Excited crowds descended on Chester recently to explore Up the Wall, a major showcase of performance and installation art produced by Chester Performs.
Now in its fifth year, Up the Wall has established itself as a leading North West live art event and this weekend, it welcomed thousands of visitors through the gates of Chester Castle.
Chester Performs worked closely with English Heritage to make Chester Castle open to the public for the first major event in decades. The historic site was dazzlingly lit up against the night sky and the usually abandoned castle grounds came alive with sounds, lights, games and performances.
Tamsin Drury, Up the Wall curator has said of the event “Taking Up the Wall to Chester Castle this year was a great opportunity for us, we asked our artists to respond to a theme based on borders and identity and the final selection of works was of extremely high artistic standards.”
Showcasing 14 different pieces, all created by local and international artists and artistic companies, this year’s Up the Wall was a diverse and eclectic mix of performance, installation, games, films and interactive artworks.
As visitors entered the castle grounds, they were first invited to take part in a series of hop scotch games by artist Camilla Brueton.
The next highlight of the evening was a semaphore piece by mother and son duo Frajul Systems. Their choreographed movement piece with sweeping signalled gestures and light batons created a powerful impact across the night sky.
Meanwhile, established Irish artist Denis Buckley performed in front of a projected film, which showed his journey to Chester from Ireland, while setting alight his 12ft shovel to the delight of onlookers.
The story of Eleanor Cobham who was imprisoned at Chester Castle in 1441 was revealed by London artist Marcus Orlandi in his emotional and atmospheric performance piece.
And, Katherine Johnson and Stacey Allen added a pinch of humour into the evening with their work Make Do and Mend where, in a nod to ‘Broken Britain’, audiences were invited to tear up maps of the UK while the artists went about their thankless task of returning them to their original state.
The event also saw a diverse group of visitors passing through the gates of Chester Castle including groups of tourists, locals, young families, students and couples.
Chester Performs’ Programme Manager Amber Knipe has said today “We were delighted with the turnout for this year’s Up the Wall and it was great to see such a diverse audience exploring and engaging with the artworks.”
All images credited to Mark McNulty. You can find more of Mark's work here: www.mcnulty.co.uk
