Disney star part of new Suffolk art festival
by Andrew ClarkeActors, muscicians, photographers and designers are joining forces for 30:thirty, Suffolk’s new digital festival
One of the best ways to beat that enclosed feeling brought on by lockdown is to rediscover a sense of community but to also celebrate our creativity. This is the approach taken by the organisers of a new Suffolk arts festival which launches online on Monday.
The digital event, 30:thirty festival, will showcase 30 young artists from Suffolk. The one-off 30-day digital festival will celebrate imaginative work from a range of artists in an effort to celebrate local talent, support artistic projects and inspire others.
The non-profit initiative will highlight the amazing talent from the Sudbury area including the work of photographers, musicians, performers, designers and more. The new festival is giving creatives, in their thirties and under, a platform to share and discuss their work, providing an insight to career pathways and exploring ways to boost current projects.
Artists include Disney Channel actress Hannah Dodd, 25; musician Monticolombi (Jamie Hicks), 23, who has just released his first solo single ‘World I see’ and Charlotte Bingham-Wallis, 30, co-founder of From Belo (alongside Maria Costa), an ethically sustainable designer handbag and accessories brand.
Musician Monticolombi said: “During these difficult times it’s really amazing for 30:thirty festival to have created live opportunities for local artists to showcase their work in different ways. As a musician I’ve had festival slots all over the summer cancelled so it’s really uplifting to still feel that festival buzz in some way, especially as its supporting local artists.
The artists, most of which were students at local schools Ormiston Sudbury Academy and Thomas Gainsborough School, will each have a day to share their work on Facebook and Instagram. Bingham-Wallis said: “Community initiatives and supporting the arts is so important. Our business was founded from our friendship at Sudbury Upper School, Suffolk. The opportunities received in both arts and Erasmus schemes at the art college and within the community have led to our successes today.
“We are so excited to be part of this inspirational festival to help showcase that with passion, kindness and community, you can work towards creating beautiful things that make a positive impact in the world. ”
Hannah Dodd, who played Thea in Disney Channel’s “Find me in Paris” and Sophia Fitzwilliam in Amazon and Hulu’s “Harlots”, will be kicking off the festival on June 1 with a social media takeover. Each artist will then host a day across the social platforms.
Laura Warner, who created the festival alongside fellow Sudbury resident, illustrator and choreographer Kelly Crocker, said: “In this time of uncertainty, it feels very important to support local talent and celebrate all forms of successful pathways that people are creating in the arts. Many artists we knew of have had projects, events and small businesses suffer, so to have an additional platform where artists can showcase their work, gathering visibility and support for future projects seemed an exciting idea.”
Warner, 27, continued: “We hope that the event will highlight the strong and diverse talent from Sudbury and give artists a platform to continue to showcase their work and inspire others.”
To nominate a local artist for 30:thirty festival please contact thirtythirtysudbury@gmail.com.
30:thirty festival is a one-off non-profit online art festival running June 1-30 2020 across Facebook and Instagram. Sudbury’s creative community will get a platform to showcase their work through daily Facebook, Instagram and live content. 30:thirty festival can be found here on Facebook and Instagram; @30thirtyfestival
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