The Bloomsbury Festival has announced the initial lineup of performances, exhibitions, events, concerts, walks and talks in the 2022 program with the theme ‘Breathe’ encouraging us to think about the air, the environment and be inspired by culture , art, communities, heritage and science. Further events will be announced with the launch of the full brochure in mid-July.
A world-class local festival The Bloomsbury Festival offers a distinctive creative program by artists, scholars and residents of London’s premier cultural district. Some Festival events are FREE. 2022 focuses on emerging artists, writers and musicians and a series of events with writers of color supported by a grant from Arts Council England. The festival partners with some of Bloomsbury’s leading institutions including UCL, University of London, The Bedford Estates and the Central Alliance Business Investment District. The festival’s New Wave program supports emerging creative talent in the region, with new theatrical productions supported by a theater writing grant program, an exhibition featuring the winners of a fine arts competition, and a music program exceptional.
Presented by Bloomsbury Festival:
Store Street Global Garden Party
October 14, 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BT
Join us on Alfred Place Gardens and Store St as we celebrate the opening of the Bloomsbury Festival 2022. Celebrate after dark with entertainment, a zen zone, arts and environmental activities and enjoy global street food while throughout the afternoon and evening
FREE – Just show up | Suitable for all ages
A language of shapes External projection
October 14 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
A fairy tale animation projected onto the facade of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), highlighting the important research being undertaken into the cell biology of infection within the University. By Samantha Moore in collaboration with the Mostowy Lab at LSHTM.
FREE – Just show up
Discovery Center
October 20 – 22
Senate Library, Malet St, London WC1E 7HU
An interactive exhibition with an exciting mix of science and creativity at Senate House for three days at the heart of the festival. The Discovery Hub brings together scientific and creative teams from universities and institutions who offer exhibitions and interactive workshops on the theme of breathing and well-being. Take part in activities and workshops in the beautiful setting of the University of London Senate. Including:
Terrariums – Glass Gardens – Micro-gardening with the Clean Air Community of UCL and Great Ormond St.
Press Pause – John Avery’s immersive soundscape is inspired by the life experience of holistic therapist Nina Chesworth. In collaboration with the NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Center,
Make Popcorn Pop – See hydrogen fuel cells powering popcorn making. Presented by the Chemistry Department of UCL
FREE – Just show up | Suitable for all ages | For KS2 school bookings email [email protected]
Linen and Mindfulness
October 15 – 23
Holborn Community Association, London
Crafted from hand-dyed linen and quilted with hand embroidery, Christina Rose Brown’s textile works feature drawings of the artist in bed with her two young children, in a liminal state between sleep and consciousness, who will be familiar to anyone who has shared a bed. with restless babies. With embroidery workshops on Saturday and a meeting with the artist.
FREE Just Turn Up
Remembering the streets of the past
October 14 – 23
Greater London Properties (windows)
Images of Kings Cross taken by Jessica Strang in 1987 are a reminder of what Kings Cross looked like before it was given a new lease of life with its redevelopment at the turn of the 21st century. This exhibit documents what the neighborhood looked like before the redevelopment.
FREE – Just show up
New Wave Art Competition: Winners Exhibition
October 15 – 23
Spaghetti House, 20 Sicilian Ave, London WC1A 2QD
The Bloomsbury Festival Art Competition exhibition this year presents three winners selected by our jury. Each focuses on a different take on this year’s festival theme, ‘Breathe’. Artists: Jan Pimblett, Glenda Frieder and Emma Todd.
The Bloomsbury Festival 2022 Art Competition and Group Exhibition is supported by The Bedford Estates. Artist awards are offered by The Bedford Estates, Camden Together and HIG Capital.
FREE – Just show up
silent calligraphy
October 15 – 11:30 am – 3:00 pm
St George’s Church, Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2SA
Professional and amateur calligraphers from the South London Lettering Association will practice their craft using a wide variety of scripts and tools. Visitors will be able to walk around and observe the scribes at work and stewards will be available to answer questions about the world of calligraphy and what people do.
