FLOATING CINEMA 'EXTRA-ORDINARY'

FLOATING CINEMA ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’

A Public Art project that will animate the canals and rivers of East London, United Kingdom.

The FLOATING CINEMA ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’ will bring outdoor film screenings, performative tours and live events to London’s canals;  re-animating the waterways and breathing new life into the East End of London.

Produced by UP Projects with Somewhere and Duggan Morris Architects and commissioned by The Legacy List.

WHAT IS THE FLOATING CINEMA ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’?

There is something magical about the words Floating and Cinema that really captures people’s imaginations. UP Projects came up with the concept in 2011 and created a very successful pilot project that navigated the canals and rivers of East London temporarily using a converted narrow boat to host on-board and outdoor film screenings to bank side audiences as well as taking people on creative, quirkily hosted tours of the fascinating network of East London’s waterways.

Following the project’s huge success and public demand, we are building a brand new FLOATING CINEMA ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’, designed by award-winning practice Duggan Morris Architects, which will become a permanent fixture on London’s waterways.

We plan to launch the FLOATING CINEMA ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’ in June 2013 with a screening and events programme devised by artists Nina Pope and Karen Guthrie (Somewhere).  The FLOATING CINEMA ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’ will be commissioning new films and performances as well as showcasing new work that would never be seen in mainstream cinemas.

Audiences will be treated to intimate on board screenings  for 15 people, bespoke tours by performers, comedians, writers and cultural commentators, as well as large scale outdoor screenings hosting up to 500 people.  Each tour and event will also be streamed live to an international online audience.

The FLOATING CINEMA ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’ will visit Islington and Shoreditch, the new Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as well as the wilds of the Lea Valley and beyond.  It is supported by the Legacy List, a charity established to support the long term cultural, social and physical regeneration of London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and aims to breathe new life into the dilapidated canals and backwaters, and add to the cultural life of London’s East End.

WHO ARE UP PROJECTS?

UP Projects is a creative non-profit organisation that believes in challenging perceptions of what public art can be, and we are celebrating our tenth anniversary this year.  Operating as a gallery without walls, we are inspired by the complexities of the public realm to create a programme of artists' commissions, projects, strategies and multidisciplinary events for the broadest possible public audience. Our projects always aim to encourage people who may not ordinarily visit museums, galleries or theatres to engage and participate in high quality cultural activity.

We also provide unique opportunities for artists to develop new work in public contexts.

FLOATING CINEMA ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’ is part of our ongoing ‘Portavilion’ strand of projects, an ambitious programme of artist-led installations for London’s parks, open spaces and more recently the waterways. The project is as much a celebration of the city's most treasured open spaces as it is a cultural event.

HOW DID THE CONCEPT FOR THE FLOATING CINEMA COME ABOUT?

The canals are the arteries of East London, and have remained a constant in the rapidly changing landscape of an area undergoing significant regeneration. They are the best kept secret of our industrial history and in recent years have been neglected and overlooked. We have been thinking about  how the canals could become an important part of London’s cultural life, and how to bring public attention back to these overlooked, yet enchanting public spaces and use them for a variety of cultural events and activities….thus the Floating Cinema concept was born.

HOW DO WE KNOW THE IDEA WILL “FLOAT”?

We learned a lot from last year’s pilot project. Not least the level of enthusiasm and demand for such a venture.  Each out door screening gathered audiences of over 300 people, and every on board event could have been booked out ten times over and our website had over 100,000 visitors!  We got really great feedback...

“A surreal but truly unique and fun evening”

“It was great to be able to experience Canary Wharf from the water”

“A really unique and lovely experience!”

“A quirky and unforgettable moment in my holiday”

“Something completely different – opportunity to meet new people and experience something different”

“Well conceived, beautifully cared for, the art was wonderful, engaging and provoking and the setting for the work was perfect!”

HOW DOES IT FIT INTO THE OLYMPIC LEGACY?

FLOATING CINEMA ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’ will form an important part of the cultural participation programme following the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  This is being led by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and supported by The Legacy List, an independent charity raising funds to make creative connections between people and the park.  The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will reopen in phases, with the first phase which includes the North Park opening to the public on 27 July 2013. We plan to present outdoor screenings and bespoke tours on the site as part of the opening festival.

“Post games projects like this will encourage people to think that the Olympic Park is for all of us and that we are going to be here after the games”
Sarah Weir OBE, Chief Executive, The Legacy List

WHO IS DESIGNING THE NEW FLOATING CINEMA?

