Sunderland’s Summer Streets has confirmed a list of replacement video acts for the Festival
The annual not-for-profit music, arts and community festival, which usually takes place in Sunderland every July, was cancelled by the government.
Thanks to an Arts Council England Emergency Fund grant, they have confirmed these internet “events”:
• Family activities including ‘Curious Storytime Online’, a queer oriented storybook adventure by Curious Arts that uses adults in drag to break the child’s familiar understanding of their world.
• ‘Tiny Tweeties‘ will run children’s interactive music sessions, and join ‘Chalk’ for a playful session exploring what sounds might look like.
• A kirigami workshop, the Japanese art of papercutting, delivered by Sunderland University alumnus Natsumi Jones.
• Video performances from Gandini Juggling.
• A performance of ‘Dandyism’, a celebration of style and cool inspired by the gentlemen of the Congo, by Sunderland University alumnus choreographer Patrick Ziza.
• ‘I Made You A Mixtape’, a new show by The Six Twenty, creators of the sketch music quiz show, ‘Mixtape’, that uses song dedications to form a musical celebration.
• ‘Out the Window’, a short acrobatic film featuring circus artist Nikki Rummer.
• Musician Bridie Jackson will work with community participants to create an original song called ‘Together: Apart’. It could go any way, might be about newspeak, maybe something else: join in and make it happen.
• Poet Kirsten Luckins will transform lockdown walk stories into pocket-sized poetry-collage zines and postal art.
• ‘The Big Summer Streets Pop Recs Pub Quiz’, hosted by Pop Records impresarios Dave Harper and Michael McKnight.
More acts, including an evening of special musical performances, will be announced soon.
Festival Director, Ross Millard, guitarist in Sunderland band The Futureheads, said: “We were determined to do something to mark Summer Streets Festival 2020, even though we knew it couldn’t be in its usual outdoor festival format due to the Coronavirus crisis.
“Although we’re disappointed not to be able to host the festival in Seaburn at Cliffe Park, we’re excited to host an online version of the festival. It’s a chance for us to try something new and experimental. We’ve got a range of exclusive performances, interactive workshops and local, national and international artists as part of the line-up. The festival is completely free to access, and we’re hopeful that everyone will find something going on at Summer Streets that they can get involved with and enjoy.”
Summer Streets Festival started in 2014 as a project of The Cultural Spring, who aim to get more people in Sunderland and South Tyneside to experience and be inspired by the arts.
Since then festival has played host to countless musicians, outdoor arts performers, comedians, spoken-word artists and workshop practitioners including Field Music, Paul Smith, Little Comets, Royal Northern Sinfonia, New York Brass Band and The Cornshed Sisters.
Summer Streets Festival 2020 is happening from Wednesday 15th – Friday 24th July and will take place across various online platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Zoom. There is no cost to access the festival, all events are free, and you can take your speakers to the streets if you don’t feel like staying at home on a lovely summer day, there is every reason to enjoy it while you can!
For more information and the full line-up visit www.summerstreetsfestival.com
Cover Photo by Nikola Johnny Mirkovic