FREE – Just show up
The old black door
October 15 – 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The Studio Theatre, RADA Studios
Join storyteller Laura Sampson, sound artist Sam Enthoven, and special guests for a selection of mortality-themed adult folk tales and fairy tales. Presented and produced by Sinister Masterplan.
£12 / £10 conc | 16 and over
Smothering game
Multiple screenings: October 13, 14, 15 & 16 – 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Dr. Williams Library
This new piece by Yifan Wu challenges the Western presentation of climate change and performative symbolism in marine wildlife conservation. The play also deals with the impact of capitalism on the lives of the natives and the local ecology.
£12 / £10 conc | 14 years and over
4:48 Digestion
Multiple screenings: October 14 – 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the Studio Theatre, RADA Studios
& 19, 20 October – 9pm – 10pm at Dr Williams’s Library, London
A very physical theater piece that presents a multi-layered journey into the biological and emotional lives of five female performers. They serve as mirrors for each other, used to confront the pure essence of themselves against the world they inhabit. Created and directed by Tommaso Giacomin, with Anita Pomario, Araminta Wraith, Claudia Gambino, Grace Church and Miriam Elwell-Sutton.
£12 / £10 conc | 16 and over
The hippie shakes
Multiple sessions: October 13, 14, 15 & 16 – 9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Dr. Williams Library
Based on a true story, this new concert play from Frankie Regalia is a distinctly feminine story of motherhood, survival and intergenerational cycles of abuse. Produced and presented by Sweaty Palms Productions.
£12 / £10 conc | 16 and over
Stories of orphans, ponies and kitties
October 15 – 11:00 – 12:00
Starts at the Holy Cross Church
A walk for families with Sam Nicholls of SeekOut London and Camden Tour Guides Association.
£5 | Scholarship places are limited and are aimed at families or individuals who would otherwise not be able to attend the festival events. Please email [email protected] to apply. | 7 years and over
Promised land
October 15 – 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
The Studio Theatre, RADA Studios
The story of Promised Land begins with a barren couple – she is a computer engineer and he is a musician. Unable to bear a child of flesh and blood, they choose to design a piece of artificial intelligence named Rose. Through the figure of Rose, we reflect on the crisis of lack of love in our contemporary capitalist world and the contradictory ways in which we attempt to live and love within hierarchical structures that inevitably subjugate others and nature. Performers include Elisabeth Gunawan and Saksi Bisou.
£12 / £10 conc | 14 years and over
Past life with Alice Corrigan
16 October – 19:00 – 20:15
The Studio Theatre, RADA Studios
Extant’s gendered, multi-sensory and creatively accessible exploration of normalizing sexual assault in relationships. Past Life creatively blends access to its core, using creative subtitles, audio description language and soundscapes to evoke a new and dynamic way of doing theatre. We follow Kiera (and Betty the Brain) as they navigate their new lives, full of art lessons, boxing rings, tears, fights, and coming to terms with trauma.
£12 / £10 conc – Plus free companion tickets for caregivers | 18 and over
Pierrot XXI
October 20 – 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Senate Library, Univercity College London, Malet St, London WC1E 7HU
An immersive one-hour concert, where music, tarot cards and costumes create a dreamlike, mysterious and colorful atmosphere. Produced and presented by Clara Barbier Serrano and Ensemble Matters.
£8 | All ages
Daytimers Mehfil: an evening of South Asian poetry
October 21 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Conway Hall
Daytimers, the collective at the heart of the resurgent Asian underground, presents an evening highlighting and celebrating South Asian poetry and spoken word.
£10 | All ages
Dream.risk.sing – Raising Women’s Voices
October 22 – 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Conway Hall
dream.risk.sing is a recital program that gives voice to women’s experiences that are rarely heard in song. Organized and performed by soprano Samantha Crawford and pianist Lana Bode, the program highlights five specific aspects of a woman’s life: growth, love and lust, motherhood, career and legacy.
£12 / £10 conc | 16 and over
The apprentice magician
October 20 – 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
The Comedy Museum, The Undercroft, St George’s Church, Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2SR
With a thrift-store top hat and a mail-order wand, pioneering storyteller and writer Sally Pomme Clayton explores the magician’s secret world.
£10 / £8 conc | 14 years and over
