Turning Tides Festival 2019
Greenwich Peninsula
To celebrate the opening of The Tide, London’s first riverside linear park (featuring artworkby Damien Hirst, Allen Jones & Morag Myerscough) on Greenwich Peninsula, the creative neighbourhood hosted the Turning Tides festival, a free festival for art, music & wellness. The park was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the co-designers of Manhattan’s High Line.
The festival programme curated by Matt Nightingale included a main stage (co-curated with Glenn Max, Creative Director of Village Underground & EarTH) featuring headline performances by Mulatu Astatke, Gaz Coombes, Tank & The Bangas, Oumou Sangare and a specially created closing event call The River Knows, concieved by Glenn Max and with Musical direction from Dave Okumu. A rich line up of guest vocalists, featuring Kwabs, Beth Orton, Nadine Shah, Gruff Rhys, Andreya Triana, Rosie Lowe, Eska, Nilufer Yanya, Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney and many more will gather to interpret the worlds most beloved River Songs including songs by PJ Harvey, Neil Young, Patti Smith, Creedence Clearwater Revival and many more.
Further performances around the site came from Sink the Pink, Morning Gloryville, Just Vibez, RISE Collective, Ghost Notes, Touching Bass & Lu:sid and many more.
A walking audio artwork titled ‘Undercurrent’ was commissioned from Robin Rimbaud, aka SCANNER created from audio recordings taken below the surface of the river thames and beneath the ground under our feet. The final work could be listed to whilst walking The Tide though wireless headsets that received the transmitted audio broadcast from one of the neighbouring resident buildings.
We held riverside feasts on London’s longest public picnic table ‘Seafood Disco’ designed by artists Heather & Ivan Morison and featuring a delicious array of feasts from Stevie Parle’s Pastaio, chef Matt Williamson, Disappearing Dining Club and Studio Morison with Berber & Q.
CRXSS PLATFXRM was commissioned to create a performative vision of the future of Street Culture, imagining the culture that will emerge in the Greenwich Peninsula area as the communities move in to a major new development. CRXSS PLATFXRM encouraged audiences to discover an unexpected and creative underground scene, occupying spaces that mainstream culture often ignores. Using movement, music and performance, CRXSS PLATFXRM presented an array of artists across 2 days, animating the space and bringing life to the site in a series of unmissable dance moments. Featured artists included Emma Houston, Magical Bones, Saskia Horton & My Panda Shall Fly, curated film packages around Street Culture and dance, and a newly commissioned promenade Hip Hop performance from Boy Blue Entertainment’s Kendrick ‘H20’ Sandy MBE
A free programme of wellbeing workshops and events was held on The Jetty bringing moments of calm reflection and self care. Featuring a rich programme of sessions from Leo Cosendai, Charlie Dark & Sanchia Legister, Tony Riddle, Artur Paulins, Dr Tamara Russell, Yoga Sonora, Ali Roff and Siobahn Swider & Catia Leite.
We also developed the first OPO meditation portals, which are now permanently installed around the Peninsuala, offering visitors and residents a change to connect and be guided through location based meditations 24 hours a day.
