Moments Not Monuments

Monsieur Poo-Pourri Takes a Dip Jordan McKenzie, Weymouth Seafront. b-side Festival 2010

A great festival can show us a map of the world, a map of the city and a map of ourselves.
- Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

Introduction
b-side is part of a new movement of radically open 21st century arts festivals. b-side prioritises the importance of dialogue between local and global and aims to transform communities positively. We ask our supporters and audiences to be players, partners and protagonists. We know that imagination cannot be contained in buildings. We are site-specific, siteresponsive, outdoors and accessible. We produce moments not monuments. There is a b-side festival every two years in Weymouth and Portland, but the company work throughout the year, developing projects with artists, communities and young people through our Encounters programme. Our team of experienced professionals has the
2

skills to present new and challenging contemporary art in an accessible way. We work in open dialogue with artists and communities, using both everyday and unusual local places for events or installations. Artists are explorers, so who better to show us the town and the landscape anew? Artists take us into that building that we pass every day and never went into. Artists can show us people in our midst that we might otherwise overlook. * b-side began life with an idea to explore the other side of the record and present an alternative take on life in southwest coastal towns. It has grown from a modest weekend of events in 2008 to

the boroughs only National Portfolio Organisation, funded by Arts Council England until 2015. Over six thousand people visited the 2012 festival. We know that staging quality events results in economic benefit, but we should also be asking how does a festival help a place to express itself? Arts festivals promote diversity, bring neighbours into dialogue, increase creativity, offer opportunities, increase civic pride and improve our general psychological wellbeing. In short, arts festivals help to make better places to live. - Alan Rogers, Executive Director, b-side CIC
* David Binder, TED Talk - The Arts Festival Revolution, June 2012.

Working with Artists

We invite professional artists to make artworks in response to place: often drawing upon the history, architecture and geography of a particular site or working with communities in Weymouth and Portland as a source of inspiration and research. A tailors shop, a prison ship, ports and portals, coastal colour and birdlife are some of the places and themes that artists have chosen for their work. These original works are presented in a variety of media from writing, performance, film, sound recordings or visual art. These artworks may be a critique of place, a creative response or may create a narrative. They are always temporary, may be fleeting or may be embedded within a community.
4

Our curatorial approach embraces risktaking yet accessible forms of art and we relish conversation, collaboration and work with established and early career artists, working locally, nationally and internationally. We offer artists opportunities for residencies, developmental bursaries and commissions, showing their work during the biennial festival or at other events throughout the programme. The commission has allowed me to make a new work that was really exciting in terms of the way it pushed my ambitions and developed my practice, technically, conceptually, and how I work with others.
Opposite: Artist Frances Scott filming on location in a Portland quarry. b-side Festival 2012.

- Frances Scott, b-side artist

b-side has demonstrated to me how when you get the context and the artists right, amazingly connected and strong work can happen.
- Sue Palmer, b-side artist

Gave me a chance to talk, to challenge the stereotype of being a young mum and the Littlemoor image.
- Babygrow project participant

Working with young people

The b-side team works with young people in Weymouth & Portland and across Dorset through the Encounters programme. We create projects in partnership with other organisations so young people can work with professional artists to develop their ideas, knowledge, skills and present their work to the public. We often work with disengaged and disadvantaged young people, supporting them to build self-confidence and resilience, to grow and articulate their voice and to recognise creative career pathways, further education and employment possibilities. Since 2010 b-side has worked with hundreds of young people in many different settings youth clubs, special schools, learning centres, dedicated centres for disadvantaged young people. Artists have helped spark ideas, develop young peoples skills and helped them to realise their creative aspirations. We showcase Encounters projects in public places and have produced: a dance performance in Debenhams, an exhibition in Argos, an installation in a Portland Launderette, paste-up images on the street walls of TK Maxx and pedal powered projections on the Esplanade wall in Chiswell.
Opposite: The Babygrow Project. Artworks created by teenagers from local schools and youth clubs, with artists Sally and Peter Snelling, displayed in a shop window on Weymouth High Street.

The young people talked about their experiences in a totally different way to normal, giving a much more personal response to the issue - J has lived with 11 foster carers; his engagement was so unusual, he really opened up. - Westfield School

The projects have helped young people to have a voice, sense of belonging and ownership (a stake) in their unit and wider community. I know the youth workers rate highly the impact of your work on young people because it makes a difference. Im sure it also challenges the workers to think more creatively.
- Raj Lehal, Locality Team Leader, Weymouth & Portland, Dorset County Council

b-side facts
In the last 5 years we have worked with 105 artists
67 of those artists work in the South West region
w

28 of those artists work in Dorset

7 of those artists were International

500,000
In 2012, b-side generated over half a million pounds worth of economic activity with a direct impact of over 200,000 in Weymouth & Portland.

