Vote Herne Bay! Vote Duchamp!!

Vote for the Duchamp Festival in the Canterbury 4 Culture awards

Marcel Duchamp

Herne Bay arts and culture lovers are being urged to vote for the town in the Canterbury 4 Culture awards. The Marcel Duchamp Festival has been nominated for four of the top accolades, and the public has their chance to vote in the category of People's Award.

Last summer it commemorated the 100 anniversary of the artist famously writing on a postcard: "I'm not dead... I'm in Herne Bay." The festival ran for three weeks and was embraced by the whole town, as well as hitting the headlines in national media too.

It has been nominated in three other categories including the best cultural experience in East Kent, offering the best project to engage the wider community and being the best event to promote the area nationally and internationally. They will be up against projects including the Turner Contemporary in Margate, and arts groups in Canterbury.

Duchamp organiser Sue Austen said:

"To be up there with arts organisations like the Turner Contemporary shows that sometimes a bunch of amateurs can be as serious and as professional as the professionals. It was a fantastic effort to put on so many events and exhibitions in such a short time. It brought the whole community together, and showed if everyone does a little, we can all achieve a lot. The nominations show we are a cultured town, so we're looking for lots of support from people in Herne Bay."erbury 4 Culture awards on Thursday, June 12

Fellow organiser Steve Coombes is spearheading the campaign to win the People's Award. He said:

"This was huge news for Herne Bay last year. This is the first time Herne Bay has had so many nominations, no town has ever got as many as this. It's really a feather in the town's cap."

You can vote in the People's Award by visiting www.thecultureawards.org

kentonline 2nd June 2014

Canterbury spouts nonsense, Herne Bay fountain of wisdom. Nobody surprised.

#FUCCC Our Council's Culture & Enterprise bureaucrats seem to think they know what Guardian readers are interested in (how?), but I put it to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that Guardian journalists have a much clearer picture of what interests their readers.

In fact, they've already said that they'll be coming to Herne Bay to cover this summer's marvellous Duchamp Centenary celebrations... FOR THEIR READERS.​

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Arts festival will bring Guardian journalists to Herne Bay

Guardian readers may not be tempted by the town but the paper's reporters will be heading to Herne Bay this summer.

Staff from the art and travel section of the national newspaper are planning to cover the three-week festival dedicated to artist Marcel Duchamp and his links with the town, amid a storm over an advert that praised Whitstable and Canterbury but left out Herne Bay.

Tourism chiefs, who paid up to £10,000 for the full-page feature in the Guardian's travel section, say they were concentrating on the brands most likely to attract Guardian readers. But at a meeting organised by the team behind the August festival, they revealed the paper's journalists were looking forward to their visit.

The festival marks 100 years since Duchamp spent a month in Herne Bay, a period believed to be critical to his career. Volunteer Sue Austen, from Bayguide, which is behind the festival, said it could be a boost to the whole town. Southeastern trains have agreed to display posters on board. She said:

"It will hopefully encourage people to Herne Bay who have not been before. It will be covered by the Guardian arts section and Guardian travel section and is already listed in Coast magazine as one of the top things to do this summer."

Sue revealed both Kent County Council and Visit Kent had readily offered support, but said "conversations were ongoing" with Canterbury City Council, who have so far offered to waive the rent on the Kings Hall for a one-day conference to discuss the artist's work.

Steve Coombes, who stood in the KCC elections to raise awareness of the festival, added:

"Charlotte Higgins is the chief arts writer of the Guardian and we have been in enthusiastic communication about the Marcel Duchamp Centenary, by email and phone, since last October. The same is also true of the Times, Telegraph and BBC arts. Unlike the CCC dept of Culture and Enterprise, they were all thrilled by the idea."

Members of the Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain are also planning to take part, after Ralph Steadman created a one-off design for a promotional poster. They will create cartoons for toilets, pubs and other places and there will also be quotes from Duchamp in unusual places around the town and themed window displays from shops.

David Cross, who will be curating the gallery shows, said:

"We would like to make it successful to show them that Herne Bay can be - and has got to be - equal to Whitstable and Canterbury."

Other events planned include an open exhibition at Beach House from July 11 and introducing Mr D at Herne Bay Museum from July 16. Invited artists will show their work at galleries around the town from July 23 and there will also be an art bike trail.

Children can take part in workshops and add their own designs to postcards for a pop-up gallery, and live music, street theatre and chess games are also planned.

Jason Hollingsworth, from Bayguide, said:

"There is a huge cultural legacy to this. There will be a trail and a plaque on the house where he stayed in Downs Park."

