One of a kind festival to transform Aberdeen’s streets into a Cultural Wonderland
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A one of a kind festival, Wonderland, is set to transform the streets of Aberdeen into a whirlwind of cultural events and family fun when it arrives in the city on Thursday, September 8.
The four-day curated festival will illuminate and celebrate Aberdeen, with free performances and events popping up across the city centre.
Packed full of thought-provoking art, dance, music and sound installations, Wonderland promises surprises in store round every street corner.
A total of 22 new performances, installations, displays and workshops have been commissioned exclusively for the festival, taking inspiration from Aberdeen’s own unique environment including ships, seagulls, nature and history.
Ben Torrie, Aberdeen Performing Arts director of programming and creative projects said “Wonderland is open and accessible for everyone and demonstrates the wealth of talent we have in the region.
"We are delighted to be working with so many established and emerging artists to explore our much-loved city in new ways and give visitors an unforgettable experience and a fun day out.
"We are looking forward to making all the city a stage this September!”
Wonderland will run throughout the weekend until Sunday, September 11, in locations including Union Street, Marischal Square, St Nicholas Kirk, the Rooftop Garden, Duthie Park, Bon Accord Centre and Broad Street, including the use of vacant shops as pop up venues.
Featuring both established and emerging artists from across the north-east, Wonderland will bring our city centre to life with a magical, exciting and vibrant programme which shows the Granite City and its amazing architecture, green spaces and quirky locations in a new light.
Wonderland is being delivered by Aberdeen Performing Arts on behalf of Culture Aberdeen, which has been awarded funding from the UK Government Community Renewal Fund and Aberdeen City Council.
The theme of plants and nature runs through several of the installations, which take their inspiration from the world around us.
‘Nice Day, Isn’t It?’ celebrates the language of weather and includes an Urban Grow Dome, where visitors can listen to new songs composed by singer songwriter Rebecca Dunn while surrounded by plants grown by community groups across Aberdeen. The songs are inspired by conversations about the weather.
Bayswater & 3rd is an immersive and multi-sensory artwork by Scottish-Canadian artist Katya Anderson, which explores how we experience our environments and how we can connect to nature in city spaces.
Duthie Park will host improvised outdoor dance performances by the Vaiven Movement Collective. Choreographer Alexandra Tsiapi has created Holding the Forest Floor which aims to connect us to our senses and the natural world and is inspired by her fascination with the world of fungi.
Lockdown and its impact on the natural environment was the inspiration for Still, an urban sensory garden created by artist Emma Fuhrmann in collaboration with Andrew Meechan. They will transform the courtyard at Marischal Square into a tranquil space for reflection, with glowing mushrooms adding to the ambience.
Concrete Botany is a temporary mural encouraging appreciation of Aberdeen’s urban flora. It celebrates the small, often missed green spaces that can be found in most neighbourhoods in Aberdeen - the weeds growing in our gardens and in between the stones of the pavements.
Terra Incognita (as above, so below) features a series of new installations and exhibitions led by local visual arts agency Look Again and curators from the Miasma Collective. The stunning selection of new work will include a display of Banners on the St Nicholas Kirkyard Colonnade on Union Street, three beautiful sculptural pieces – Satelitte Creature by Jared Cameron and Warren World by Abby Quick at the Bon Accord Rooftop Garden, and Sacred Well and Sacred Tree by Ane Smith on St Nicholas Street – a radio station called Fruitful FM by Jack Murray Brown broadcast from a greenhouse at the Rooftop Garden, and the Sonic Swing by Ray Downie which operates a large-scale knitting machine and sound generator whilst audiences play. In addition, there is a display of work in the Look Again Project Space on St Andrew’s Street by Emily Doherty, Astrid Björklund, Saoirse Horne, Samm Anga, Maria Roman and Caitlyn Main.
The city centre Kirk of St Nicholas will host witchtrialversion, a series of experimental AI/færie sound- performances mapping out Scotland. This project by Sweætshops® explores the witch burnings through a unique historical lens.
And the kirkyard itself has its own unique connection to the festival, as the final resting place of John Henry Anderson, known as the ‘Wizard of the North’ - said to be the first conjurer to pull a rabbit from a hat.
His work greatly influenced magician and escapologist Harry Houdini, who in 1909 dived into Aberdeen Harbour while handcuffed and chained. This story inspired film and sound installation The Sensational Silver City, created by visual artist Graeme Roger.
Visitors can also experience Aberdeen’s very own sound ‘theme park’ in various locations, an immersive sonic experience incorporating music alongside familiar sounds of the city – church bells, ship horns and seagulls. Aberdeen Sound Park has been created by north-east composer and sound artist Pete Stollery.
Alongside immersive sound experiences, dance also plays a key role in Wonderland.
All Or Nothing Aerial Dance Theatre will partner with Aberdeen’s own Citymoves Fusion Youth Dance Company to perform breathtaking aerial dance pieces suspended from a crane and from a specially built stage on Broad Street.
Sense of Wonder is inspired by the cityscape of Aberdeen and relating the old world of the city alongside the new.
Meanwhile, in the Bon Accord Centre, the Enchanted Era Emporium is opening its doors and visitors can choose a song from the enchanted jukebox – then watch what happens!
This fun interactive installation features a soundtrack of popular music from the last 100 years and celebrate the people of Aberdeen and their love of dance.
Award-winning choreographer Thomas Small is artistic director of Shaper/Caper, which is bringing Right Up Your Street to Aberdeen.
“Visitors can expect a joyful celebration of dance featuring an eclectic soundtrack of music from 1920s to the present day, and with lots of opportunities to get involved in the fun!” he said.
“We want to celebrate Aberdeen's rich dance history and legacy - the dance halls, such as Palais de Danse and the Beach Ballroom - and Aberdeen’s bright dance future through the work of dance academies and agencies like Citymoves.
“Most of all, we wanted to hear stories from Aberdonians about the ways that dance has brought them joy.
"We're really looking forward to meeting all the wonderful visitors to The Enchanted Era Emporium and making some magic together! Each performance is different depending on the songs the audience chooses, so we never really know what the day holds.”
Aberdeen Performing Arts Wonderland producer Jo Matthews said the festival will offer something for everyone.
“We have curated a diverse, eclectic, dynamic mix of artwork, such as visual art installations, dance, sound and music, and it’s all free of charge," she said.
“One of the most unique things is that this is all newly commissioned artwork, which is very unusual. We have a mixture of early career and established artists who have an opportunity to take a risk and try something for the first time.
“We are thrilled to be working with our partners at Culture Aberdeen to bring this one-off festival to the city. Wonderland celebrates the creativity and culture that exists here in Aberdeen and beyond, giving local artists a platform to show their work and reach new audiences.
“We’re sending out the message loud and clear that Aberdeen city centre is buzzing with activity and is just waiting to be re-discovered through a fresh and re-invigorated lens.”
In addition to the Wonderland events, the magical Wonder Hoose will be located in the quadrangle at Marischal College, kicking off on Thursday, September 8 with Aberdeen’s own songwriting sensation Kathryn Joseph.
Wonder Hoose, a stunning temporary venue located in one of the city’s most iconic locations, will remain in place throughout September, with a varied programme of music, comedy, theatre, cabaret, dance and family shows continuing for three weeks to keep the spirit of Wonderland alive over the early autumn evenings and paving the way for the True North music festival, which will run from September 22-25.
Wonderland runs from September 8-11, at various times. Admission is free and open to everyone.
For the full programme visit www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/wonderlandand where tickets can also be bought for the Wonder Hoose events.
