The Floating Cinema 2013: Extra-Ordinary
Building on the resounding success of the Floating Cinema 2011
project (designed by Studio Weave) UP Projects are developing a
brand new Floating Cinema which will launch in Summer 2013. We are
continuing to work with film maker / artist duo Somewhere (Nina Pope and Karen
Guthrie) who will be devising a new programme of screenings, tours
and events with an 'Extra-Ordinary' theme.
In May 2012, UP Projects and The Architecture Foundation announced
an Open Call architecture competition to find a new team of
architects to design a brand new Floating Cinema which we hope will
become a more permanent fixture on East London's waterways.
Four international practices; vPPR, Duggan Morris, Nilsson
Pflugfelder and OBRA were shortlisted and the winning design was
announced as Duggan Morris Architects in September 2012.
This new phase of the Floating Cinema has been commissioned by the
Legacy List and sponsored by Bloomberg as part of the Bloomberg
East series of artist-led programmes to animate the waterways in
East London working in partnership with the Canal and River Trust.
The Floating Cinema is part of UP Projects Portavilion
programme of temporary pavilions and structures for London's public
spaces.
UP Projects Director and Curator of Portavilion Emma Underhill
said:
'The Floating Cinema in 2011 exceeded all expectations in terms of
audience reach and public interest and there is clearly a healthy
appetite for this kind of initiative to take place on East London's
waterways. It's exciting to have the opportunity to be able to
develop a new and longer term Floating Cinema which we hope will
bring film related activities to East London's canals and
eventually to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park when it reopens to
the public.'
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The original Floating Cinema 2011 project navigated the
waterways of the Olympic host boroughs during summer 2011. Designed
by Hackney based architects Studio Weave and programmed by
Somewhere, the customised narrow boat hosted a varied and vibrant
programme of free on board screenings, quirky canal tours, talks
and workshops. It even took passengers into the Olympic Park prior
to the Games on bespoke tours hosted by writer Ian Sinclair,
comedian Holly Burn and comedy writer Susie Donkin. The Floating
Cinema also presented larger scale outdoor screenings to bankside
audiences including a fancy dress screening of Fantastic Mr Fox
outside the Three Mills studios where the animation was
created.
The Floating Cinema 2011 was converted from a former British
Waterways workboat owned by Annie Myers and Hazel Saunders. UP
Projects leased the boat from them in 2011 and commissioned
Studio Weave to transform it into a Floating Cinema with a view to
the structure being returned to its owners at the end of the summer
for use as a community trip boat.
Studio
Weave’s designs aimed to accentuate the juxtapositions
inherent in the project: between cinema and boat; opulent
picture-house and "Roses and Castles" decoration; crisp steel
work-boat and soft upholstered interior. To realise the project,
they worked very closely with a network of makers to create a
highly-crafted outcome that conveys the skill and flair of all
those who made it.
The Floating Cinema 2011 was commissioned by The Olympic
Delivery Authority as part of their Arts and Cultural strategy and
funded by Arts Council
England. It formed an important strand of the cultural
participation programme in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games and was part of the CREATE
11 summer festival.
UP
Projects is a public art commissioning
organisation based in Tower Hamlets. We believe in challenging
perceptions of what public art can be. Operating as a gallery
without walls, we are inspired by the complexities of the public
realm to create a programme of artists' commissions, projects,
strategies and multi-disciplinary events for the public
audience.
The Floating Cinema is part of UP Projects' Portavilion programme,
one of the most ambitious contemporary art projects to take place
in London's public realm. This ongoing project explores the
possibilities for temporary, large-scale public art, and is as much
a celebration of the city's most treasured open spaces as it is a
cultural event.
Curated by UP Projects, it launched in 2008 with four temporary
pavilions by internationally renowned artists (Dan Graham, Annika
Eriksson, Toby Paterson and Monika Sosnowska) in some of London's
most popular parks. In 2010, raumlaborberlin developed a mobile,
inflatable pavilion in partnership with some of London's leading
cultural organisations. For 2011, the Floating Cinema with
Somewhere and Studio Weave took the project into new watery
territory.
Somewhere are a
multi-disciplinary arts organisation, founded by Karen Guthrie and
Nina Pope in 1995. They produce ambitious, innovative projects
including films, digital media, live events and public art. Their
aim is to enrich the public realm with creative ideas and action.
Recent work includes 'Jaywick Escapes', their third feature film,
and What Will the Harvest Be?, a public garden near to the Olympic
Park. For the Floating Cinema, they have engaged with canal side
communities to define a 'human blueprint' of the waterways, and
have created an appealing and diverse programme of activities for
the summer.
The Floating Cinema 2011 Team
Curated by Emma Underhill
Project Manager Laura Harford
Artists Karen Guthrie & Nina Pope (Somewhere)
Architects Studio Weave
Event Managers Laura Harford, Alice
Carey
Evaluation Rosie Heafford
Intern Bethan Johnson
Filming Britt Hatzius
Technical Support Scott Martin
Boat Refurbishment Will Austin
Puff Fabric Jeckells The Sailmakers
Puff Steel Structure AB3 Workshops
Timber Furniture Simon Jones
Curtains and Upholstery Georgia Bosson
Illustration Jill Tytherleigh
Skippers Hazel Saunders, Annie Myers
Website Dorian Fraser Moore,
fiveforandahalf
Design REG
