London's Burning: five day spectacular by Artichoke in Square Mile
Five day festival sweeping across London to mark the 350th anniversary of Great Fire of London this summer 2016
Spirit, Compagnie Carbosse, Lumiere Durham 2011, produced by Artichoke. Photo: Matthew Andrews
This summer it is the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, the disaster that savaged our capital in 1666. To mark this milestone LONDON'S BURING is turning the Square Mile and beyond into an educational festival, full of art installations, performances and talks for all the family to discover our city's history.
The programme takes in landmark locations across the city and includes; an underwater performance-artwork at Broadgate; a domino-like sculpture that snakes through the city’s streets tracing the multiple paths of the fire; and a spectacular riverside finale.
Produced by the same Artichoke, the people behind the mesmerising Lumiere light festival that transformed the city of London earlier this year, we expect big things from the festival.
Our favourite exhibits include HOLOSCENES. A mesmerising 6-hour underwater performance/installation exploring trauma and global warming by US based Early Morning Opera featuring individual performers going about mundane daily tasks as water levels rise around them and the kinetic sculpture DOMINOES by Station House Opera. Involving 600 volunteers, 26,000 breeze blocks and a 7km run through the city it traces the path of the Fire through the streets, buildings and public spaces. Best of all, perhaps, is the 120-metr long sculpture of Restoration London floated onto the River Thames and set alight in a dramatic retelling of the Great Fire by American artist David Best.
There's also ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN ALL THE WORLD inside Inner Temple, a dramatic exhibition that counts the cost of the Fire in grains of rice whilst four stern portraits of Fire Judgers discuss compensation a talks series featuring speakers including London’s highest-ranking female Fire Fighter and authors Ben Rawlence and Suzanne O’Sullivan; “Great Fire in 31⁄2 Pints Pub Crawl”, and free food courtesy of Fire Food Market.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The Great Fire of London was one of the most important moments in the history of the capital. The range of fantastic events taking place around its 350th anniversary shows once again that London is open to visitors from around the world.”
More information to follow.
The programme takes in landmark locations across the city and includes; an underwater performance-artwork at Broadgate; a domino-like sculpture that snakes through the city’s streets tracing the multiple paths of the fire; and a spectacular riverside finale.
Produced by the same Artichoke, the people behind the mesmerising Lumiere light festival that transformed the city of London earlier this year, we expect big things from the festival.
Our favourite exhibits include HOLOSCENES. A mesmerising 6-hour underwater performance/installation exploring trauma and global warming by US based Early Morning Opera featuring individual performers going about mundane daily tasks as water levels rise around them and the kinetic sculpture DOMINOES by Station House Opera. Involving 600 volunteers, 26,000 breeze blocks and a 7km run through the city it traces the path of the Fire through the streets, buildings and public spaces. Best of all, perhaps, is the 120-metr long sculpture of Restoration London floated onto the River Thames and set alight in a dramatic retelling of the Great Fire by American artist David Best.
There's also ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN ALL THE WORLD inside Inner Temple, a dramatic exhibition that counts the cost of the Fire in grains of rice whilst four stern portraits of Fire Judgers discuss compensation a talks series featuring speakers including London’s highest-ranking female Fire Fighter and authors Ben Rawlence and Suzanne O’Sullivan; “Great Fire in 31⁄2 Pints Pub Crawl”, and free food courtesy of Fire Food Market.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The Great Fire of London was one of the most important moments in the history of the capital. The range of fantastic events taking place around its 350th anniversary shows once again that London is open to visitors from around the world.”
More information to follow.
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| What | London's Burning: five day spectacular by Artichoke in Square Mile |
| Where | Various Locations | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Bank (underground) |
| When |
30 Aug 16 – 04 Sep 16, Activities all day |
| Price | £Free |
| Website | Click here for more information |