The Floating Cinema navigated the waterways of the Olympic host
boroughs of London during summer 2011. Created by Hackney-based
architects Studio Weave
and artist duo Somewhere (Nina Pope and
Karen Guthrie), this extraordinary customised narrow boat hosted a
varied and vibrant programme of free on-board screenings, quirky
canal tours, talks and workshops. The Floating Cinema also
presented larger scale outdoor film events for canal side audiences
and informal drop-in Open Thursdays where you could meet the crew,
relax and watch rare films selected especially for the Floating
Cinema by Nina and Karen.
The Floating Cinema was a continuation of UP Projects’ Portavilion programme
of temporary pavilion commissions, this time for the waterways of
east London.
The Floating Cinema Boat & Route
The Floating Cinema is actually a boat originally named 'Cole'
owned by Annie Myers and Hazel Saunders. Originally built as a
British Waterways workboat Annie & Hazel bought Cole from
Stockton in Warwickshire and sailed her down to London 'camping' on
board. Work had already begun on adapting the boat for community
trips when we first saw it early this year, fortunately we met
Annie & Hazel just at the point that the boat shell could still
be adapted to make the onboard cinema. Starting London life on the
East End Waterways this summer, eventually the boat will be
returned to them and used for community projects ensuring the work
carried out has a long term legacy.
The Floating Cinema will navigate the waterways that connect the
boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham, Waltham Forest and Hackney with
the new Olympic Park hosting events, activities and also tours into
the Olympic Park. For more information visit the Events and Map
pages on this site.
Please note that the Floating Cinema is a customised narrow boat
and regrettably is not wheelchair accessible. Visitors enter at
their own risk. Young people under the age of 14 must be
accompanied by an adult.
Join our mailing list to get regular updates on the Floating
Cinema. Click here.
Somewhere are a
multi-disciplinary arts organisation, founded by Karen Guthrie and
Nina Pope in 1995. They produce ambitious, innovative projects
including films, digital media, live events and public art. Their
aim is to enrich the public realm with creative ideas and action.
Recent work includes 'Jaywick Escapes', their third feature film,
and What Will the Harvest Be?, a public garden near to the Olympic
Park. For the Floating Cinema, they have engaged with canal side
communities to define a 'human blueprint' of the waterways, and
have created an appealing and diverse programme of activities for
the summer.
Studio Weave is an
energetic young design practice working on art and architecture
commissions across the country. Their designs play into and explore
the quirky and eccentric characteristics that make places
distinctive, and they have brought this approach to the design of
The Floating Cinema.
For the Floating Cinema they aimed to accentuate the juxtapositions
inherent in the project: between cinema and boat; opulent
picture-house and "Roses and Castles" decoration; crisp steel
work-boat and soft upholstered interior. To realise the project,
they worked very closely with a network of makers to create a
highly-crafted outcome that conveys the skill and flair of all
those who made it.
UP Projects is a
small cultural organisation based in Tower Hamlets. We believe in
challenging perceptions of what public art can be. Operating as a
gallery without walls, we are inspired by the complexities of the
public realm to create a programme of artists' commissions,
projects, strategies and multi-disciplinary events for the public
audience.
The Floating Cinema is the latest commission in UP Projects'
Portavilion
programme, one of the most ambitious contemporary art projects to
take place in London's public realm. This ongoing project explores
the possibilities for temporary, large-scale public art, and is as
much a celebration of the city's most treasured open spaces as it
is a cultural event.
Curated by UP Projects, it launched in 2008 with four temporary
pavilions by internationally renowned artists (Dan Graham, Annika
Eriksson, Toby Paterson and Monika Sosnowska) in some of London's
most popular parks. In 2010, raumlaborberlin developed a mobile,
inflatable pavilion in partnership with some of London's leading
cultural organisations. For 2011, the Floating Cinema with
Somewhere and Studio Weave takes the project into a new territory.
Portavilion 2011 is commissioned by The Olympic Delivery Authority
as part of their Arts and Cultural strategy and funded by Arts Council England. It is an
important strand of the cultural participation programme in the
lead up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will
form part of the CREATE 11
summer festival.
Portavilion curator, Emma
Underhill said:
"Portavilion is a mobile, expanding public art project and we are
delighted to have the opportunity to develop the sixth commission
in the series, this time for east London's waterways, with
Somewhere and Studio Weave. The canals and rivers provide a
tangible connection running through the five Host Boroughs and into
the Olympic Park itself, and offer a rich environment for The
Floating Cinema to navigate."
Find out more about the ongoing Portavilion programme and our
partners here.
For press information click here.
Curated by Emma Underhill
Project Manager Laura Harford
Artists Karen Guthrie & Nina Pope (Somewhere)
Architects Studio Weave
Event Managers Laura Harford, Alice
Carey
Evaluation Rosie Heafford
Intern Bethan Johnson
Filming Britt Hatzius
Technical Support Scott Martin
Boat Refurbishment Will Austin
Puff Fabric Jeckells The Sailmakers
Puff Steel Structure AB3 Workshops
Timber Furniture Simon Jones
Curtains and Upholstery Georgia Bosson
Illustration Jill Tytherleigh
Skippers Hazel Saunders, Annie Myers
Website Dorian Fraser Moore,
fiveforandahalf
Design REG
