of that journey.
With MAF being the UK’s largest animation festival, this is obviously something that Manchester can hang its hat on so we wanted a local interest news story that represented the Mancunian input into something so amazing.
Upon scouring the content, we found ‘Bloomers’ made by animated documentary maker Samantha Moore along with composer Malin Bång and producer Abigail Addison as part of The Happiness Machine, a project that paired up 10 European female animation directors with 10 female contemporary music composers to contribute to an original orchestral piece that would be performed live all over the world, and is a portrait of Headen & Quarmby a knicker factory in Middleton, Manchester.
When researching the film Samantha spent a lot of time in the factory drawing the workers, and chatting to them about their backgrounds. Hazel, who works in the factory office doing the accounts, has been involved with the factory since she was a child because it was her parents, Mary and Eric, who set up the factory when they were teenagers and her son David now co-runs the factory.
We got straight on the blower to Samantha followed by a call to David at the factory to garner all of the information that we required to make a pitch on this happen.
As a result, not only did BBC Radio Manchester interview Samantha live on air, they sent a team up over to Headen & Quarmby to interview the factory workers and the family that own it for a package that eventually ran across a number of days featuring on the Sunday Breakfast Show, the Mike Sweeney Show, the Phil Trow Show and numerous times on the Breakfast Show with Chelsea Norris.
As I write, I am leaving screening of The Happiness Machine. It was a big success and the Headen & Quarmby team were in attendance to see themselves in animated form on the big screen – they were so pleased that they were able to tell their story on the radio and we were so pleased that we could help make this happen.
We’re all off to the Premiere screening of Netflix’s Klaus so we better run!
Tom x
Images courtesy of Manchester Animation Festival
Everyman is welcome in Manchester!
Everyone knows that we love Everyman here at Sundae and we were super hyped when they asked us to manage the announcement and launch period of Everyman Manchester St. John’s in the city centre – not just because we love working with the Everyman team but also because we knew our favourite cinema would soon be just a few minutes walk from the office.
Continuing our role with Everyman of engaging with the community and regional press as we have done for them in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle, we knew that ahead of launch that the Manchester and North West business, property, lifestyle, culture and news titles needed a heads up… and so did their readers.
First things always come first and the press release was top of our list. We worked closely with the amazing Maria from the Everyman dream team to get this just right for the regional titles that we would be hitting with the announcement.
Out it went and it was enthusiastically received by our contacts across all relevant media sectors with features appearing in The Business Desk, I Love Manchester, The Manc, Insider, Place North West, Manchester Confidential and Manchester Wire along with MEN Online and MEN Newspaper to name a few.
The coverage has created the coveted Manchester buzz and people across the city and beyond can’t wait to see the place come to life. We have one just down the road in Altrincham but there is just something about its Quay Street spot that is creating a chorus of hometown hysteria.
The next phase of the launch period is everyone’s favourite part – the launch party! It’s the night before Halloween so we better get cracking on the guestlist and decide witch people we have broom for!
See you on the d-floor!
Tom x
Images courtesy of Everyman
On-set at The Circle….heart emoji kiss kiss SEND!
Ok, I’m just going to be straight up and put it out there. We absolutely LOVE The Circle here at Sundae, so when we were invited to work with our good friends at Channel 4 on publicity for series 2, there were high-fives flying around the office like no-one’s business!
The mission we gladly accepted, was to create a media and social buzz around the Friday night live shows, showcasing its Northern location; very handy as it’s coming straight outta Salford.
The Circle is the next big global format to be rolled out and its incredible to know Studio Lambert is also making the international versions of the show in our home city.
As I write, the live final is just hours away and it has already been an amazing ride. We’ve had the pleasure of inviting press and influencer fans of The Circle to be in the audience for all of the live shows, and we have been inundated with excited requests to interview the show’s voice-over star, Bolton born and bred, Sophie Willan.
Over the course of the live shows we have had a ball in the studio audience with BBC Radio Manchester’s The Dead Good Show, Your Mcr, The Mancunion, Manchester’s Finest, Manchester Confidential, Gaydio, JOE.co.uk, I Love Manchester, Hits Radio, Manchester Evening News, BBC Radio Manchester’s Breakfast Show and The Manc along to enjoy the evening.
No-one is immune to The Circle’s influence, and we’ve also had a whole host of celebrity fans on board, including Alexandra Mardell (Coronation Street), Dave Tag (Hollyoaks) and Ellis Hollins (Hollyoaks) and Hollie-jay Bowes (Hollyoaks).
