Get loaded in the park

Festivals are blossoming all over London but will they be able to resist commercialisation?

Not so long ago the festival season was an undernourished soul. However, over the last couple of years festivals in many guises have been spreading like wildfire. This year the sheer quantity is astounding. Scanning a casual eye over my filofax the other day, I realised that I’ve been up to little else so far this summer and the coming months promise more of the same. Why so many, why now?

The real motivator - as in most things- is money. People are realising there’s a packet to be made; a couple of thousand people paying £30 a head will yield a hefty sum. It seems the yuppie entrepreneurs of the 80s have intermarried with the loved-up ravers. They’ve grown up and now they’re fusing financial savvy with their love of outdoor parties.

Of course, the idea’s been around forever, look at festival mega brands Glastonbury and Reading, they seem to increase in popularity every year. They’ve always excluded a lot of us though; if you’re not keen on living in the abject squalor of a tent for several days you can’t go. The festivals which have appeared recently aren’t cut from the same cloth; they are taking place in outdoor areas, right here in central London and usually last just a day. Have an al fresco boogie within easy staggering distance of a friendly abode, a comfy bed and the papers come morning.

They’re all over the place and they’re not necessarily large affairs either. Marketing to minorities is the innovation. But it’s not just ethnic minorities like Notting Hill or the London Mela; it’s about targeting musical taste. Get Loaded in the Park is happening again this summer – last year the suggestion of a reformed Happy Mondays and pals filling Clapham Common seemed laughable but it was a resounding success and it’s back again this summer. Who would’ve thought there’d be so many people who still cared? On the other hand, we’re got Kenwood’s Summer Series marketing to the affluent, thirty-somethings who dwell around Hampstead Heath. Then there are all the community events like the Ealing Summer. There’s something for everyone, everywhere, it seems. Mass marketing is out, niche marketing is in. And the festival industry – for that is what it has become – is booming because of it.

Surely all this is a good thing? Londoners can all go and see loads of music in a pleasant outdoor setting and we don’t have to stray too far, nor submit ourselves to the horrors of camping. There’s more choice of music too. All we’ve got to worry about now is festivals descending too far into corporate promotion. Sponsorship has been around for eons but the appearance of events like Fruitstock - a free festival in Regent’s park organised and paid for by the Innocent drinks company – is a worrying trend. These days nothing is left untouched by commercialism; let’s just hope it doesn’t ruin the party.

Affair of the Art

London-based artist Dean Marsh has scooped up £25,000, first prize in the BP Portrait awards, for a picture of his girlfriend. Marsh never normally does figurative work but painted his girlfriend ‘because I love her’. The winning painting and the runners up will remain on display throughout August.

School of Hard Cash

UCL announced this week that it will have to become a corporation in order to address the massive deficit in its funds. This is because as a University with no plans for expansion, diversification, or new courses, it is ineligible for funding from any government body, even though it is a London institution that has served millions of students. Now UCL can cash in on PFI consortium deals. Goodbye Art History, hello Business Management.

Back Track on Black Arts

Black Theatre group Talawa had their hopes dashed today when the Arts Council withdrew funding for a dedicated Black Theatre in Victoria. Critics of the scheme had warned against creating ghettoes within theatrical culture. In any case, there are currently two fantastic black productions in the West End, Elmina’s Kitchen and The Big Life.

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