Since 2020, b-side has been using Portland as a lens to ask the bigger questions about land, identity, community and belonging with its artistic project, Common Lands.
The project has explored Portland’s natural and built heritage, identity and migration and this year culminates with the final its final stint: That Other Place.
The final chapter will explore all things related to the island and the air of creativity that it is known for, bringing in 15 artists to create something special for the finale during the b-side Arts Festival in September.
Creatives will be working to bring back the tales of the historic Portland Fair, that sadly ended in 2001 due to increases in rent and economic challenges.
For over 200 years on November 5, the streets of Chiswell came alive with fairground rides, music, and a popular travelling show.
Commissioned artists will be working to conjure up the historic event, where people can walk through and feel the ghostly presence of what once was.
The work runs across public spaces throughout the Underhill area, free and open to all. Opening night is Wednesday, September, 9.
Artists working to revive the tales of the market include Tim Powell and Hannah Price, who will use sound technology to place visitors inside three separate experiences – the ghost train, the Ferris Wheel, and Snatches of Conversation.
Gavin Morris will be working on a digital funfair, taking traditional fairground tricks, and updating them for the present.
Also going on will be shadow dance displays, music and a working scale model of a Scotch derrick crane, alike to those used historically across Portland’s quarries.
Rocca Holly-Nambi, Director of B-side, said: “That Other Place is about taking all of the otherness from this island and showing how they come together in this cacophony of colour, personality, and open-ness, a bold, living exploration of place. There’s something extraordinary in the meeting of artists, communities, and landscape here that you can’t find anywhere else.”
B-side is an internationally recognised and locally loved arts organisation that aims to enrich the artistic offering across Portland, where it began. The organisation works with artists and local residents to create unique projects accessible to all.
For a full list of artists, visit the b-side website.
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