Search Party took Lincoln on in a marathon game of ping pong. The Bristol duo, a performance company, specialise in participatory work that looks to actively engage the audience in actions that often involve sport, and competition.
Over the course of three days the artists staged an event where the artists played challengers who were aiming to win points for the city of Lincoln. Despite the rain and occasional gust play went on for the majority of the three days. After the first day of play Lincoln were trailing on Search Party’s lead significantly winning 4 games to 21. The score didn’t improve as the third day finished; Search Party 61, Lincoln 14.
During the course of play we had the mayor, various members of the Lincoln Crusaders Table Tennis Club, and the number one player in the county challenging the artists. Despite the Crusaders scoring points for the city it wasn’t enough to rescue Lincoln. Lincoln became the lowest scoring city Search Party have played to date. It was also the first time rain had stopped play, which was an interesting experience, some challengers played through it, others had Wimbledon moments being rained off.
The Search Party event attracted thousands of people, crowds came and went, supporters returned, and reporters watched from a distance. The event felt that it had built a connection with the people of Lincoln, and the citizens came together to play for pride.
In a couple of weeks time we have S Mark Gubb‘s flags being launched from the top of the Usher Gallery. This is to tie in with the re-opening of the gallery after it’s refurbishment. Gubb has looked at the representation of the four nations in the Union Jack for the commission. Being a Welsh / English descendant Gubb is particularly interested in Wales representation on the flag. The flags will be historical versions of the current Union Jack flag.
For the launch event on 25th September, we will have ceremony in the Usher grounds to watch the flags being launched.
See our website for more information:
http://www.lincolnartprogramme.co.uk/