20 local businesses Over 500 270 young people 10,000 visitors 100,000s

have hosted b-side events. local people have taken part in b-side projects.

have taken part in b-side Encounters, with 25 of those achieving a qualification through a b-side project. have been to a b-side event. of local people and visitors to Weymouth & Portland have encountered a b-side artwork.

Community
Since 2008, we have produced an eclectic range of projects that have involved many existing communities in Weymouth and Portland, and some which have grown out of working with b-side. These have included our local brass bands, our local historians, our community choirs, our majorettes, the bowling clubs, our young dance groups, our local heroes and even regular users of certain bus routes. b-side commissions artists to work with groups in order to create new, previously unimaginable works and in doing so, fosters collaboration between emerging and established artists, volunteers and the general public. Events that arise from these projects with communities are often produced for the b-side festival. They are usually free and open to all to attend, residents and tourists alike. They are deliberately staged in public places that are not arts centres or art venues. People can encounter them as part of their daily lives; there are no psychological thresholds to cross. b-side is open for business and is able to work with your communities whether you are a local authority, a local partnership or a business, especially if there are shared agendas around engagement, cohesion, group dynamics and community spirit.

Opposite: A MisGuided Tour of Weymouth led by Phil Smith of Crabman, Signpost and Bell. b-side Festival 2012.

14

A warm and friendly atmosphere at all the events. None of them were too big to feel impersonal, which made for a strong sense of community. It was good to have the opportunity to participate in so many of the events too. Thank you b-side!
- b-side festival visitor

This was my first visit to b-side and I thought the festival was fantastic and enjoyed all events All work was presented in a professional and stylish way and the overall programme is excellent.
- b-side festival visitor

Festival
Every two years b-side holds a festival. The festival has grown exponentially since it started in 2008. It provides opportunities for artists, communities, businesses and visitors to come together and celebrate culture in all its guises outside of the traditional white cube gallery space. The selection of artists proposals in relation to site is critical to the b-side mission. In past years we have shown installations, projections, performances and exhibitions all over Weymouth and Portland: on the parapets of the Town Bridge, at Sandsfoot Castle, on the No 1 Bus, in a disused mortuary, in pubs, on the Esplanades, in Nothe Fort, in a bakery and even on the back of a bike! The borough has such a wide range of inspirational sites and a rich history, which informs the projects we produce and the artists we commission. From the fun and games of traditional English seaside entertainment, to the deep time geology of the Jurassic Coast, from naval history, fishing and wrecks to the Olympic Sailing Events: these places are interesting for artists to explore and research. We hope that some of the artworks we help create have the knockon effect of drawing people back to those sites in the future, outside festival time. Thousands of people have visited b-side festivals, taken part in festival events, artist talks and projects. Thousands more will have encountered a b-side artwork accidently: a poetic text work on a solar traffic sign, a portrait in a bus shelter, a spam message on an empty shop window or a film projected outside a pub. This is art by stealth: heads are scratched, steps are halted and people stare. Its good to question whats in front of us.

Opposite: Lu Zhengs sculpture Waiting for Godot in the Chiswell Walled Community Garden, Portland, b-side Festival 2012.

19

Painter Wendy Elia was commissioned by b-side to create a portrait of local triathlete, Rowena Taylor, which appeared in unexpected places around Weymouth, b-side Festival 2012.

b-side... I didnt get the time I wanted to take it all in. But, wow, the time I did get was really well spent. Loved it. Witty, intelligent, subtle, accessible, beautifully curated stuff. Well done... I mean really well done by all involved. Thank you.
- Richard Crowe, London 2012 Creative Programmer for the South West

Weymouth Concert Brass performing To-ing, Fro-ing by Composer Hywel Davies, a 6 movement piece played live every time the Weymouth Town Bridge lifted. b-side Festival 2012.

Team
Alan Rogers - Executive Director

Get in touch
b-side multimedia arts festival The Little Keep, The Barracks Bridport Road Dorchester Dorset, DT1 1SQ
T: 01305 459 440 E: info@b-side.org.uk

Sandy Kirkby - Festival Producer

Julie Penfold - Curator

@bsidefest facebook.com/bsidefest

Amanda Wallwork - Curator

www.b-side.org.uk

Sally Watkins - Curator

Rosie Russell - Encounters Projects Producer

Design by Wired Canvas. Photography by Pete Millson, Peter Snelling, Alan Rogers and Sandy Kirkby.