Autumn 12 - Cultural Quarterly

From Beachy Head
CQ spoke to Maureen Honey, chair of OpenArt, to find out
more about this September’s festival in East Dean and Friston.
The OpenArt festival in East
Dean and Friston on
September 21–23 will begin
with a conversation with
artist Harold Mockford,
whose work is included in
the Towner Collection. The
festival will also include
artists’ Open Houses on
September 22–23.
OpenArt chair Maureen
Honey said: “I knew years ago
that there was talent in the
village that just hadn’t been
tapped. I thought, I’ve seen
other people do this sort of
thing and I’m sure we can do it.
“On the Friday, we will have
a party for the artists followed
by Harold Mockford informally
chatting with Tony Roberts,
which is open to anyone.
The festival started in 2008
and the artists are all local to East
Dean and Friston. We started
with 25 artists but we have 37 in
twenty venues this year.”
The festival is held every
other year and has artist
Grayson Perry as patron.
Maureen said: “Grayson Perry
has been a fantastic supporter.
He has a home in the village and
last time did a fantastic illustrated
talk as part of the event and, this
year, has provided a foreword for
the brochure.”
OpenArt has commissioned
a piece of music for this
year’s festival.
Maureen said: “It’s something
I’ve been wanting to do for years
but I wasn’t sure how to go about
it. Simon Rowland Jones and his
family grew up in Eastbourne
but he’s an international
composer and viola player.
Everything we do has a local
connection deliberately. It would
be easy to get much bigger but
we have decided as a policy to
keep it for the village.”
Simon’s inspiration was a
short passage from Charlotte
Smith’s poem Beachy Head,
written in 1806. The 20-minute
12 Cultural Quarterly Autumn 2012
composition, entitled From
Beachy Head, will receive its
world premiere at a concert at
East Dean’s village hall on
September 22, played by the
Wu Quartet.
Maureen said: “Simon is
going to talk about the music,
introduce it. Because it’s a
modern piece, he’s going to say
why, how, when, what inspired
him in that poetry to actually
write it. I think it will be
absolutely fascinating.
“It’s going to be very modern,
it’s going to be challenging for
some people, but it’s going to be
a piece that forever will
recognise the village and the
beautiful area in which we live.
The concert will also include
pieces by Benjamin Britten, who
of course has a local connection,
and Haydn. We’re having CDs
made and people can buy this
music by the Wu Quartet.
They’re a young quartet that is
now internationally known.”
OpenArt
East Dean & Friston
September 21–23
(Above)
Wu Quartet