SUPERNORMAL is a festival like no other, an alternative even to the ‘alternative’ festival circuit. Entirely artist-led and resolutely non-commercial, SUPERNORMAL combines an acclaimed and avant-garde musical line up with a visual arts programme to match. SUPENORMAL truly bucks the trend – blurring the boundaries between contemporary art, live music, performer and audience all in the idyllic surroundings of Braziers Park, Oxfordshire. A 17th century mansion, morphed into a Strawberry Gothic folly, Braziers Park has its own countercultural links spanning decades – from John Latham and R.D. Laing to Marianne Faithfull (and Mick Jagger) and is still home to Britain’s oldest secular community.
Evolving from the influential Braziers International Artists’ Workshop (BIAW), an annual residency spanning 16 years, SUPERNORMAL now in its third year, pays more than lip service to contemporary art. Independent galleries and artist-run spaces and more than 50 individual artists have been invited to create work during the festival, most of it constructed on site and with direct audience involvement. This year we have also invited BIAW artists to return to Braziers and re-engage with the site.
At SUPERNORMAL ‘experiment’ is not a dirty word and the avant-garde is for everyone. Embracing contemporary art that provides more than simple entertainment, there will be site-specific installations and impromptu events to discover, as well as projects and discussions taking place throughout the weekend that whether or not they have a visible end-product will provoke the imagination with real challenges, real excitement, real rewards that will long outlast the event itself.
As a collectively run non-corporate event, SUPERNORMAL is at the behest of no commercial imperative and runs on the goodwill and commitment of all involved making a true community where everyone’s contribution is significant. SUPERNORMAL believes the actions of a collective of like-minded creative dissenters speak louder than the self-serving words of Authority and Convention. We provide a platform for true invention – for emerging and more established artists alike, throwing down a gauntlet to corporate and market-led production.
ARTISTS include:
Aditi Kulkarni (India)/ Bermuda Triangle Test Transmission / Boyle and Shaw / Brian Duggan / Bristol Diving School / Campbell Works / Charlie Murphy / Chooc Ly Tan/ Claire Kennedy / Coffee and Sponge/ Cool Diabang(Senegal) / Cult of Flat Souflee/ Delahante Matienzo (Cuba)/ Emergent Behaviour / Fiona MacDonald & John Holland/ Gaynor O’Brien / Gert-Rude / Holly Slingsby/ Jarek Hubloj (Poland) / Jerrica/ John Hughes/ Juan Pablo Echiverri (Columbia) / Kay Walsh/ Lee Campbell/ Lina Hakim (Lebanon)/ Live Timeline Actions /Oo Mysteroons / Museum of Received Ideas/ Ortelius Drew/ Ralph Dorey and Lyndsey Officer / Richard Annely/ Ryan Hughes / Sarah Jane Norman / Secret AV / Society is Possible / Structures & Spaces / Spike McGarrity/ Susana Pilar/ Tim Ridley /Tom Woolner / Various Artist /Will Cruickshank
ARTISTS FILMS include:
Brian Duggan/Chooc Ly Tan/Juan Gabriel Guittirez/Kisito Assangni/Louise Colborne/Samar/Little Matey; Supernormal 2011 Documentary/Jerrica/Let Me Feel Your Finger First/ Laure Provost/Mordant Music/ Katy Dove/ Vicki Thornton/Ian Helliwell/ Shelley Parker/Jeff Keen/Matt Hulse/ David Blandy/Tracey Emin/ Daniel Devlin/ Keran James
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For more information www.supernormalfestival.co.uk
Weekend tickets including camping: £65
Email: [email protected]
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Twitter: Supernormalfest
If you wish to preview Supernormal or come along to review the festival please get in touch.