NOW 2007/08

Welcome to information on NOW's past and current programme of events. Keep checking our news items on the home page for advance information of what's coming up.

There've been a few changes here at NOW, but we remain committed to our principles of engaging people with creativity and enabling new and innovative creative works, and striving to ensure that learning is an integrated process in this. You'll notice on the site some changes in our staffing, telephone contact details and the credited financial assistance. But we're still here.

We still have a plethora of projects, but you'll find the number of actual events will be fewer. But they'll still be essential, so stick with us.

Learn more.

Dwelling X

Lucy Orta | Market Square

Nottingham City Centre will be whooping it up en masse for Dwelling X, a new major public structure created by international artist Lucy Orta, co-commissioned by NOW and Angel Row Gallery.

Cyberschwartze 04- NOW Mix

Ronald Fraser-Munroe | Stealth

Cyberschwartze 04 (CS04) NOW Mix is a multi-media (digital art) investigation and live art club production. CS04 base themes include the individual, urban existence and environments, creativity and expression, society, politics and the media. This event manifests itself in the multi-media digital live art club format. The work combines audio, animation, computer graphics and digital video and the club environment with live performance. CS04 also includes live DJs-Music Artists.

Battle of Orgreave

Jeremy Deller | UGC Cinema

In 1984, the National Union of Mineworkers went on strike. The dispute lasted for a year, and was the most bitterly fought since the general strike of 1926. On the 18th of June 1984, one of the strike's most violent confrontations began in a field near to the Orgreave coking plant in South Yorkshire and culminated in a cavalry charge by mounted police through the village itself.

Wordz Out

Various | UGC Cinema

The Wordz Out is a short film looking at what it means to be young and black in Nottingham.

Punch Drunk

Vincent Dance Company | Lakeside Arts Centre

Against a backdrop of decaying theatrical grandeur, Punch Drunk’s six extraordinary performers move like ghosts through a disused theatre, Taking an enthralling journey into the world of vaudeville and burlesque. Slipping in and out of half remembered acts, they piece together the tatters of a show long since past its prime.

Locator Launch

Simon Whitehead | Waterstones- Sillitoe Room

Simon Whitehead returns to NOW with an extension of 2003's Locator project, which dealt with dance and sound in natural surroundings, and was viewed online through the NOW Festival website. 2004 sees Simon releasing the project documentation as a publication based on the design of Ordinance Survey maps. Visually stunning and conceptually exciting, Locator will be available throughout the festival and is well worth a look.

Bomba Suicida

Bomba Suicida | Sandfield Theatre

Dance 4 and NOW have invited Bomba Suicida to put together a piece of work as a response to Nottingham, to be given a world premiere at the NOW Festival 2004. After visiting Dance 4's studio for a week in August, they decided to work on four indiviual, but complementary, pieces. Informed by ideas ranging from the romantic poetry of Byron to the intersection of the dreamt and the real city through to the transcendental shopping delights of the Victoria Centre, these four works will make you look at our city in a different light.

Beta Band

| The Bomb

Remember that bunch of beardy types who made off-kilter tunes back in the day? No, not ZZ Top, we’re talking about the Beta Band, fool! Think back, they wrote ‘The Beta Band Rap’, and, more importantly, a series of stupidly good albums, which culminated in this year’s From Heroes to Zeros. Well, following their untimely split earlier this year, chances to catch the boys are running low, but because we’re ace, we’ve hooked them in for a night of eclectic DJing and facial hair growth at the Bomb. Their big farewell tour kicks off in November, so here’s your one chance to catch them up close and personal...

Aerial (Brass)

Kirsty Stansfield | Bonington Gallery

In this co-commission with Bonington Gallery, Kirsty Stansfield inhabits an exhibition space with three acoustic sound boxes, all specifically designed to generate noise.

Elizabeth

Kabosh | Lakeside Arts Centre

From Dario Fo, celebrated author of such classics as Can't Pay Won't Pay and Accidental Death of an Anarchist, comes Elizabeth, a hilarious and irreverent jab at the English monarchy set in the court of the first Queen of England. The Queen is mad, Shakespeare's to blame and somebody's going to pay.

Model Citizen

Low Brow Trash | City Information Centre

Model Citizen is the latest piece of work from Low Brow Trash, in collaboration with Peter Bowcott. Fusing the popular Bank Holiday game 'Happy Families' with a somewhat bleaker intent, this event presents the audience with projected images in which they themselves appear.

Beat 13

Beat 13 | Malt Cross

In 1999, www.beat13.co.uk was built by Matt Watkins as an experimental website for displaying the audio-visual works of new talent in the hidden corners of Birmingham's creative community.

Echoes Launch Party

Threshold Studios | Malt Cross

Want exciting visual film fun? Look no further. NOW Exchangers, Threshold Studios, launch Critical Mass, a DVD of digital shorts from the East Midlands as part of this years' shindig.

Beat 13- Gallery Exhibition

Beat 13 | Malt Cross

Following on from their event on Tues 26th October, Beat 13 will be exhibiting some more of their work in the Empire Gallery at the Malt Cross.

Model Citizen- workshop projections

Low Brow Trash | Connexions

There will be closed workshops running during the week preceding Model Citizens, in which young people will get the chance to work on digital animations and short films.

In One Ear

Theatre-Rites | Lakeside Arts Centre

In this energetic new show for 3-6 year olds, everyone wants to make themselves heard! Things are not what they seem to be and nothing will keep quiet! Mischeivious musicians and a playful puppeteer conduct an ever-changing world. Instruments become puppets. People become instruments. Everything takes on a life and sound of it's own.

