News
Friday, 01 April 2011
Oxfordshire Groups Invited to Join Olympic Community Festivities
Schools and community groups in Oxfordshire are invited to apply to take part in ‘The Tree of Light’ – a project that culminates in spectacular large-scale outdoor performances in locations along the River Thames in summer 2012.
Oxfordshire based cultural organisations CIAO! (Children’s International Arts Organisation), Henley Festival and Oxford Inspires are part of an arts consortium, Thames Arts, that has been awarded a major grant by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to create a cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Five spectacular events will take place in the Thames region giving more than one thousand participants from Oxford, Reading, Henley, and Windsor and Slough the chance to take part in all the excitement of 2012.
The centrepiece of the project will be a giant sculpted Tree of Light lit by low energy LED light and powered by sustainable energy largely generated by cyclists and rowers from each local community. The year long project will not only celebrate the Olympic movement but will also highlight the need to live and work with sustainability and the natural environment and culminate in a major weekend celebration prior to the games.
The application process for schools and community groups across the Thames region wishing to be involved is now open. Applications can be made at http://www.thetreeoflight.org until 30th April 2011. Successful applicants will work with tree specialists and professionals from the worlds of visual arts, music and dance to create a huge outdoor performance piece over the next 12 months.
Dugald Mackie, Chair of Legacy Trust UK said: “The Tree of Light will help spread the magic and excitement of the 2012 Games outside London and leave a lasting legacy across the South East of England. The Games aren’t just for two weeks, and they’re not just for sports fans. Through projects such as this, they will have an enduring impact on many people’s lives.”
Karen Draisey, Artistic Director of CIAO! And the Oxford Hub event said: ‘after the success in Oxfordshire of the CIAO! Ark project last year we now relish the challenge of bringing together schools and community groups in an exciting exploration of the relevance of trees to our lives and to the wellbeing of the planet. We welcome applications from a diverse range of groups with a spirit of adventure and a desire to share the magic of the London Olympic and Paralympic games through these community celebrations.’
The creative team for the project include the innovative high tech theatrical design duo Block 9 who have become a regular fixture at Glastonbury Festival, leading Composer Orlando Gough who is one of the UK’s most highly rated composers for ballet, contemporary dance and theatre and Choreographer Charlie Morrissey whose achievements include production elements for the opening of the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002. Stewart Collins, Artistic Director of the Henley Festival and Chair of BAFA, joins the Tree of Light team as the project’s Artist Director.
The Thames Arts Consortium is made up of the following partners: CIAO! Festival, Henley Festival, Oxford Inspires and Windsor Festival. The Tree of Light is supported by a grant from Arts Council England and is also strongly supported by local authorities and bodies across the *Thames region.
