Get ready for two weeks of arts and culture right across the borough. From June 10th to the 26th Wandsworth Arts Fringe is set to take over local theatres, pubs, parks, galleries, cinemas and event spaces.
Wherever you are in Wandsworth there’s plenty going on. But what can you expect to see in the Battersea and Nine Elms neighbourhood?
Dancing in the streets
This year the Wandsworth Arts Fringe kicks of outside bbodance at Ensign House at Battersea Reach. Make like Bowie and Jagger and join the dancers for a journey along the riverside, where you’ll discover hidden music, dance gems and the spoken word along the route. Featured dancers include World Heart Beat Music Academy, Lost Souls, Element Arts, Flamenco con Gusto and On Da Beat.
World Heart Beat
Talking of World Heart Beat: Pop along to The Cinema in the Arches right next to Battersea Power Station. The cinema is screening the Nine Elms Sessions: a series of a six music videos by the music and dance collective. The videos include a celebration of the Portuguese and Latin communities living in Nine Elms; the history of the Nine Elms docks and the first Irish settlers; and the Vauxhall-born, Hilda Hewlett, aircraft manufacturer and the first woman in the UK to hold a pilot’s licence.
Young Artists at the Outlined
Wander down to the Outlined Gallery at Embassy Gardens during the festival and check out the work of young artists (16 – 25) who are the latest recipients of the Royal College of Art (RCA) and Wandsworth Arts Fringe creative bursaries.
On show are oil paintings of Sena Appeah, whose works are inspired by identity, imaginative freedom and philosophy. Theo Chaudoir, from Tooting, who uses a variety of mediums including drawing and digital in his work. Louis Morel, an autistic artist, who works across drawing, sculpture, creative writing and games design, ‘exploring the line between cute, creepy and weird.’ Or Merlin Summers, another Tootingite with autism and learning difficulties, whose work is driven by his imagination and how everyday situations can become absurd and surreal.
Escapism with words
Also take a look at this spoken word event on the Battersea Barge at Nine Elms Lane by artist Xavier Pencille, who explores the theme of escapism and social confinement and the wonderful and peculiar lives of our neighbours.
Do you see what I see?
Or for more art, head back down to the Outlined Gallery for a Windows of the Soul exhibition. This exhibition showcases the extraordinary talents of artists with visual disabilities. Works include paintings, photography, prints, icons and braille art. Well worth a visit.
Northcote Arts and Crafts
Or venture a little further and browse the arts and crafts fair on the Northcote Road at Clapham Junction, over the weekend of the 25th and 26th June. Expect everything from paintings to handmade jewellery.
For more information on all the events taking place in Battersea and Nine Elms, as well as across the borough, visit Wandsworth Arts Fringe.