For more information on the festival, or to get involved as a volunteer, visit www.iamnotdead.co.uk

Canterbury Times 24th May 2013

This really pisses me off

Tourism chiefs say Herne Bay won't tempt Guardian readers after leaving it out of national advert for the district

Tourism bosses have been accused of overlooking Herne Bay after promoting Whitstable and Canterbury in a national newspaper.

Officials at Visit Canterbury paid up to £10,000 for the full-page advertising feature in the Guardian Travel Guide, with a mention for the Canterbury Food and Drink Festival, Whitstable Oyster Festival, The Beaney, Roman Museum and the Marlowe Theatre - but not the Kings Hall or the Herne Bay Festival.

Deesons and The Goods Shed in Canterbury, Jojo's in Tankerton and the Sportsman at Seasalter are also given a plug, but there is no reference to any Herne Bay venue, with celebrity favourite Le Petit Poisson, the top-rated Oyster and Chop House and new restaurant Mushy Peas all left out.

The omission was raised at a meeting of Herne Bay Area Panel by Sue Austen from BayGuide, the team staging a festival to celebrate the centenary of artist Marcel Duchamp's stay in Herne Bay.

She was speaking to support their application for funding to help promote the festival in August and said visitors were expected from America and Europe as well as all across the country.

Showing councillors a one-off design by cartoonist Ralph Steadman, she said:

"What you will get for your money is this, a specially designed poster from an internationally respected artist to promote Herne Bay. What you won't get is a full page Guardian advert about Canterbury and Whitstable that nowhere mentions Herne Bay."

The first paragraph of the advertorial refers to the district's "perfect blend of heritage, culture and coast", and it goes on to recommend a stroll along Tankerton Slopes to savour "Whitstable's beautiful sunsets" - ignoring Herne Bay's beaches just a few miles away.

It praises Whitstable's "picturesque" appearance, the harbour and the retail village there - but not Herne Bay pier, due to have its own selection of beach hut shops this summer.

Jenny Cross, from the Friends of Herne Bay Museum, said she was disappointed with the advert. In a letter to council bosses, she said:

"We have a beach, huts, ice-cream, fish 'n chips, three art galleries, museum, festival, sailing club, yacht club, even half a pier! This summer we have a festival celebrating a hundred years since Marcel Duchamp, the most influential artist of the 20th century spent a summer in Herne Bay. Given all this, plus loads of independent shops and cafes, the least you could do is give us a mention!"​

I have no idea where this picture comes from, but it's Janice McGuinness

But Janice McGuinness, head of culture at Canterbury City Council, argued Guardian readers would not be tempted by Herne Bay. She said:

"With all opportunities to promote the district, including articles such as this, we always consider who our target market is. For the Guardian, the focus of this advertorial was on culture, heritage and food. The council's approach here was to focus on the brands most likely to catch the attention of the Guardian Weekend's readers and attract them to the Visit Canterbury website."

She said the website contained information about Herne Bay and the district's villages, and the town would be promoted "on other channels". She added:

"Our Visit Canterbury Team carries out an enormous amount of promotion for the district and Herne Bay features regularly in this work. We will promote the town and the forthcoming Duchamp and Herne Bay Festivals through other channels over the coming months when we highlight the excellent cultural programme happening over the summer in Herne Bay, Whitstable and Canterbury."

Canterbury Times 23rd May 2013

#FUCCC

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You can email Janice McGuinness on: janice.mcguinness@canterbury.gov.uk​ or Tweet her on @seahorsebella

Herne Bay needs Duchampions!

The organisers of the Marcel Duchamp Centenary in Herne Bay are holding a public meeting on Thursday 23 May at 6pm at Beach Creative, Beach Street, Herne Bay (the building on the corner of Kings Road and Beach Street). 

With only 2 months to go before our first exhibitions open, we are inviting everyone in the district to come and hear more about our exciting plans and find out how they can be a festival Duchampion.

The list of events and activities grows by the week and it will be the biggest celebration of the town in years. It is inclusive and fun and there will be something for everyone, whatever your age or taste in art.

Apart from the International Symposium, about 40 recognised artists are contributing original works inspired by Duchamp’s moment in Herne Bay. As are a host of local artists.  There will be chess and music and philosophy in pubs and art bike trails and films and workshops and pop-ups and ready-mades and exhibitions about Herne Bay, both then and now. 

So we need people to Duchampion Herne Bay.  Lots of people. Perhaps you want to Duchampion the music at the bandstand or the cut-outs on the beach.  Maybe you want to Duchampion visitors around town, or pedal the bike cinema for a couple of hours, or put up cartoons in pub lavatories or Duchampion an exhibition or a workshop.  We need Duchampions at the station, Duchampions on the phone and Duchampions to organise other Duchampions. 

