As our 4th and final year within the Creative Europe platform MagiC Carpets is coming to a close, we invite you to remember, reflect, and feel inspired for the future with us during our closing event plans.
This exhibition, hosted by Urban Room Folkestone, is a retrospective encompassing all of the residencies Folkestone Fringe has either hosted or nominated an artist to be part of within the MagiC Carpets Platform.
Throughout all of the residencies we have hosted in Folkestone, the key aim has been to create projects which connect people to each other and the place that they live. We, at Folkestone Fringe, believe that this connection has a huge impact on well-being and a sense of belonging.
The biggest challenge we have found has been to be in a situation in which everything is new and fairly unknown – a ‘new’ curator, ‘new’ artists, ‘new’ communities – all in the ever-shifting context of a seaside town undergoing regeneration. It has been a huge learning curve and it has helped us to develop personally – in terms of getting to know the people and place of Folkestone much more – and professionally – in terms of becoming more experienced in developing and supporting good socially-led arts practices. We have been able to be more ambitious with the work we produce and it has been wonderful to create lasting relationships and cross-cultural collaborations with partner organisations and artists working across Europe, in a time when this is even more needed.
For most of our residencies we have used Urban Room Folkestone as our base. This is partly because it is a space which encourages dialogue, interaction and knowledge exchange which are integral elements to each artists’ practices and the ethos of the MagiC Carpets Platform as well as Folkestone Fringe. It has also provided our artists and the public with rich resources about the town; from it’s first inhabitation by humans before Roman times to the present day and all of the intricacies that lie in-between. It has been invaluable to have a neutral, non-art space for us to hold open, inclusive and meaningful workshops, conversations and exhibitions which you can see displayed here.
The exhibition draws connections and creates a dialogue between the artists’ research which have all been driven by local specificities, here and abroad. There have been 2 key themes which have been explored in various ways throughout the 4 years which are: People’s relationship with the land and Bridging micro and macro borders.