MAKING MORE WAVES FESTIVAL
Following our sold-out opening season, of music, theatre, dance and film, in November 2023 ARK co-presented Making More Waves with Looping the Loop - a celebration of performance created in East Kent, and featuring some of the region’s favourite creatives as well as emerging performers trying out new work, alongside workshops and professional development opportunities.
The festival launched on Friday November 10th with Drenched! hosted by Amber Topaz. Scratch performances followed throughout this and the following weekend, interspersed with experimental work from Headphone Story (Escape Room LIVE), the vacuum cleaner (Ship of Fools) and Jasmin Vardimon Company (Alice in VR Wonderland). The adult programme for Making More Waves finished with The Music Box, an exuberant celebration featuring Wyatt Riot, Snottledogs, The Nuclear Family Band, Morag Butler, Gaddzukes Ukulele Band, Moa Papillon and hosted by Katie McGarry.
ARK AUTUMN SEASON
ARK’s opening season brought together a programme of music, theatre, film and dance.
Following our late September launch, featuring Falle Nioke, Charlie Hannah, Daisy Beau, Thomas Abrahams, Jambo Africa and the Margate Social Singing Choir, our programme began with the acclaimed touring production of The Rest of Our Lives from Jo Fong and George Orange, which was nominated for UK Theatre’s Achievement in Dance.
We hosted two evenings of top-quality work from the region – Parrot Theatre’s Death and the Carpenter by Sonia Overall, and an evening of music from The New Eves, supported by Green Diesel.
Added to the mix was the wonderful Margate Social Singing Choir which celebrated its sixth birthday with a performance to raise money for ARK’s development, and a screening of East Endings - a documentary film about some of the Jewish East End’s most colourful characters - and also featured a live performance from renowned Cliftonville-based musicians Francesca Ter-Berg and Luke Eastop.
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​The season ended with a sold-out multi-media adaptation of Robert Tressel’s seminal novel, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.
REFUGEE WEEK
Photograph: Matt Hall
Cliftonville Cultural Space recently hosted an exciting programme of events, exhibitions, workshops and talks for Refugee Week, a nationwide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.
INTERNATIONAL ROMA DAY
CCS in collaboration with Nelson College, hosted an afternoon of music, dance, art, food and creative workshops to celebrate International Roma Day.
CLIFTONVILLE LIGHTS
Cliftonville Lights is a celebration of light and community. Art created by six local groups was projected on to the building, culminating in the Winter Solstice.
SHELTER
Photograph: Sarah Wyld
Shelter was an afternoon of music and workshops to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Sukkot, marking the opening of Margate NOW.