Supported by Art Fund and public funding from Arts Council England.The New Curators are Alix, Amy, Bobby, Chris, and Maddison. Between April and October 2021 they have been part of a programme of mentoring and training delivered by the b-side team and other arts professionals with financial support to see and experience work by artists and other organizations and curate an event for the b-side festival 2021.
You can read more about the programme via the New Curators blog posts HERE
The event curated by the group for b-side festival 2021 was Opes and Dreams.
Opes and Dreams
An Ope is defined as an opening. It is used as a common place name around Portland to describe access routes between settlements, provide channels for seawater to be able to disperse, and historically offer openings as strategic grey areas for smuggling. These definitions have been confused in recent times due to extensive privatisation of these once common lands. The ‘Opes and Dreams’ project looks to reform ‘Opes’ as openings for the hopes and dreams of people and communities on Portland.
The project involved engagement with communities and community groups across Portland - stretching from Castletown, up the Merchant’s Incline, across the East Weares and through to Church Ope Cove. Peoples’ ‘Opes and Dreams’ were collected and reworked into a performative, participatory artwork by Promenade (artists Jessica Taggart and Simon Cole) and toured the island during the festival.
Watch the short film about the festival events 'Opes and Dreams' by New Curator Amy Misfud below.
Supported by Art Fund and public funding from Arts Council England.
