Images from the fourth Illuminate in Boston UK.
Transported’s lead artist Ruth Pigott of Curiosity Curators has led on each of the Illuminate projects in order to build creative skills and artistic ambition year on year leading to the spectacular event planned for 2020.
Ruth led a team or artists working in schools and running community workshops including;
Boston West, St Thomas’s, Wyberton, Boston College SEN centre and Boston High School, with community sessions at Boston Guildhall.
This year’s design scheme used the symbolism in flora and fauna to represent the qualities of the pilgrims. Collective action, togetherness, living and working together weaved its way through the design. The school lanterns were a whisper of moths plus the additional lanterns representing their chosen flora and fauna.
The parade was led by our very own Fen Funk Bateria, who performed for the first time.
Chris Lewis-Jones, founder of Sambawamba (carnival Arts Company), former Mestre of Nottingham School of Samba and currently Director of Zaboombanova Bateria, commissioned by Transported to run regular percussion classes at St Paul’s Church Hall in Spalding to create a new community Bateria, or drumming group. The Bateria participants have been exploring samba-reggae, afoxé, maracatu and batucada samba rhythms. The instruments used (so far) are all Brazilian.
And in addition to Transported’s Fen Funk the event included a special addition; percussion band, dancers, and costumes created by the spectacular East Midlands Caribbean Carnival Arts Network.
The parade, led by the Fen Funk Bateria, followed by the Boston schools and community lanterns and Dancers and East Midlands Caribbean Carnival troupe made their way to the Five lamps adjacent to Fish Hill where they performed a final finale, with the two percussion groups and dancers coming together for the first time.
Illuminate was delivered by Transported in partnership with Boston Borough Council, and is a Mayflower 400 UK project. www.mayflower400.org
Images: Electric Egg
Project: Festivals
