New Up Projects commission: Harry Meadley On the Bench Jan to August 2017
On The Bench by Harry Meadley. Image: Harry Meadley
On the Bench | Harry Meadley
The Floating Cinema & UP Projects
Sheffield to Hull
Jan - August 2017
...On the Bench is a new commission by artist Harry Meadley being presented on The Floating Cinema during the 2017 Hull City of Culture celebrations.
As conveyed by its title, the work plays on the ambiguity that comes with not being directly involved, but instead waiting for the chance to be part of something. Created in collaboration with residents dispersed across the industrial landscape of South and East Yorkshire, On the Bench features conversations with individuals articulating how new opportunities for creative expression are identified. Through frank and personal discussions, a range of topics are covered including the relationship between central and peripheral geographical locations; the influence of education on imagination; and the complexity of positioning alternative stories in order to challenge dominant narratives. Collectively the eight episodes that form the series underline the dynamics between culture, creativity and identity.
Building on Meadley’s interest in humour as a device to explore complex issues and spurred on by his circumstances as an artist contemplating his own trajectory, On the Bench is a part biographical, part autobiographical work, where personal concerns and modes of navigation are highlighted and imagined futures are articulated.
Following the format of web-based interviews by comedians, On the Bench will exist as an online series while simultaneously being presented on The Floating Cinema.
The Floating Cinema will tour to the following eight locations; Sheffield, Rotherham, Swinton, Doncaster, Thorne, Goole, South Ferriby and Hull from 1st July – 13th August 2017 and will feature a programme of independent films that expand on the themes of On the Bench.
On the Bench is a commission by UP Projects for The Floating Cinema.
The commission and The Floating Cinema is supported by Arts Council England, BFI, Film Hub North, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Canal & River Trust and forms part of Hull City of Culture 2017.
The programme for this year's The Floating Cinema will be delivered in partnership with organisations based in and around the tour locations.
More info can be found here