Oxford Festival of the Arts has revealed its exciting virtual summer season after raising over £22,000 for a school in Uganda.
Singer-songwriter Sam Smith recently starred in an online fundraiser which launched this year’s OFA programme, raising the cash for Mustardseed Junior School in Uganda, the partner of Oxford’s Magdalen College School (MCS).
MCS founded Oxford Festival of the Arts in 2009 and the school remains its principal sponsor.
This year’s events includes dance, theatre, visual arts, film, music, street performance and even wine tasting.
Drinking With Bach, on Thursday June 10 at 7.30pm, features broadcaster Hannah French and wine historian Ron Merlino discussing Bach and pairing their musical choices with complementary wines. Accompanying taster packs from The Oxford Wine Company are available from the festival website.
NoGravity Dance Company perform Inferno based on Dante’s La Divina Commedia, marking the 700th anniversary of the poet’s death, online on Thursday June 17 at 7.30pm.
And multimedia artist Miwa Matreyek performs Myth and Infrastructure and This World Made Itself, below, combining animation, projection and shadow work online on Thursday June 24 at 7.30pm.
During May and June OFA, in collaboration with Oxfordshire Artweeks, present short films about the work of four Oxford artists: Becky Paton mosaicist, Vital Peeters glass artist, Elaine Kazimierczuk landscape painter and Piotr Gargas sculptor.
And in May, June and July the festival presents films of the winning scores from the Say it in 60 seconds composition project for solo trumpet performed by Brendan Ball.
The Phoenix Art Project, in partnership with Oxfordshire Artweeks, is open until July 11.
The Phoenix is a symbol of rebirth, life, hope and magic and OFA is calling for artistic responses in any medium that can be digitised. The project is open to all and entries will be displayed in an online gallery.
OFA and The Story Museum celebrate Oxford’s famous Alice’s Day on Saturday July 3 from 10.30am with a roaming street performance in central Oxford featuring Alice in giant puppet form, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and talking flowers.
OFA has also commissioned a new choreography and music composition, Gaia - Gaian Thinking Is Not a Luxury performed by Contact Dance Company which will premiere on the OFA YouTube channel on Wednesday July 7, below.
Organisers say it’s part of a call out to community dance groups in Oxford and its twin cities - Bonn, Grenoble, Leiden, Padua, Wrocław, Perm, Leon, and Ramallah - to respond to the theme of Gaia.
The Global Dance Film of the works sent in by the dance groups will premiere at the same time.
Festival director Dr Michelle Castelletti said: “As I always say, we must find ways to dance in the rain, and to build turbines for gales.
“Thinking creatively is what we do in the Arts sector; and this is our way of doing so.”
Helen Pike, Master of MCS, said: “Once again the Oxford Festival of the Arts brings us enchantment, inspiration and above all enjoyment. ”
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