Arts festival promises journey of discovery

Kelly Mullan

London’s sixth annual Liberty Festival on Saturday (30 August) will see Trafalgar Square taken over by Deaf and disabled artists showcasing talents in spheres as diverse as film and food.

To aid navigation of this heady mix, Trafalgar Square will be divided into nine zones celebrating: film and video, club life, children’s art, carnival, street art, visual art, food, circus, comedy and caberet.

Organisers are promising a “journey of discovery”, with the emphasis on participation and fun, with many zones offering an interactive experience.

Festival-goers can create their own video postcards, learn to make carnival masks and costumes, or take part in dance, music, or circus skills workshops.

There will even be pole dancers, with acrobatic sway-pole dancing in the performance tipped to be Liberty 2008’s highlight: The Medal Ceremony, an international collaboration between disability theatre company Graeae and Australian acrobats Strange Fruit.

Elsewhere in the square, the film and video zone will screen a programme of short films by Deaf filmmakers.

In the club zone, young VJs will present original digital material and performances by artists Ellie Young  and Anya Ustaszewski. The children’s zone will feature storytelling and puppetry.

New features this year will be the visual arts and installations threaded throughout the festival, and the launch of Blue Madonna, a restaurant with accessibility as its core ingredient.

The  restaurant is the brainchild of disabled chef Simon Rapkin, owner of Hampstead’s Ravel’s bistro, and David Morris, disability adviser to London’s mayor.

Morris is also a chef and poet, and creates food through the use of personal assistance.

The two are promising a food demonstration, live music and poetry, as well as photography and street artists.

Following the success of last year’s festival, expectations for Liberty 2008 are high, though cuts in disability arts funding and a change of mayor have raised some fears about its future.

*The festival will take place from 1pm to 6pm