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Suffolk-raised artist Robert Pacitti has
been named as the winning artist for the East of England in Artists taking
the lead, one of the major projects for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
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Pacitti's winning idea, 'On Landguard
Point', is a mass public research project around notions of home, where
large-scale participatory, outdoor events will accumulate to create a
community feature film. The events will take place across the region and
explore themes of trade, defence and migration.
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Highlights will include events at
Landguard Fort, site of the last successful defence of England; an entire
street painted black to create a stage and marketplace for culture; 205
black flags flown around the coast and then replaced by those of
participating Olympic countries; four huge feasts, each for 1,000 people,
serving food from all of the 205 participating countries; and a touring
exhibition of ephemera in disused shops across the East of England.
The project will also provide a training ground for young people, with
local participants shadowing professionals in all areas of production.
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Pacitti will work with a stellar line-up
of collaborators, including composer Michael Nyman, choreographer Wayne
McGregor, and a number of international artists. Large numbers of
local people will be involved as participants and audience, including
brass bands, free runners, and kite flyers.
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The final film 'On Landguard Point' will
be premiered at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival in May 2012, followed by
multiple screenings across the East and international distribution.
Over 2,000 artists entered Artists taking
the lead, with independent panels of artists and producers selecting 12
extraordinary projects to receive commissions totaling £5.4 million, one
for each of the nine English regions and the nations of Northern Ireland,
Scotland and Wales. Each of them is directly inspired by their location and
will celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games across
the UK.
The 12 winning commissions will be
developed across 2010 and 2011. All 12 will take part in a final unifying
celebration, prior to the opening of the London 2012 Olympic Games and
Paralympic Games. Further details are available at www.artiststakingthelead.org.uk.
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