Electric Medway turns five
Plus Guildhall Museum gets an Artisan Showroom, we review Nutmegs Patisserie, our weekly events guide, news in brief, and more
Today’s Friday arts, culture and events roundup leads with a look at Medway’s unique digital arts festival, Electric Medway. With the next festival starting next week, we’ve been finding out more. Further down, we have news of a new exhibition at the Guildhall Museum, a review of Nutmegs Patisserie in Rainham, our weekly events guide, news in brief, and more.
Electric Medway turns five
Next weekend marks the fifth Electric Medway, Medway’s unique digital arts festival. Organisers Janet Moore and Kevin Grist have been telling us more…
The theme for the festival this year is ‘Two Worlds’. “We try and theme every year slightly differently”, says Janet, “This one's really about the sense of crisis that we feel we're in at the moment”, adds Kevin. “When you look at the news or the idea that we have data overload.” Their approach has been to address these themes and connect people to getting outdoors and connecting with nature.
Their work is digital by design, and the festival is both location based and online. They will be installing art in the old Intra High Street area, Gillingham Park, Chatham Library Community Hub, and Woodlands Academy. For the online side, there will be ‘some experimental films.’ “Hopefully, there's something for everyone in the programme”, says Janet. The events have a mixture of interactivity. Kevin explains that “some of it you'll turn up and you can passively watch. There'll be work projected, installations on trees for example”, which, to be honest, is quite an example. So too is their active example: “You can sit on a swing with a VR headset”, Kevin notes.
Who is paying for all this? Digital work has an expensive barrier to entry. Most of the festival is supported by grant funding. Electric Medway is a not-for-profit company, partly supported by Medway Council, partly by the Arts Council England, and “often we get smaller funders involved as well”, says Janet. “Often we don't charge or ticket the events or anything. We try and offer it free to the public.” The festival has a couple of ticketed events. “One's a live discussion called ‘Our Climate of Crisis’ and the other one's ‘in.difference’ by Square Pegs Arts, which is a theatre show.” Both are free, but booking is required to manage the numbers.
The panel discussion will feature experimental filmmakers, including John Vincent, who has made a film about AI, and Kath Hoffman, who has done a piece around anxiety and the current state of the UK. The panel will be hosted by Electric Medway and Creative Medway, hoping to steer an interesting debate over the topics.
Electric Medway works with both existing projects and commission work themselves. Next year, they have the opportunity for larger commissions, with some exciting times ahead. They also often work with artists through their Hack programme, which doesn’t involve them working with Russian bots. “It's really about hack space for people to come and play with tech”, says Kevin. “Artists and educators in Medway and the Kent area, if you want a chance to come and play with a VR headset or a specialist microphone, come to our Hack sessions because we will have master classes on how you can create content for VR.”
For Janet, success includes working with neighbourhoods and communities. “Certainly, some of the artists in the programme this year have co-created the artworks with community groups and residents”. Ensuring access is open for everyone, the technology is either low-cost or free apps. “We are conscious about residents not understanding what immersive as a term is.” They hope to provide an opportunity for people to come and experience something new and to get involved with the whole family.
Electric Medway is also thinking about the environmental impact of the event. They’ve made their printed program recyclable and have signed the Creative Medway’s Sector Environmental Sustainability Pledge. They are looking at other ways to move forward more sustainably, too. “We are very conscious about our carbon footprint”, says Janet, “especially with the digital equipment we use”. What does that mean, though? “In practice, we're going to start having an equipment repository of all the tech that we've got so that we've got a community resource in Medway, where people can come and hire a VR headset or an iPad at low cost or free”, Kevin says.
In their fifth year, they are happy to provide an in-person festival approach, with most of the artworks experiential and in public spaces. “We've always tried to put art in places that are unusual”, says Janet, “because people just wouldn't expect something interesting on their doorstep.”
Electric Medway runs 24-27 October with events across Medway. You can view the full calendar on their website.
In brief
🍔 McDonald’s is set to open at Chatham Dockside. The restaurant will fill part of the soon-to-be relocated Choice store at the centre, alongside Loungers within a subdivided unit.
⚽ Gillingham Football Club have drawn Blackpool at home in the first round of the FA Cup.
🌊 A zip wire is set to be installed at St Andrew’s Lake in Halling. No, thank you.