Time’s a tickin’ and the final is edging ever closer and here at Sundae Towers there is a familiar notion of mixed emotion; we love the show that much that we don’t want it to end yet we cannot wait to see who wins!
Our guestlist for the final is full of wonderful people, we’re ready, Emma Willis is ready and like all circles, when it ends we will be right back at the beginning and waiting for next year’s instalment.
See you there!
Tom x
Image Credit: Channel 4
Silent Lines….the UK tour that made us want more!
When our friends at Russell Maliphant Dance Company got in touch with us and offered us the opportunity to look after the 10 month comminications campaign for the UK national tour of its much anticipated new work, Silent Lines… we certainly didn’t need to be asked twice.
Over the course of 2019 we were tasked with organising the announcements of the work and the world premiere in April at DanceEast in Ipswich where RMCo is ‘Company in Residence’ on a national level and managing press activity for the entire tour on a regional level featuring dates in Nottingham, Newcastle, Guildford, Salford Quays, Wycombe, Birmingham, Taunton, Llanelli, Aberystwyth and Lancaster before organising press attendance for the final shows at Sadler’s Wells, London this weekend.
We planned the campaign down to the letter and worked really closely with the RMCo team and the press and marketing representatives of each venue within the tour to ensure that absolutely no stone was left unturned – this beautiful piece of work deserved maximum exposure and meticulous strategy.
Over the course of the campaign we placed have interview features in The Guardian, The Times, The Stage and The Wonderful World of Dance amongst others.
Further regional features included Creative Tourist, Quays Life, Sommerset County Gazette, Watford Observer, East Anglian Daily Times, BBC Radio Lancaster, Morecombe Visitor and Lancaster Evening Post to name a few.
Silent Lines, as a production, is something that we feel honoured too have worked on here at Sundae; the very energy of the piece and the visually rich and resonant connections between internal and external worlds is something that has inspired us throughout.
It has been an incredible experience; one that transcends dance and our own world of publicity as the media are so engaged with the innovative nature of the work and Russell Maliphant’s unequivocal genius levels that the campaign took a life of it’s own.
The Silent Lines UK national tour is a dance that we don’t want to end and as we look forward to Sadler’s Wells this weekend with a press list consisting of reviewers from The Telegraph, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Times, Evening Standard, Classical Source and Bachtrach plus many more we are filled with pride that when the curtain comes down we will have achieved the coverage that the production deserved.
Right now we are off to tie up the very last loose ends and prepare for the weekend… we cannot wait to read the reviews!
Tom x
Images courtesy of Russell Malipant Dance Company
Clangers celebrates 50th Anniversary at Bluedot Festival 2019
2019 has been a very special year so far for our client, Clangers international rights owner, Coolabi Group, as the much loved pre-school brand marks 50 years since the show aired for the first time on the BBC in 1969.
In July, the Clangers kicked off their 50th birthday with a ‘big bang’ as they hosted an exclusive screening and Q and A at Bluedot Festival, a science and music spectacular at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, to celebrate the anniversary and also mark 50 years since the first Moon landings.
Armed with two excitable Clangers costume characters, a suitcase of swanee whistles, an exclusive brand new episode, some original Clangers puppets from 1969, legendary space scientist and life-long Clangers fan, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE and an astronaut puppet inspired by her from the brand new Clangers series, Team Sundae were all set for a Clanger-tastic weekend in the beautiful Cheshire countryside.
Joining the Clangers panel to talk about the making of the show, hosted by Maggie, was Executive Producer and son of the Clangers original co-creator Oliver Postgate, Daniel Postgate, Series Producer and chief Clangers whistler, Dan Maddicott, and Clangers Co-Directors Chris Titchborne and Joanne Chalkley, from the award-winning Factory studios in Altrincham, where the show is animated.
Live streamed via the official Clangers YouTube channel, the screening and Q&A was a huge success with over 1000 festival goers filling the tent to enjoy hearing about the fascinating history, special stories and how the show is brought to life, with thousands more watching the stream live or later.
There was also an exclusive screening of ‘The Visitor’, the first episode of the brand new third series which pays homage to the original series and the first Moon landings. The episode also features an astronaut landing on the Little Blue Planet, which is inspired by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock…it’s safe to say that Maggie had stars (and happy tears!) in her eyes as she watched herself in puppet form on the big screen for the first time!
