In April, a group of young creatives met for the first time to discuss an upcoming festival that we would create by August. All we knew at this point was that it would be an arts festival made for young people by young people – so we had a long way to go in a short amount of time. It started with a lot of brainstorming.
An array of magazines and booklets were passed around, so we took images and phrases that represented what we would want from the festival. Lots of different ideas were thrown around, but the consistent themes were that it should be welcoming, diverse and ‘Barnsley Centric’.
Then we looked at the line-up and what sort of events or workshops we’d be interested in, as well as thinking about what the festival could be called. Everyone was really passionate and had unique ideas to contribute to the group. When the idea of the festival began to form, it was clear that we (the young people) had created it. All our input was considered and led each aspect of the festival – including programming, design and promotion to name a few.
Personally, I wanted the festival to be sustainable, interactive, inclusive, and accessible. I can definitely see those elements coming through in the final line-up.
I loved the design session where we spoke with a professional artist and graphic designer Christopher Goggs (aka Chris Printed This) about different symbols or icons that could be used. While we wanted it to link to Barnsley, we didn’t want it to be traditional – there would be a twist. The history of being a mining town was important, but we also wanted to show progression and how the town has changed. We spoke about mining carts moving forwards and lanterns leading the way, this is where the image of the yellow mining lamp came from.
Throughout the sessions we met with different people within the local creative sector, I found it really helpful to see different roles come together to create this festival. It allowed me to see the wide range of jobs that are available in the creative industry, and it was inspiring to see successful and enthusiastic artists collaborating with us.
We looked at a variety of different names and how they would represent the festival. The final vote included ‘Have a Go Barnsley’, ‘Tarn Fest’, and ‘Art Abart Tarn’; however, for the design we decided that ‘abART tarn’ would be simpler and more eye-catching. I like that the slang and accent to the name clearly link to Barnsley without being an obvious reference to our culture.
My hopes for the festival are that a range of different people come together to celebrate art and enjoy having a go in all the workshops. Each event should feel like a safe space to get out of the house and meet people with similar hobbies. It should also be a place for people to experiment with new skills or find a new hobby to uncover a hidden talent! I’d love to see this become an annual event for young people and ‘those young at heart’ to have fun and be creative.
By Sofie Stothers
To explore the full Art Abart Tarn line-up, visit www.barnsleycivic.co.uk