Guildhall Museum gets an Artisan Showroom
Local artists and designers Matilda Flood and Libbie Watson, both graduates of UCA, are presenting the Artisan Showroom, a pop-up exhibition of their work at the Guildhall Museum in Rochester. It opens tomorrow (Sat 19 Oct) and then takes place 22-26 Oct between 10am-5pm daily. The £5 entry to the Guildhall Museum includes access to the exhibition.
Matilda Flood is a freelance illustrator and surface designer who creates illustrations on the theme of nature, with an aesthetic influenced by Renaissance art and the Victorian language of flowers. Recently, she has begun looking for more interior design focused projects, including fabric and wallpaper design. Libbie Watson is a freelance artist and community workshop facilitator based in Gravesend. Her main artistic passion is leathercraft. Libbie creates minimalist bags and accessories that harmonise function and form. Libbie has been working with Jatin Patel of Kalikas Armour and has produced hand-sewn work using the traditional heritage saddle stitch technique.
Libbie and Matilda met when they both applied for a job at Sun Pier House. Libbie got the job, and Matilda went on to work for Nucleus Arts instead. Since then, they have worked together at the Mess Room, helping Wendy Daws build Draco Roffensis, the Rochester Dragon. They have both recently undertaken the Make Waves career course under Ideas Test. As part of that, they decided to put on a joint showroom to show people their work and artistic practice. “It’s been refreshing and motivating to work alongside someone who has similar goals”, says Matilda. “This won’t be the last you see of me and Libbie working together.”
The Artisan Showroom blends artistry and luxury with a curated collection of Matilda’s illustrated velvets, handmade duck feather chenille cushions, and framed fabric artworks alongside Libbie’s handcrafted leather bags and accessories.
The showroom is in the ornate Main Chamber of the Guildhall Museum. Inspired by her father, local historian and podcaster Rob Flood, Matilda’s love of local history meant the Guildhall was their preferred choice for the showroom. “The space itself is incredibly beautiful. We both aim to tell our own stories through our work”, she says. “It encapsulates everything that we find important.”
The work on display will be for sale and can be collected on the exhibition's final day. You can find out more about the event on Matilda’s Facebook page.
Out to Lunch: Nutmegs Patisserie
In which Steven Keevil assesses the lunch options available in our towns. This week, he’s been down to Nutmegs Patisserie in Rainham…
Walking along Rainham High Street looking for a place to have lunch, I did not know Nutmegs before I chanced upon it. This welcoming establishment was already busy, but the friendly staff assured me a table would soon become available, and they were right. Seated on a side bench, with a small table for two, looking at the range of fresh cakes available and a sign proudly announcing the local businesses they get fresh produce from.
I ordered a vanilla milkshake with a piece of gammon and mushroom quiche, which came with a side salad and coleslaw. I also ordered a side of truffle and parmesan potatoes. They said it was a large sharing portion. Agree to disagree.
To be absolutely clear, this was one of the best lunches I’ve had since beginning these reviews. The food was simple but made to a high standard and packed with flavour. The quiche was generous with its gammon pieces and nice crisp cheese, the salad and coleslaw were fresh and tasty, and the potatoes were great. Maybe there were too many for one person, but I powered through regardless.
Nutmegs Patisserie takes reservations. Given how busy the establishment was on a rainy Thursday afternoon, I'd advise making one, and treat yourself to a great lunch in Rainham.
Events this week
📖 Medway author Neil Thorne is holding a launch event for his new Chatham-based work Loyal and True tonight (18 Oct) at Coffee Republic in Chatham. Event includes an excerpt from the book and music from Rachel Lowrie. Free.
🤼♂️ Rumble Wrestling arrives in Gillingham tomorrow (Sat 19 Oct) as part of their 40th anniversary tour. Tickets £15.
🥕 Rochester Farmers’ Market is this Sunday (20 Oct) in the Blue Boar Lane car park. Wide range of traders selling food and gifts. Free.
📽️ Odeon in Chatham have a screening of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the best Star Wars film, this Tuesday (22 Oct). Tickets £5.
More Authority
Yesterday, we published the first in a series of occasional columns from Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott. He talks about the work to reduce crime in Medway and how you can get involved with his upcoming Police and Crime Plan.
Remember that our Medwayish shop contains a wide range of Medway-related gifts and products designed by local creatives. We have books, mugs, t-shirts, prints, and other fun bits and pieces. Check it out!
Footnotes
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Best Star Wars film. Agree to disagree. Stop trolling the readers.