QUAD Derby

Derby Festé 2008

Artists: Many

Venue: QUAD, Market Place and local area

Date: 26th - 28th September 2008

After the massive success of Derby Festé 2007, QUAD along with Déda and the cultural partners of Derby came up with an even bigger, bolder programme of spectacular entertainment.

Derby Festé 2008 took place from Friday 26th - Sunday 28th September and framed two significant events in Derby in September; QUAD opened its doors, providing the city with a signature building for art and film, and this sat alongside the launch of the Cultural Olympiad - a four-year national programme of activity running up to the London Olympics in 2012.

Friday 26th September Highlights

Denis Tricot's Sculpture Garden - Internationally renowned artist Denis Tricot began to create a large scale wooden sculpture at the River Gardens that you could watch over the weekend.

2pm QUAD opened! - Crowds gathered to be amongst the first to see inside Derby's new £11 million centre for art and film.

The Giants of Derby awaken - kicking off Festé 08 the Giants of Derby mingled with the crowds on the Market Place. The Giants are all based on characters from Derby's past, gathering to mark the historic moment as QUAD opens its doors. Brought back to life by local people, as part of a Heritage Lottery Funded project.

An invasion of Insects! Spanish street art company Sarruga (who brought us The Dragons in 2007), made a welcome return to Derby with Insects, another of their incredible shows.

Heliosphere - Spiralling and spinning and seemingly weighless, an acrobat suspended beneath a helium balloon explored the Market Place (see picture).

Highlights Saturday 27th September

Workshops: Digital Face Painting in the GHC Mac Suite, plus Absurd Inventions art workshop for all ages.

Festé Trigger event. An exciting night of audiovisual experiments and fun. 

Highlights Sunday 28th September

Workshops: Digital Face Painting in the GHC Mac Suite, plus Absurd Inventions art workshop for all ages.

Compagnie Beau Geste presented Transports Exceptionnels, an extraordinary show based on a tender love duet between a dancer and an industrial digger: not for the fainthearted.

The People's Stage - on the Market Place celebrated the full diversity of Derby with a programme of performances by local groups and organisations from all over the city.

Gravity and Levity - an acclaimed mixture of contemporary dance, aerial circus and physical theatre performed in the Assembly Rooms Great Hall.

SuperRams - a special screening in the QUAD cinema, a compilation of classic moments from Derby County's history, created by Philip Leach, archivist and curator at MACE (Media Archive of Central England), in association with Derby County FC. The screening was introduced by Simon Groom and included appearances by several ex-Derby players including Reg Harrison, Roy McFarland and Roger Davies.

Denis Tricot - as a beautiful and reflective close to the weekend's festivities, the large scale wooden sculpture created by Denis Tricot in the River Gardens was set alight.