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Creature Speaks!

Part I

Interview with Creature by Creature
Illustration by Steve Rack

So this Creature festival thing, where did it start?
Well the Creature Festival Project was spawned last year. We would so much love to start our own festival but lacking a field large enough, an entertainment license and any kind of funding to speak of, we had to think a little more “out of the field“. So we went on a little summer festival mission and documented our journey with festival inspired artwork and writing, therein forming our own on-screen festival of arts and literature.

What are your intentions for the project?
Well last year it was met with open arms by the festival goers of Britain and beyond, we received such a response that it became not only a documentation of our festival visits but also the activities of our contributors, providing festival goers of all shapes and sizes with a space to display festival related art and writing, to get that work seen and to put across the general views and behaviour of the festival going folk. Equally it is a place for festival lovers to discover more of what is on offer and to raise interest in the lesser known and outsider artists, musicians and writers who form such events.

Moving into 2008, how has the project developed?
Well we just kind of winged it in 07, not really knowing what response we would get. This year it’s a lot more considered, knowing we had an audience we started planning in Spring and decided to launch a multi faceted project that allowed us infiltrate twice as many festival as last year, it’s taken  the form of three main projects, Guerilla galleries (page2), Giant concrete mushroom installation (page8) and of course the actual festival edition itself (what you're reading!).  All of which have crossed over and merged. 

The festival publication itself then… what is it?
In the simplest of terms the Festival edition is a diary of our festival fun and the fun of all the lovely people we met along the way, the people who want to do more than just attend an event… they go to socialise and meet like minded  people, to share their art and views, they get involved and most of all they want to share their experiences and love for festivals with the world, Creature festival edition is a space for them to that without restriction. 

What festivals did you visit this year?
We had creature representatives at 6 festivals this year…The Creature team itself attended Dare2, The Secret Garden party and The End of the Road Festival. We decided to recruit creature missionaries (festival goers interested in displaying art at festivals and forwarding the Creature project), who were active at a few events including Bestival, Camp Bestival, Shambala and Latitude plus more that we know little about. All of these festivals had a Creature presence of some sort and artwork by Creature contributors displayed in random places throughout. 

So it’s a lot of hard work for no financial gain… why you do it?
We are interested in Festivals as a social phenomenon, we are intrigued to know how this phenomenon has, does and will develop, the folk involved in the progression of this wave of parties and how Creature can play a part in it. 

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We started the festival project to enhance our festival experiences, to document the activities of festival going public and ultimately to become part of the festival phenomenon. Festivals are the perfect place to bring the artwork of Creature contributors to easily accessible and very relevant gatherings of people. 

What we have come to learn over the years is that these parties never really stop they simply disperse into many other smaller parties until the next year, it’s the creativity of these social  groups that we are interested in first and foremost. 

End of part I - Go to part II

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