The b-side Festival, Dorset’s internationally recognised celebration of arts and community, is returning this September for four days of incredible artworks, performances and experiences created by artists of both national and international acclaim.
From Thursday September 5th to Sunday September 8th, the contemporary arts festival will take over the Isle of Portland, hosting 16 artists who will be exploring ideas around migration and identity embodying this year’s theme - Who Do We Think We Are?
The 2024 festival is a poignant and inspirational celebration of how communities might share their narratives of movement and migration, from around the corner to across the globe. The theme explores the many stories that make up the lives of both the residents of and visitors to this somewhat remote coastal area of Dorset. Portland is deeply connected to notions of migration, having been home to many temporary communities throughout its history, and the festival is reflective of the many facets that make up the isle’s identity.
The installations at b-side are as unique and diverse as the island itself, and include outdoor artworks inspired by Persian myths of migration, tiny artworks with gigantic meaning in the form of SIM cards, and the transformation of £5 bank notes into portraits of festivalgoers. This year’s event is also a celebration of innovation showing how local and international communities connect through creativity.
For 2024, b-side will take place across various sites across the Isle of Portland. Many events are free of charge, allowing everyone to attend and enjoy the diverse offerings. All are welcome to enjoy the walks, talks, incredible artworks and experiences created by artists who bring a fresh outlook on how people see themselves and each other.
For more details on all events visit b-side.org.uk
Taking Art at Face Value
There’s a new currency coming to Portland! Bringing a unique take to the expression of identity to b-side 2024 is German-born artist Harald Smykla, winner of the 2022 Brewers Towner International Art Prize. Smykla will be inviting visitors to sit for a very special kind of portrait, in which he will 're-face' real money. Watch as he transforms the familiar portraits seen on English banknotes, such as Sir Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, and the late Queen Elizabeth II, to become the face of the sitter.
Smykla’s work frequently involves the public realm, engaging people from all backgrounds and age groups as incidental audiences and active participants in shared art experiences. Mimicking their graphic styles and colour schemes, Smykla’s work will see him engrave meticulous likenesses of visitors to b-side into the banknotes’ plastic surfaces so that the currency is representative of the island’s - and the nation's - increasingly diverse population.
With money being such a universal concept, the work is reflective of how closely individual’s value their identity, and how this is not something that can be bought monetarily. The artwork becomes valuable to the individual beyond the value of the actual money Smykla uses as his canvas.
b-side.org.uk/artist/harald-smykla/
The Art of SIMplicity
Artist and anthropologist Liz Hingley is bringing her SIM Project to b-side. This interdisciplinary work blends photography, workshop practice and curation to illuminate and explore systems of belonging and belief that shape societies around the world. Hingley’s works draw on the connections between languages, technology and generations, to create a modern piece that draws on the traditional medium of photography, updated in a very 21st century way with the use of SIM cards (the tiny integrated circuit which stores all your information on a mobile phone).
SIM cards have become crucial to opening channels that connect people to their loved ones, providing a portable sense of belonging. The SIM Project gives tangible meaning to these virtual networks and explores how the images people take, create and exchange on their smartphones create a map of their place in the world.
In workshops, which combine analogue and digital photography with jewellery making, Portland residents will create unique glass prints from personal screenshots using a bespoke camera, framed in metal. These small artworks - reflecting the size and shape of a SIM card - will be large in meaning with their personalised expressions of visitors’ identities, these will then become part of Hingley's installation. lizhingley.com
The Red Dress Project
Arriving at b-side after a 14-year global tour, The Red Dress Project has invited embroiderers from around the world to stitch artistic expressions onto it, with 380 individuals from across 51 countries contributing to the piece. reddressembroidery.com
On the Fringe
Expanding the festival’s celebrations, the b-side Fringe, running from August 31 – September 8, offers eight additional days of artistic endeavours shining the light on Portland's talented residents who will be sharing their creative skills with visitors, friends, and neighbours.