We ran an international architecture competition earlier this year and together with a formidable panel of judges (including Lady Patty Hopkins, representatives from the London Legacy Development Coroporation, the Legacy List and the Architecture Foundation) we selected the winning design by Duggan Morris Architects. We felt their proposal for “A Strange Cargo of Extra-Ordinary Objects” presented a robust and practical, as well as highly inventive and imaginative, response to the brief.

Duggan Morris Architects have been established for 8 years, during which time they have received several RIBA Awards and the prestigious Manser Medal. 2012 represents a transitional phase for the practice, moving into a number of new sectors including higher education, public and arts based projects, conservation and renovation as well as continuing successful work in private housing, public housing and regeneration and commercial sector projects.

WHAT WILL THE FLOATING CINEMA ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’ BE LIKE?

Duggan Morris Architects’ designs incorporate an auditorium/cabin that will seat up to 15 people. This intimate scale is perfect for group tour or screening, while also still nimble enough for us to navigate the intricacies of the UK canal network, and squeeze under the smallest bridge or through the narrowest lock.

It will also boast a café/ticket office, an outdoor “public square” / foyer and accommodation for our skipper.  The new design also features a periscopic projector that will be able to project a moving image onto the water, the inside of tunnels or adjacent buildings, and will incorporate a web cam, GPS tracking system and a clever piece of kit that will enable us stream all our events live to an on line audience. So wherever you are, you’ll be able to get involved with the FLOATING CINEMA ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’ experience!

All events will be open to the public.

WHERE WILL IT MOORED AND HOW LONG WILL IT STAY THERE?

We are planning to moor the cinema near to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, but we will be moving all over the waterways during the summer, and hope to remain a highly visible feature for many years to come.

HOW WILL WE USE THE MONEY?

This is our ballpark project breakdown:

• Boat hull - $USD 24,300 / £GBP 15,000
• Cinema auditorium - $USD 40,700 / £GBP 25,200
• Skipper’s quarters - $USD 20,600 / £ 12,800
• Technical equipment - $USD 27,400 / £GBP 17,000
• Boat kit - $USD 5,000 / £GBP 3,000

TOTAL - $USD 118,000 / £GBP 73,000

WHO IS ALREADY ON BOARD WITH FUNDING?

Floating Cinema 2013 has been majority funded by the Legacy List through its corporate partnerships with Bloomberg LP and the Canal and River Trust.  $USD 100,000 or 85% of total required funds have been secured to date, but we need an extra 15% or $USD 18,000 to make the project happen.

WHAT DO YOU GET IN RETURN FOR YOUR OWN SUPPORT?

Not only will you become a vital part of the Floating Cinema and receive regular updates on where we are and what we are doing, we have also developed a special range of gifts for you to suit your own unique taste. These include limited edition T-shirts and tote bags designed by the Floating Cinema creative team, tickets to the opening night and a one-of-a-kind opportunity to get your name etched onto one of the Floating Cinema auditorium seats designed by Duggan Morris Architects! No matter which one you go for, we hope that your gift will be a reminder of how much your donations and support mean to us! Please check the right hand side of this page for more details.

HOW DO YOU CHECK ON YOUR PERKS?

After the campaign, we will be sending you updates with expected timelines for you perk delivery. Our objective is to get all perks delivered within 10 months of finishing the campaign and we will try to accommodate your individual wishes as much as we possibly can.

For more information, check out http://support.indiegogo.com/entries/20500923-how-to-check-on-your-perks

HOW CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE?

You may contribute by clicking on the “Contribute Now” button in the top right hand side of this page. You’ll be able to enter how much you want to contribute, claim your perk, and choose how you want to pay. We accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express credit or debit cards, or you can choose to pay via PayPal. All transactions take place in $USD. Don’t worry if your account is in £GBP or any other currency, the transaction will be automatically converted and equivalent amount will be applied. If your contribution is successful, an automatic confirmation email will be sent to the email address you provided during the contribution process.

Please note that your credit card or PayPal account will be charged the contribution amount immediately if your transaction is successful, not at the end of the campaign. If you pay via PayPal, you will receive another confirmation email from PayPal, in addition to the confirmation email you'll receive from Indiegogo. However, if we do not reach our target at the end of the campaign, the money will be fully refunded to you.

For a step-by-step easy contribution process, please refer to this http://support.indiegogo.com/entries/20494567-how-to-contribute-to-a-campaign

If you have any other questions, feel free to get in touch at press@upprojects.com

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR ‘EXTRA-ORDINARY’ LOVE AND SUPPORT!