Markings – Illustration and Performance Festival

Date: 8-9 July 2016

Venue: Central Saint Martins and House of Illustration, Granary Square, Kings Cross, London N1C

Markings is a unique collaboration between Knowledge Quarter’s partner Central Saint Martins, University of Arts and the House of Illustration; an exciting new festival that investigates the relationship between illustration and performance.

The festival invites illustrators to think beyond the flat surface and consider how performance can be used to invigorate the form; and asks performers how illustration might offer added dimensions.

How might the process of drawing be considered performative?

How can illustration be integrated into time-based live performance?

Today, digital drawing and display technologies are enthusiastically used by artists to incorporate elements of performance, and this combination has a history stretching back at least to the “chalk talks” of the 19th century. As interactive and participatory projects become an increasingly important part of how illustrators capture lived experience, now is the time to take stock of where this relationship has been, and where it is headed.

The festival aims to engage the local community with accessible, family-friendly, free and participatory events, and by forming stronger bonds between residents and organisations in the area. A series of live art events, interactive workshops, performances and exhibitions, and an academic symposium comprising debates and talks, will feature internationally acclaimed practitioners and scholars.

 

Events overview 

Friday 8th July 2016:

Friday’s programme features the academic symposium. A mixture of artists’ talks and research presentations by leading practitioners and scholars will test the boundaries of existing definitions of illustration, the relationship between illustration and rehearsal, illustrated books as mini-theatres, and the cognitive processes involved in recognising pictures when we watch them being produced. Each talk will be live-recorded by a graphic facilitator, to contribute to documenting the event and to provide an on-going demonstration of performative illustration. The day will conclude with a performance event that sets the stage for Saturday’s public-facing programme.

The event is free but booking is necessary. Please book here.

Saturday 9th July 2016:

The festival continues with an accessible, participatory series of events and exhibitions taking place in Central Saint Martins Lethaby Gallery and Crossing spaces, involving dance, theatre, film, and ‘drawing’ in its widest definition. The performances will include examples created especially for the Festival, including interactions between costumes and performers and the surroundings in the Granary building and an interactive workshop drawing with light.

Click here for more information on events and performances.