Amazing new festival explores curious side of Hastings

The festival, which runs between Wednesday May 31 and Sunday June 4 has things to appeal to all ages, including families and children. It is being organised by Curious Agenda community interest company and brings together together around 100 artists and performers to create and collaborate around the theme of ‘dreams’.

The festival will primarily be located around The Observer Building and Gotham Alley in Hastings, and will include immersive art installations, storytelling, performances, workshops and more.

In the lead up to the festival, celebrated artists are engaging with local schools to create impressive largescale pieces to be showcased at the festival, as well as encouraging community involvement with free drop-ins to create artwork. The festival then begins in earnest on Wednesday 31st May with the ‘Beyond The Duvet’ opening night, including bedtime stories for adults, sound baths, walkabout performance and live dream illustrations.

Over the remaining days visitors can discover innovative performance art, as well as explore installations including a woodland in a cave with living bed, electric bike powered art, and the ‘Community Curiosity Cabinet of Dreams’, an exhibition full of artists’ work from across Hastings and St Leonards. Visitors can also take part in a range of workshops; from improv to bookbinding, steel drums, dream-mapping and much more.

A Curious Town Dreams will also incorporate many family-friendly activities, including a StoryTrail around Hastings Old Town, featuring a mix of physical maps and QR codes to enable people to weave and record digital artwork that will last forever in The Cloud. Then on the Friday, children will take over the festival as part of Little Mashers’ ‘Curious Kids’ initiative, with a diverse programme of activities run by experienced local artists, designed to captivate and excite children, with the emphasis on creativity and curiosity.

The programme continues on Friday evening with a Curious Cabaret Spectacular, including walkabout performers and a final special act leading the crowd into the atmospheric Gotham Alley for fire and aerial performances, before dancing the night away. The Saturday evening brings a night of Stand Up Comedy compered and produced by Juliet Brando, and the festival wraps up on Sunday with a Curious Closing Party, offering storytelling, Audiotrope’s live music takeover, a drag show and more.

In what may be a first for any festival, attendees in costume, as well as performers, are invited to be immortalised through 3D scanning during the event to create a 3D digital footpint.

The festival team is being headed up by Miia Forbes, Founder of a CURIOUS AGENDA CIC, with night-time events co-produced by Esme Sarfas, who has previously produced the immensely popular Brighton night ‘Cabarave’. Tina Morris, Director of Coastal Currents, Audiotrope and Sweet & Dandy, is also collaborating on the festival and running an Audiotrope musical takeover on the Sunday.

Miia Forbes, Founder of CURIOUS AGENDA CIC commented: “At CURIOUS AGENDA CIC our dream is to inspire a more curious mindset and bring joy into people’s lives, by creating a space for them to be playful, mindful, see things from new perspectives, explore and get creative.

"We could not be more excited that Hastings will be our flagship ‘Curious Town’. It already has a unique and vibrant community, and we are honoured to have been able to collaborate with the whole town on this sensational and curious project.”

Tickets can be found via the website, www.acurioustown.co.uk. Further details about performers and collaborators will be announced on Instagram at @acuriousagenda, along with updates regarding the evolving list of contributors.

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