FREQUENCY International Festival of Digital Culture returns to Lincoln later this month (24-27 October 2019), transforming the city’s rhythm over four days with a jam-packed festival programme that will challenge perceptions, capture imaginations and inspire change.
For its fifth edition, streets, screens and public spaces across the city will be bursting with exciting exhibitions, talks, workshops and live performances by artists exhibiting across the UK and beyond. Everyone is invited to come and explore immersive and interactive digital experiences; discover thought-provoking and playful exhibitions; get inspired in family-friendly workshops and activities; and get involved in debates about digital culture that affect us all.
Fun and playful, yet balanced with timely debate, the biennial international festival of digital culture will see artists, creative technologists and visitors come together in the city of Lincoln to experience an extraordinary showcase of digital creativity.
‘Disruption = Cultural Reinvention’ is the theme for 2019, with a programme that tackles some of society’s greatest debates – from the environmental to the personal – and a new narrative, which is weaved throughout the festival as it responds to the changing city in a global and national context.
Frequency Festival Co-Director, Sam Lindley, said: “For 2019 we’re entering a new and exciting phase for Frequency Festival. With the same ingredients as previous years but with a new shorter, sharper rhythm over four fantastic days. The programme is playful yet poignant as everyone is welcomed to the city of Lincoln to explore and debate current issues and conversations with hope, optimism and a celebration of all things digital.
“Digital touches everyone in every walk of life in some way, and we want to embed that spirit of openness and equality into the festival experience. ”
Experience and book a car for A Moment of Madness, an innovative piece of live theatre by The Other Way Works, which thrusts the audience into the heart of a spy thriller; see MAGA Grabber by artist Annabel McCourt, a political reinterpretation of the arcade claw machine in a direct response to Trump’s now infamous brag ‘Make America Great Again’; and upload or unplug, it’s your choice in Pell Ensemble’s live performance and gaming experience Upload/Unplug where your choices become data, uploaded to shape a human being. Will your data be put to good use? What happens to it once the experience is over?
Take the festival trail and find slow Gifs made from words found in the bin as artist Rhiannon Armstrong rethinks these short flashing videos, which have become a part of our normal life, into something slower, gentler and altogether more human.
For the first time, on Friday 25 October audiences are invited to extend their Frequency journey at Frequency: Digital After Dusk to see the city and festival in a different light. With exhibitions and installations opening later and events and happenings taking place until 9pm, take a twilight stroll and enjoy Halo lighting up the castle grounds after dark, follow a light parade down the hill, stop in at the pop up cinema, revel in cutting-edge art and performances, VR experiences and interactive sound art as well as a silent disco on the streets.
Also new for 2019, is THE MEET UP. This inaugural event will take place on Wednesday 23 October, bringing together collective voices from across the creative industries and education sector alongside key influencers and policy makers to champion Women in Tech, this years theme. It will include a keynote speech by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, a recognised thought-leader in the Tech sector and listed among the world’s top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes (2018).
For curious young minds, family-friendly pop-up space The Fabratory on Cornhill is back thanks to official sponsor of the space, Siemens. With workshops and drop-in activities for ages five and up, make a Lego WeDo model then learn to programme sensors, motors and lights to bring it to life. Play interactive games and compete with your friends in a Driverless Car Challenge. Girls are also invited to a special workshop with the STEMettes, where they can learn about coding, make friends and get inspired.
Neil Corner, Managing Director, Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery, said: “We are delighted to partner with Frequency Festival 2019 and support this local event. We want to help encourage tomorrow’s engineers and hope the activities in The Fabratory will spark interest and inquisitiveness in engineering. We are also pleased to be part of THE MEET UP 2019. Through events such as this, myself and my colleagues welcome the opportunity to share some of our own experiences and act as ambassadors for a diverse and inclusive workplace.”
The international ambition of Frequency Festival and the festival’s producers Threshold Studios, is to be an agent of change. Harnessing the power of culture and creativity to have a social impact, championing hope and positive societies and places to reach democratically and positively impact people economically.
Frequency Festival Co-Director, Uzma Johal MBE, explained: “Since the Festival began eight years ago, our relationship with the digital realm has changed significantly. With technology advancing at such a rapid pace, innovative ideas continue to emerge, disrupting the status quo. Whether its radical changes to our local high street, the impact of mobile phones and our online persona on our personal relationships or how we form a view on the world around us, digital has become intrinsic to everything we do.”
Frequency Festival has evolved into a unique, innovative offering, connecting artists and audiences in exciting new ways. Since 2011, Frequency has been committed to nurturing the next generation of creative talent to develop skills and connect to industry in a way that is meaningful and mutually beneficial for students, graduates, volunteers, businesses and employers.
Frequency 2019 will be hosted in Lincoln from 24–27 October 2019. Tickets to THE MEET UP are available to book via: Frequency.org.uk/TheMeetUp
See the full festival programme.
