Festival of Football Ideas 'Heading" to Bristol
Posted on: 02 May 2014Tickets are now available for 'A Festival of Football Ideas' which is heading to Bristol this summer with events running from Friday May 30th until Saturday June 14th at The Planetarium by At-Bristol on Millennium Square between 7pm and 9pm each evening.
The brainchild of a group of Bristol artists and football fans, 'A Festival of Football Ideas' is an event that aims to break out from the stereotype of the typical football fan. With this summer's World Cup in Brazil, the festival is perfectly timed to show that many football fans are interested in arts and culture, and so the Festival of Football Ideas was born: a two week long celebration of football, literature, art, film and music.
Organiser and Director of the festival Brett Atkinson said of his own experience: “At art school I would often use football as a theme for my work. However, I was repeatedly told football wasn’t an appropriate subject for art. I used to think to myself, those people had obviously never seen Eric Cantona’s volley against Wimbledon in ‘94. Since then, I’ve always been interested in marrying up my two loves.”
The Festival of Football Ideas will take place at the At-Bristol Planetarium, (although organisers refer to it as the big metal football!). The Festival will run each night in the build up to this summer's World Cup in Brazil, from Friday 30th May – Saturday June 14th and will feature talks and performances from artists, academics, musicians, playwrights and comedians, including:
• Broadcaster, writer and FA-commissioned poet, Musa Okwonga
• Photography from Olivia Mann and Alison Palmer, who have been following the England Women’s Team
• The Guardian’s Daniel Harris and Carrie Dunn and writer for The Independent and Mirror, Darren Richman
• A DJ live sound-tracking the first round tie between Spain and Holland
• Playwright, Paul Jenkins performing his BBC Radio 4 commissioned play, Red Star Newport.
• Academics, Dr Jean Williams from DMU, and Dr Mike O’Mahony from UoB,
• Experimental art-works created by Bristol-based CFPR Editions and Colourstory.
For full details please visit the Festival’s website: www.fofi.org.uk.
Two talks will take place each evening, split into two ‘halves’ of 45 minutes, with a half time break. Tickets for the majority of events will cost £5 and can be booked now through the website.
The Festival is not-for profit and has been created, curated and run entirely by a group of friends and volunteers, for the love of Football and Art. Atkinson again: “A few years ago I visited the Arnolfini in Bristol with my friend and co-organiser of the festival, David Abbott. We went to watch a double bill of football films and were excited at the thought that Art had invited Football into one of its hallowed institutions. We looked forward to meeting kindred-spirits. On entering the auditorium, we found there were only three other people there. By the end of the first film, it was just the two of us left. This experience planted the seed of the idea for the festival. I knew there were plenty of artists and creative people who also liked football – we just had to gather them all together.”
365Bristol are proud to support FOFI as a lead media partner for these events. Feel free to tweet us using #365Bristol from the festival!
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
