The not-for-profit Supernormal arts and music festival is to develop three new programme strands that will help put visual art at the centre of the annual event, after receiving £32,500 through Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts scheme.
The artist-led event, which is set in the picturesque surroundings of Braziers Park, Oxfordshire, offers a platform for artists, performers and musicians to work collaboratively.
Explaining how the funding will benefit the visual arts at the festival, Sam Francis, co-director of Supernormal, said: “The Art & Music Residency is for six artists who have previously participated in the festival. They will spend time at Braziers Park to develop new work to perform or present at the 2016 festival.”
In addition, six new ‘shed-based’ commissions will support the inclusion of more visual arts practices at the festival. Francis added: “This support really enables the festival to devise and present more ambitious projects which is a real development for us as a working group.”
The funding will also help pay for Supernormal’s partner exchange programme. Eight partners from six UK cities will contribute to the festival programme, devising a cities tour for March/April 2017. Organisations already announced include G39 in Cardiff who are bringing London-based performance artist Serena Korda‘s Jug Choir to the festival.
Supernormal began life in 2010, evolving from the Braziers International Artists Workshop (BIAW) – an artist-led initiative that brought artists from around the world to Braziers Park for a two-week residency each year. It’s limited capacity of only 1,500 is designed to preserve the park, with the eco-site set up with fresh running water, eco toilets and hot outdoor showers with a wooded camping area.
The full lineup for this year’s festival will be announced shortly.
Supernormal, 5-7 August 2016, Braziers Park, Oxfordshire.
www.supernormalfestival.co.uk
Image: Cardboard Sound System with X Marks the Bokship, Supernormal 2015 festival. Photo: X Marks the Bokship
