Members of the University of Warwick community will be centre stage next week during the first ever Kenilworth Arts Festival taking place in the historic town of Kenilworth between the 12-18 September.

The festival has been made possible by the input of two University of Warwick students who are directing the festival, Lewis Smith and Charlotte Thomas.

This first ever Kenilworth Arts Festival will feature a number of university staff and alumni and has been made possible by the efforts of many of the University of Warwick community.

The University's contribution to the programme features intimate gigs, poetry readings, talks, workshops and a free, open-air fiesta in the beautiful Abbey Fields including:

• Award-winning British poet and critic, Professor David Morley of the English and Comparative Literature Studies department is curating an evening of poetry as part of the festival programme. Five other award-winning poets will appear alongside David, including a number of Warwick alumni (Claire Trévien, Luke Kennard and Jonathan Edwards)
• Kitty Macfarlane, Warwick alumni, singer-songwriter is appearing at a concert in Kenilworth Castle on Saturday 17 September
• The illustrations that appear on the festival’s website and on promotional materials were produced by Warwick alumni Victoria Watson
• Warwick Arts Centre will be running interactive workshops at Fiesta, the free open-air event in Abbey Fields on Sunday 18 September
• Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi, writer-in-residence at Lacuna (a project stemming from the Centre for Human Rights in Practice at Warwick), is running a workshop on human rights journalism

Chairperson and co-director of the festival, Lewis Smith, a History PhD student at the University of Warwick said: "I am really pleased that we have been able to formalise a relationship between Kenilworth Arts Festival and the University of Warwick. The local community and the University have a lot to offer each other and I hope that our festival can become an important link between the two."

The festival, sponsored by the University of Warwick, aims to offer a programme of events that will inspire and engage, that will ask brave questions of the world around us and encourage bold, new thinking.

With a multitude of award-winning and critically acclaimed artists – from a broad spectrum of cultural fields
confirmed to appear at the event, the festival looks set to exhibit the current creative landscape at its very best.

You can find more information and see a full programme of events here.

AB 07/09/2016

Contact:

Alex Buxton

Media Relations Manager
Tel: 02476 150423
Mob: 07876 218166
a.buxton.1@warwick.ac.uk