After an exciting morning of screenings and the Q and A, it wouldn’t be a special birthday without a party and it was time for the Clangers team to let their hair down and head over to the Deep Space Disco tent for an official Clangers DJ set with family rave specialists Big Fish Little Fish. Swarms of families, nostalgic fans and ravers gathered for a one-of-a-kind DJ set of cosmic proportions as the Clangers danced the evening away on stage with confetti and space-themed musical classics. Even Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock joined the Clangers on stage to throw some shapes! It was an amazing finish to a super weekend.
But it wasn’t just Bluedot Festival which made July a fantastic month for Team Sundae and Clangers. In the weeks leading up to the festival, Sundae lined up some fantastic press opportunities for the 50th anniversary and new third series, including an exclusive interview and Clangers feature with The Sunday Times Magazine, a fun-filled birthday show opener with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning and a fantastic TV talk up on ITV’s Lorraine. TV highlights were also placed in TV Times, The Sunday Times, Daily Mail Weekend and Daily Star.
It’s been a whirlwind summer for Sundae so far, with plenty more celebrations to come, as the Clangers officially turns 50 on 16th November this year. Keep your eyes peeled for more exciting announcements!
MC x
The journey to Shangri-La – Glastonbury’s naughty corner
Festivals, music, art and creativity are at the heart and soul of Sundae, so it was an incredible honour to be asked to look after press and publicity for this year’s Shangri-La, our favourite ‘naughty-corner’ of Glastonbury, the festival of all festivals.
Little did we know when exploring the late-night mecca in previous years that we’d be invited to be part of such a beautiful and talented family of creative pioneers, and share their vision for Shangri-La’s tenth incarnation with the world.
I first met Shangri-La’s artistic director Kaye Dunnings eight months ago at 2018’s Design Manchester festival, when she came and delivered a show-stopping talk about her 17 year relationship with Glastonbury. She told her personal creative story, which began delivering installations at Lost Vagueness, and later creating Shangri-La with an incredible ground-breaking collective of artists, musicians and producers to guide the field in the South-East corner of Glastonbury through ten shape-shifting formations.
More than a music festival, and far beyond an art gallery, Shangri-La is a completely unique, politically challenging, community building and above all wildly entertaining production that takes months to develop. For us, it is truly a dream project, as it brings together all that we love, with an infectious, inspiring, heart-warming life force of its own.
We’ve been on site for three days already, after a recce three weeks ago, which is absolutely nothing compared to the six weeks or more the build team, led by Kaye’s partner Willy Brothwood, have been living here for. In even those three days, we’ve seen the site change beyond measure, with the art and venues growing and changing by the hour. We’ve also had the warmest of welcomes and already feel like we never want to leave.
We’ve been kept busy over the past weeks. This year’s theme, Junkstaposition, as ever, couldn’t be more timely, and it has garnered huge interest even before anyone has seen the field, which is being kept strictly under wraps until the first full day of the festival tomorrow.
Junkstaposition isn’t the creative ‘theme’ you might find at another festival, it’s a mirror of the Re-use, Recycle, Resist mantra the Shangri-La team live in their personal and professional lives. This year, we worked with Creative Boom and Creative Review to tell the story of how Shangri-La is created, and all the people that contribute, shining a light on some of the interactive creative responses to it.
Every single item you find at Shangri-La has been re-used or re-cycled, and this year the 360 Gas Tower arena is being made from 10 tonnes of plastic collected from beaches across the South West of England, a project developed in partnership with the Orca Sound Project and Keep Britain Tidy. This created huge media interest, with hundreds of titles across the UK covering the news.
Also new for this year, Shangri-La is hosting new venue The Shed, produced by artistic director Moses Powers, and dedicated to celebrating positive masculinity. This is a completely new festival concept, and so to tell its story thoughtfully, we worked with Moses on an opinion editorial for the Huffington Post, which explained its inception, intent and programme.
Walking around Shangri-La, you can feel the anticipation, and there’s so much to come, it’s difficult to pin-point the element we’re most excited about. From the art, which is still transforming before our eyes, to the incredible music line up, delivered by the legendary Chris ‘Tofu’ MacMeikan, which includes Denzel Curry, Craig Charles, Norman Jay, IDLES and the secret act we couldn’t contain our excitement about any more, Sleaford Mods.
See you on the other side.
Fiona x