Feat. Kids In Tracksuits

Speakers Push The Air | The Orange Tree

Speakers Push The Air will be hijacking top popular boozery, The Orange Tree, to put on a hiphop extravaganza in conjunction with NOW. Your faithful DJ's Lapin, Badger and Mink will be tearing up the decks in their own inimitable style, mixing old school bangers with the best of today's little rhyme scallywags.

Poptones Extravaganza

Death Disco | Fuse

Contrary to popular belief, fun can be had at the end of an arts festival. Giving you a welcome bit of Sunday overtime following their belting NOW 2003 performance, Alan McGee's Death Disco mix it up Notts style by flipping the usual DJing schtick the bird in favour of a veritable feast of Poptones talent

How We Live Part 2

Casciani Evans Wood | City Information Centre

Following on from last year’s much talked about How We Live, Casciani Evans Wood and Finella Mett are collaborating once again to track the thoughts, opinions and perceptions of our city’s residents through a series of interviews and intimate portraits.

NOW Opening Party!

Alan McGee’s Rock N Roll Promz plus King Biscuit Time DJ set | The Social

We really do spoil you. After the success of Alan’s Death Disco in 2003, he’s begged us to come back and entertain you with his new show! The idea for Rock N Roll Promz came to Alan whilst onstage DJing at Glastonbury this year. Alan was the last person onsite playing music and with the tent bursting at the seams the organisers decided it was time to turn the volume down for safety reasons.

Addictive TV

Addictive TV | Stealth vs. Rescued!

A club night from the highly acclaimed Addictive TV, one of the world’s finest DJ, VJ and TV production ensembles. The London based group have been championing the art of the VJ and pushing it into the mainstream for over a decade.

Index of Deprivation

Simon Poulter | Six Ways Community Centre

Did you know the government collects statistics and data about you and your area? According to the government, Broxtowe is a deprived area. This project highlights that statistics don’t reveal the whole story about a community.

Of All The People In All The World

Stan’s Cafe | Waterstone’s Nottingham Sillitoe Room

An installation and performance making a statement about global populations using grains of rice to represent statistics.
Over four days, global statistics and human life will be carefully measured in rice, arranged and displayed in contrasting piles, creating an engaging statement of political contradictions.

Spring

Metro Boulot Dodo | Wollaton Hall

There are so many things in Polly’s garden that adults just don’t see. Talking flowers, April Showers and a chorus of singing animals to name just a few.
Polly’s favourite season is spring. She loves the smells of spring and the feel of the fresh dew on the grass through her toes. Spring is the season when everything in her garden suddenly explodes into life.

The Sorrow Sponge

Alexis O'Hara | Cabaret

NOW Exchanges event- please see NOW Exchanges section for more information

Dry Clean Only

Curious | Location and times revealed on booking.

Curious’ latest project is an exciting and intimate live art performance from London – based artist Helen Paris. Paris is known for her edgy, humorous interrogations of contemporary culture and politics.

Parallax Beat Brothers

Scanner & Pete Lockett | Nottingham Arts Theatre

This unique collaboration promises to be a creative explosion of diverse rhythms, powerful grooves, electronic soundscapes and acoustic world percussion from two of the most energetic and uplifting artists around today.

Closing Event

| Bar None

Traditionally each NOW Festival has a closing event so that we can thank our volunteers, casual staff and all the others that help to make this great Festival happen.
Frankly though, we’ve usually been too exhausted by the end of the Festival to really enjoy ourselves. So this year we’re having a breather, then celebrating in early December.
And the good news is, you’re invited too. Just keep checking online at www.beherenow.org.uk and your friendly Greenfly pack for details.

The Eye of the Pilot

Addictive TV | Cineworld Cinemas- Screen 2

Remixing the fantastic personal archive of French airline pilot Raymond Lamy, filmed during his travels in the 1950's, The Eye of the Pilot is an aerial travelogue in music and visuals with an original soundtrack by leading DVJs Addictive TV featuring live guitar from French composer Alejandro de Valera.

Exchanges Event

Konk Pack | Canalhouse (upstairs bar)

A one off Nottingham gig from the leading purveyors of awkward, startling improvised music. One for people who like their music on the edge.

Roadmetal, Sweetbread

Station House Opera | Nottingham Arts Theatre To book, contact Nottingham Arts Theatre at 0115 947 6096 http://www.artstheatre.org.uk/index.php

Station House Opera’s remarkable Roadmetal, Sweetbread has toured all over the world to huge acclaim, each time especially recreated for the particular performance space. Combining live performance with synchronized film footage, every show is unique, each space viewed in a new light, as Station House Opera tantalises the audience and works its magic from a distance.

Acoustic Mainlines

J. Spaceman | St Mary's Church

Spiritualized leader J. Spaceman brings his rare acoustic tour to a never-to-be-repeated performance in the magnificent St. Mary’s Church in the heart of Nottingham’s historic Lace Market.

Nine Years

Lone Twin | Sandfield Theatre

In 2006 Lone Twin will be nine years old and we’re planning a birthday celebration – not quite ten but no longer eight. Nine Years brings together Lone Twin’s entire body of performance works with their trademark curious and quirky humour and mesmeric freewheeling.

Leftovers

Mem Morrison | At a very special city centre venue, revealed on booking

The full English breakfast is given a Citizenship Test. Mem Morrison returns to his roots for a performance in a traditional café in Nottingham city centre, to the cultural meanings of food. Growing up above a café (until his parents moved on to run a Doner Kebab shop), for Mem food became the source of great confusion and anxiety, long before the complexities of fusion cooking.

Nottingham Panorama

Patrick Keiller and Stephen Connolly | Old Market Square

A film by Patrick Keiller and Stephen Connolly incorporating Tram Rides through Nottingham (Mitchell & Kenyon,1902) courtesy of the BFI.

Imagine a ride through Nottingham in a time machine. You travel through the city both as it is today, and as it was a century ago.