Salisbury International Arts Festival
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Salisbury International Arts Festival (founded in 1974) is an annual multi-arts festival that delivers over 120 arts events each year, including concerts, comedy, poetry, dance, exhibitions, outdoor spectacles, and commissioned works.
Based in Salisbury, England, the festival makes use of the surrounding landscape, hosting events in settings including the ancient circles of Stonehenge, Old Wardour Castle, the Wiltshire Chalk Downs, and Salisbury Cathedral.
Every four years a new director is chosen to deliver the annual festival.
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[edit] 2010
- Festival director: Maria Bota
- Festival dates: 21 May - 5 June 2010
The main themes for the 2010 festival were Russia, stories, stone and chalk. Inspired by the Wiltshire White Horses cut into the landscape, the theme of the horse also appeared throughout the programme.
[edit] 2009
- Festival director: Maria Bota
- Festival dates: 22 May - 6 June 2009
Salisbury International Arts Festival 2009 was named ‘Tourism Event of the Year’ at South West Tourism’s 'Tourism Excellence Awards'.[1] The first year of new festival director, Maria Bota, saw a series of themes—'India’, ‘spirit’ and ‘water’—woven throughout the programme. East met West in a programme of events from the festival’s featured artist Kuljit Bhamra—composer, producer and virtuoso tabla player. 2009 also saw an expanded programme of outdoor events with activities scattered throughout the city, enabling audiences to stumble upon the festival in unexpected and unanticipated ways.
[edit] 2008
- Festival director: Jo Metcalf
- Festival dates: 23 May - 8 June 2008
[edit] 2007
- Festival director: Jo Metcalf
This festival focused on the themes of Latin America, movement and water. There were many acts from many different countries in Central and South America including Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay, Chile and Venezuela. Also, in this year, the festival formed a partnership with the Living River Project to bring water-themed events to Salisbury.
[edit] 2006
- Festival director: Jo Metcalf
The 2006 festival programme reflected the theme of 'Relate': how people connect with one another locally and as a global community. There was a strong artistic emphasis on storytelling, recurring motifs relating to the environment and atmosphere, and images of wings, clouds, birds, fairytales, myths, and dreams. These themes were exemplified in the Aboriginal Cultural Showcase, which featured a wide range of indigenous Australian artists, many of whom were visiting the UK for the first time.
[edit] 2005
- Festival director: Jo Metcalf
This was Jo Metcalf's first festival. Memorable events from the 2005 festival include the making of a sand mandala in the Cathedral Close and a performance by Tibetan monks at Stonehenge. There was also a strong literature programme this year.
