HOME’S annual PUSH festival, presented in association with the Edwin Fox Charitable Trust, is one of the region’s key arts festivals and events, showcasing the huge range of creative talent in north west England. As well as presenting exciting new performances – including five commissioned especially for the festival – screenings, and exhibitions, PUSH features a series of workshops and informal seminars for creatives working at all levels of the industry.
PUSH 2018 launches on Fri 11 Jan with an opening night party with extracts from selected PUSH performances including a special dance and spoken word performance of The House of Ghetto and Gemma Parker’s The Hidden Pin Up, which looks at the fetishisation of the black female body, followed by set from electronica DJ Andrew James Brooks, playing a colourful mix of music inspired by some of the themes explored in the festival. The festival then runs through to Sat 26 Jan 2019.
This year, PUSH features five new works commissioned by HOME – Cuts of the Cloth, in which a Muslim woman has been archived in a museum in the not-too- distant future to speak to visitors about her relationship with the veil, presented by Outside the Frame Arts; Learning to Swim on an Ironing Board, a show about therapeutic eavesdropping, shopping centres, invisible disabilities and getting
better at ‘not getting better’, presented by Indoors Too Much; Dance Away the Spiders, a physical piece presented by Sheba Arts that explores trauma, and resistance, a legacy of the drama lab facilitated by Sheba Arts at HOME in October 2018; Unpacking, an exhibition of oil paintings shedding light on emotional complexities of migration, family and identity, presented by Alicja Mrozowska; and Yes Man, a download of a choral work that points a lens on gender identities, home and belonging, presented by Andrew Brooks.
Other highlights include three ‘Propel’ scratch performances in HOME’s Theatre 1 space, curated by Mighty Heart Theatre, actor Javaad Alipoor, and our #HOMEinspires communities programme; and a large number of workshops and discussions for creative professionals, including a session with documentary film- maker Aaron Dunleavy, a talk by photographer Paul Herrmann from Redeye Photographers’ Network; and a talk from actor and director Cheryl Martin including an extract from her new show One Woman. The events programme provides ideal networking opportunities for everyone – artists, performers, marketers, producers, technicians – involved in the arts in the north west.
“PUSH is a celebration of North West Creative Talent,” says Isabelle Croissant, HOME’s Talent Development Programme manager, “both by showcasing the fantastic work they produce but also by offering opportunities for artists and creatives to get inspired, meet industry professionals, share their practice, as well as developing existing and new skills across a broad range of topics. There are many facets to creativity in the region; it’s always an absolute blast to see so many different people show their work, share ideas, and get inspired by one another. It’s what inspires us and we hope it will be the same for PUSH audiences.”
