In early 2020 we had began planning a YARMONICS festival in the existing mould of performances, workshops, talks and installations, to be presented in various unique places and spaces around Great Yarmouth. In March it became clear that the coronavirus pandemic would mean that physical live performances - with any sort of audience - were unlikely for the foreseeable future, and the impact on the arts and our lives more generally, would be very serious.
We were very keen to approach this situation positivity, to explore the opportunities it provided. The result was to commission the artists we had already been having conversations with, to produce work that could be presented digitally; recorded performance, audiovisual composition, video and writing. We had already committed to presenting the festival with the theme of migration, which felt even more relevant in the context of being anchored during lockdown. It also became clear that the process would also provide an insight into how artists have had to adapt their practice, both practically and conceptually.
As a result we have an amazing selection of original sound-based works about, for and in response to Great Yarmouth and the broader theme of migration. The works are set against the context of the pandemic and speak of the ideas and issues both locally and internationally.
Following the launch of the festival on the 26th September a showreel of the works will tour internationally between film and music festivals, arts and community events and other digital spaces.
We strongly recommend listening to these works using headphones or good quality speakers.
