11am-7pm, Saturday
Brunswick Square
(opposite the Renoir cinema/Brunswick Centre)
Hanne Hukkeleberg

“ Warm whispers seem to dance in the air and the meaning of music is revealed… subtle and moving.” – Observer Music Monthly

“ Hanne Hukkelberg’s voice is so ethereal it makes Björk seem clumsy.” – Q Magazine

“ At once staggeringly original and brimming with unusual charm, Hukkelberg enchants at every turn… A fascinating musical creature emerging from the shadows of obscurity.” – Rock Sound

Over the course of her two albums, Little Things (Leaf) and this year’s Rykestrasse 68 (Nettwerk), Norway’s Hanne Hukkelberg has established herself as one of the most distinctive and original singer-songwriters around. With a voice that is “equal parts Stina Nordenstam and Nina Simone” (Uncut), she’s created a musical world that is “Gloriously leftfield and strangely intimate.” (DJ Magazine). Hanne will be appearing with her full band and, we hear, playing her bicycle.

http://hanne.hukkelberg.net/

Elysian Quartet with Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard (Hot Chip)

‘‘…outstanding coolness and flexibility… quicksilver tonal variety… sharp musical and technical?reflexes.’ – The Strad

‘ Feisty boundary pushers, four supremely talented classical musicians’ – Metro

The Elysian Quartet is one of the UK’s most innovative young ensembles and the only British string quartet of its generation focused exclusively on 20th Century, contemporary and experimental music. It was formed in 1999 by prize-winning students at Trinity College of Music and has since performed all over the world to great acclaim.

The Elysians have worked with artists as diverse as virtuoso beat-boxer Killa Kela, jazz pianist Keith Tippett, and experimental electronic composer Simon Fisher-Turner.

http://www.elysianquartet.com/

As Auden once said, the best theatre is the kind where everyone feels that they are a participant or an understudy.

We would love as many who live, work, or study within the Bloomsbury Quarter to get involved as possible. How you get involved is up to you.

Are you…

A Business?

We are looking for businesses of all sizes to sponsor specific elements of the Festival and offer in-kind support. Led by Allied London, this is a great opportunity to get involved with the local area, establish your name within it, bring business to your doors, and be associated with the Festival’s growing success.

If you are a small business (café / boutique / shop / pub) with a premises in the Bloomsbury Quarter, you might want to team up with a local artist or musician to create a temporary exhibition or concert, or hold talks or readings – we will add you to our map and listings.

There will be stalls in Brunswick Square over the course of the Festival weekend, and wherever possible we will give priority to local businesses and individuals to occupy these.

An Artist, Designer or Craftsman?

If you are an artist, designer, or other creative practitioner living or working in the area you can hold an open studio, or team up with a local business to hold an exhibition or event. Again, you will then become part of our contemporary Bloomsbury map and listings.

You will also be eligible to apply for a stall in Brunswick Square.

A School, Club, or other Institution

For schools and clubs we will have specific programmes with visiting artists, and opportunities for working with the different institutions involved in the Festival.

There are also opportunities for hosting activities within Brunswick Square over the weekend, with the possibility of raising funds for your own group.

An Individual living / working within the area

For young, old (and middling) there will be opportunities to take part in creative workshops over the course of the summer, and have your work displayed during the Festival – or it may be that you can develop a relationship with a business to showcase work you have already made.

There are also volunteering opportunities for researching, marketing and stewarding.

And Finally…

We are always looking for new and interesting suggestions for the Festival – so if you have any ideas, please do contact us – where we can we will try to get exciting projects off the ground.

All locations offering public access during the Festival will need to be covered by statutory licensing and public liability insurance. Please contact us if you require further information and advice on this.

We are delighted to report that the Bloomsbury Festival 2007 was a fantastic success: the sun shone, and the streets, parks, and buildings of the area were awash with the thousands of visitors enjoying the amazing range of events on offer.

We will have a selection of photos uploaded on the site soon – do send us links to yours if you’d like to share them.  There are also videos of the weekend at www.itvlocal.com/london/bloomsbury

Our thanks go to our sponsors, Allied London and Hermes, and to everyone who contributed their time and energy to making this such an enjoyable weekend. Do feel free to contact us if you’d like information about how to get involved in the Festival next year.