Working for this creative, cultural, and often crazy, city you never know what you'll be invited to next, and you may suddenly find yourself agreeing to visit a shipping container! 

Brighton is known for being a hub of culture and creativity. In fact, our Brand Guidelines include a section on 'Who we are' and at the top of the list is this statement: 

We are creative
Brighton is an inspiring and forward-thinking city in which the arts, business, culture and opportunity for learning thrive.

I think anyone who has ever lived, worked, studied or visited Brighton will agree with that definition. However sometimes the challenge for us is to communicate this to someone who has never experienced the city before. Often the best way for us to showcase the city's creativity is via our eclectic events programme, particularly when you read the event description and still have no idea what it is you are going to be seeing or experiencing as this is usually a good sign that the event is going to be something unusually quirky & creative. This is why my interest was piqued when the invitation for the Dreamy Place launch landed in my inbox. 

Before I go into the specifics, I should explain what Dreamy Place is. The event has evolved from its origins as the Brighton Digital Festival and now includes events across the country. While it has grown the event has maintained the festival's original objective to foster artistic expression through innovative technologies and moving image. Demonstrating that technology can be used to express our emotions and isn't just for practical applications.

Now to return to my intriguing invitation to the launch of Dreamy Place which included visiting two art installations: 

"'V1: Content Aware' is the first iteration of Variations, a new evolving installation by Felicity Hammond that explores the connections between geological mining, data mining, and the processes of image-making and machine learning... [This will be] Followed by a preview visit to the historic Cab Road tunnel underneath Brighton train station to see 'Collectif Scale’s Ammonite', an immersive light and sound installation, which blends technology and nature through dynamic, synchronised visual effects."

I read that invite several times and still wasn't sure what exactly I could expect to see on the night, but I was intrigued and that was enough for me. Also, I liked the idea of seeing a part of the city I'd never seen before as thanks to my commute I am at Brighton Station most days but I had never had the opportunity to visit the tunnel. So, I happily accepted the invite and this is how I found myself visiting a shipping container on a Thursday afternoon. 

We were fortunate enough to get to hear from the artist herself as she explained her creative process and also commented on the fact that while the artist has an initial idea of the meaning behind their work that once it is in the public domain, everyone will have their own individual interpretations. For example, the name of this piece is Content Aware which relates to an AI tool, however when Felicity was talking to people about the project who were not familiar with the tool then they thought the name might refer to trigger warnings and the need to be mindful of how you share content. Content Aware is part of a four-part project entitled Variations and the next stages will be displayed at Derby, London & Edinburgh. I have to admit there was a great feeling of pride that our small city is launching this event ahead of two capital cities. 

We then moved on to South East Dance for the official launch of Dreamy Place and I have to be honest even I hadn't appreciated the scale of the festival as over the course of this weekend there will be 21 events taking place including exhibitions, installations, talks, music, dance and workshops. One of the highlights of the weekend is the opportunity to see Collectif Scale's Ammonite installation. This is the first chance to see this in the UK and the artwork has arrived here directly from Paris, oo la la! Behind an unassuming door on Trafalgar Street is a hidden tunnel, a step into the past complete with cobbled pathways. As you gradually climb up the incline you are brought back into the present with the spectacular light & sound installation. The majestic colours moving in time to the music is strangely hypnotic and beautiful.

Dreamy Place is taking place at a variety of venues this weekend (25th - 27th October) a lot of the events and experiences are free to attend, including the two installations we saw yesterday.
For the full programme go to: dreamy-place.com

Charlotte 

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