Latest News | 13 September 2021
Derby Festé set to make welcome return to the city centre
The popular Derby Festé event, featuring world-acclaimed and up-coming artists, is set to return to the city centre later this month.
Taking place across the Cathedral Quarter and the St Peters Quarter from Friday 24 September to Sunday 26 September, the family-friendly event has been a key feature in the Derby festivals calendar for many years.
The event regularly attracts more than 30,000 visitors. This year, a compelling programme has been put together, which will bring the city centre streets to life with contemporary and unique music, dance and street theatre performances.
Derby Festé is produced and presented by Déda, Derby LIVE, QUAD and Derby Theatre– and is funded by Arts Council England and Derby City Council.
Steve Slater, artistic lead of Derby Festé and director of Déda in Derby, said: “Since 2007, Derby Festé has existed to bring surprise, enlightenment, entertainment and amusement to local communities and visitors alike and is an important element in the city’s bid to be the UK City of Culture 2025.”
Last year, due to the pandemic, the event had to be replaced by the Derby Well Festival.
Steve said: “Last year we organised Derby Well in the city which was inspired by the traditional Derbyshire Well Dressing festivals and was well received by people keen to re-engage after the first major lockdown.
“We are delighted to return with a more recognisable Derby Festé programme this year and I think there will be a real appetite among people of all ages and communities to enjoy this cultural celebration.
“This year’s Derby Festé celebrates being present in the moment, opening your mind to the incredible imagination of talented artists and just marvelling in the spectacle that is before you.”
Highlights over the three days include Neons by Tim Etchells. Located at The Spot, Cathedral Green and Déda, in Chapel Street, his work involves using comical and poignant dialogue with everyday spaces and landscapes.
Through simple thought-provoking phrases spelt out in neon, LED and other media, Etchells strives to create miniature narratives, moments of confusion, awkwardness, reflection and intimacy in public and gallery settings.
For Derby he will create a series of ‘playful interventions’ in the city – poetic and provocative fragments in light and language which will ask us to look again at the environment we know so well.
The installations will stay lit and be a regular feature in the city centre locations until January.
Another highlight will be Chorus by award-winning artist and composer Ray Lee, which will be located at Cathedral Green.
Chorus is a monumental installation of giant kinetic sculptures, a celestial choir of spinning sound machines.
Towering above the audience, a series of giant metal tripods support rotating arms. At the end of each arm, loudspeakers emit precisely tuned musical pitches, singing out a siren call to all those present.
This year’s event will also feature Future Cargo, a sci-fi dance show performed in a 40 ft haulage truck, located at Cathedral Square, outside Derby Cathedral, in Iron Gate.
Steve said: “The joy of Festé has always been to bring people of all ages and communities both local and further afield together to enjoy performances that you would usually only see in large UK and European cities.
“As part of the City of Culture Bid it is also important to us to think about the legacy of the event, and Tim Etchells’ Neons will be shining out for months after the Festé weekend and look forward to seeing people’s reactions.”
For more information about all the acts here.
