A major new contemporary arts festival is being staged in Redruth, which will bring internationally and nationally important work to Cornwall and provide an important platform for the work of Cornish based artists. 

Flamm, a partnership between Creative Kernow and London-based Art Night, will be held at various venues in the town on the weekend of October 21-22. 

Four Cornwall-based artists including Sovay Berriman, Abigail Reynolds, Patrick Lowry and Then Try This have received commissions to exhibit at the ‘Change’ themed festival. 

The partnership with Art Night will also see two major commissions from multi-media artist Heather Phillipson and sound artist and composer Richy Carey. Further events and projects led by local creatives and communities will also happen throughout the town during the festival weekend. 

The groundbreaking new festival aims to create a vital platform for Cornish artists and works with important partners to shine a light on the Duchy arts scene  while inviting the communities to engage with exciting new installations from the county’s artists and those from further afield. 

Tonia Lu, programme producer for Flamm and representing Creative Kernow, said: “With over 20 years of experience working with communities and creatives in Cornwall, Creative Kernow sees what a new event could do to bring different communities in Cornwall together, as well as raise the profile of work made in Cornwall. 

She added: “Through our conversation with Art Night, we see the opportunity to expand and raise funding to give Cornwall-based artists the opportunity to make new work and create projects that are ambitious, yet of relevance and interest to our communities. Our work with Counterpoints brings an additional rich strand to the work.” 

Helen Nisbet, the artistic director of Art Night, said: “We are really happy to have established such a meaningful partnership with Flamm for their inaugural festival. The partnership comes out of a long conversation between us both on supporting artists, decentralisation and collaboration – questions that are vital to both of us. 

“We’re really excited about presenting some of our Art Night commissions in Cornwall this October and getting to know the selected artists and wider art community.” 

Counterpoints Arts, a leading national organisation in the field of arts, migration and cultural change, will also be including two of the Flamm projects in Platforma 7 – a South West-wide programme of arts events and exhibitions relevant to migration and displacement, taking place throughout October 2023. 

Dijana Rakovic of Counterpoints Arts said: “Counterpoints’ biennial Platforma Festival is an important opportunity for us to work with partners to support and present work by artists practising in the field of migration, climate justice and cultural change. 

“This year we are excited to be partnering with Creative Kernow as we present the Festival in the South West across the month of October. The commissions by artists Abigail Reynolds and Sovay Berriman address issues of heritage, language, climate justice and migration in ways that add new dimensions to our Platforma 2023 programme.” 

Flamm is part of Creative Kernow’s Extraordinary Art in Everyday Places project which has received £327,500 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. 

The festival is also funded by the European Structural and Investment Fund, Arts Council England, and Cornwall Council via the Cultivator programme. 

Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for the economy, said: “Strong communities and places are at the heart of our £132m Good Growth Programme, which is delivering the UK Shared Prosperity Fund here in Cornwall and Scilly. 

“The Flamm festival will be a great opportunity to celebrate Cornwall-based artists right in the heart of the Redruth community while shining a national and international spotlight on the Cornish arts scene.”