So if you’ve got any free time from now until August come and help celebrate Herne Bay’s unique contribution to the fun of Art and the Art of Fun.

If you can't come to the meeting next week, here are details of how you can contact us to find out more:

• Have a look at the Duchamp website: www.iamnotdead.co.uk​
• Contact Sue Austen at: sue@bayguide.co.uk​

Councillors handing out our money

Herne Bay councillors could give away the rest of their community budget at next week's meeting

Councillors could allocate the rest of their budget for community projects at their next meeting. Members of Herne Bay Area Panel will discuss two applications for their opportunities fund at their meeting on Tuesday. If both are approved, it will take up the remaining £8,000 and leave no cash spare until April next year.

The schemes under consideration are allotments for Broomfield, from Herne and Broomfield Parish Council, and promotion for the Duchamps festival this summer, from Bayguide Community Interest Company.

The panel has already given Herne and Broomfield Parish Council £1,200 for mural painting on the Mill Lane underpass, and £186 to Herne Bay Historical Records Society for commemorative medallions for schoolchildren.

An application from the BayPromoTeam for money to fund workshops for children and other free events was refused.

Councillors will make the decision at their next meeting, at 6.30pm on Tuesday, 21st May in the Salvation Army Hall in Richmond Street. It is open to the public.

thisiskent 14th May 2013

Inspirational Herne Bay

Marcel Duchamp having a bit of a think

How Herne Bay reinvigorated a famous French artist

When influential French artist Marcel Duchamp arrived in Herne Bay, he was considering giving up art, but after four weeks in the town he returned to Europe full of new ideas.

His time in Herne Bay will be celebrated with a three-week festival starting at the end of July, featuring exhibitions, talks, and a schools programme in which Bay youngsters produce their own works of art to display. Organiser Sue Austen said:

"Marcel Duchamp has been voted the most influential artist of the 21st century but when he arrived in Herne Bay at the beginning of August 1913 he was just 26 and deeply depressed by the reception his last major painting, Nude Descending a Staircase, had received at the Armory Show in New York.

He was here to chaperone his sister Yvonne who was studying English at Lynton College. He contemplated giving up art forever, but after four short weeks Duchamp returned to Europe, refreshed and intellectually invigorated. Later that year he produced the first kinetic sculpture, Bicycle Wheel, published his ideas on objets trouvés and created the totally unique Three Standard Stoppages.

The art world reeled from his new ideas – our town often has this effect on people."

Sue, who together with Jason Hollingsworth make up the BayGuide team behind the festival, said the aim was to show that Herne Bay was still a special place.

An exhibition of work by invited local artists will be curated by David Cross and staged at Beach House, the Bay Art Gallery and the King's Hall, along with outdoor exhibitions and pop-up galleries.

There will also be a talk by Mike Bundock of Herne Bay Historical Records Society on what the town was like at the time, a sculpture trail curated by Karen Simpson and a symposium at the King's Hall curated by Duchamp expert Francis M Naumann.

For more information visit iamnotdead.co.uk or their Facebook site. The team will also tweet from @Duchamp_HB

Plans to celebrate artist Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp

Artist Marcel Duchamp wrote "I am not dead, I am staying in Herne Bay" during a visit to the town 100 years ago this year.

To mark the centenary, Sue Austen and Jason Hollingsworth, who run Bayguide.co.uk, are planning a three-week, town-wide celebration. It would feature exhibitions, a film festival and history walks and the pair are hoping people will get in touch to lend items they could use. Mr Hollingsworth said:

"We want to see this event marked in a variety of different ways. The town's reputation as an artistic centre is growing, along with that of the whole north Kent coast, and as part of this movement a Duchamp celebration would be a fantastic way to promote our vibrant town, during its busiest summer months. We think this will not only attract local attention but also draw visitors from the rest of Kent, London and the South East as well as giving our town great positive publicity to rival that of our neighbours."

They are appealing for articles, memorabilia, images and especially postcards sent from Herne Bay and post-marked 1913 to borrow for the festival. Artists are also invited to get involved by submitting a piece to an exhibition called "I am not dead, I am in Herne Bay".

Duchamp was in Herne Bay for August and part of September 1913 while his sister Yvonne studied English at Lynton College in Downs Park. That year is said to be a turning point in his work.

For more information about the planned Duchamp celebration, visit www.iamnotdead.co.uk or e-mail jason@bayguide.co.uk

HB Times 4th Jan 2013