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Mayfest 07 – all welcome to free art and cultural festival at UEL- Wed 2 May

Monday 16 April 2007

Join hundreds of Londoners, students and community groups to celebrate the joys of spring at Mayfest 07, a free art and cultural festival to be held on Wednesday 2 May on the waterfront at the University of East London’s Docklands campus.

The exciting programme, now live on www.uel.ac.uk/mayfest features free performances and fresh artistic productions. It includes art exhibitions, music, dance, poetry and theatrical performances, bringing together the work of professionals, students, school and community groups in a celebration of culture and creativity.

Admission is free and everyone is welcome to join in the fun. The event is partly supported by European Social Fund and the London Borough of Newham.

Highlights will include the Samba Showdown, a musical performance competition between The Hoxton Bloco, Godwin Junior School and UEL's own Barking Bateria. We’ll also be going art crazy, with a fantastic exhibition of sculpture, UEL’s fine art society running events throughout the day, and an art fair with students and staff art work on sale, all items for less than a tenner.

Live theatre includes ‘Pictures from a Life’, performed by students around campus, and a ten person group performance piece entitled ‘Blent’. ‘Dinner with Artaud’, exploring the life and work of ‘Theatre of Cruelty’ prodigy Antonio Artaud, is strictly for adults only.

Live music and dance will be a big feature of the day, with live performances from Honey’s Dance Academy, Solid Harmony, Nostalgia Steel Band, UEL Flava, Subrosa, and many more. Dance workshops will be held by hip hop dance company Nueva Generacion, and the day will climax at 7pm with a carnival parade of all participants – and any spectators brave enough to join in!

Mayfest will also host the Celebrating Enterprise Festival Futures Seminar, supported by the ESF Equal fund, and the grand opening of the new East London Theatre Archive, celebrating 25 years of New Variety, with a host of VIP guests.

Mark O’Thomas, Director of UEL’s new Institute for Performing Arts Development, said: “Our debut Mayfest last year was a huge success, attracting many more people than we expected. We aim to make Mayfest 07 even better, with more students, performances and community involvement than last year. We want to really establish is on the cultural calendar, celebrating creativity in East London and beyond.”

Mayfest 07 runs from 12 noon to 8 pm and admission is free. DLR Cyprus station is on campus, but please note – there is no car parking so please use public or alternative transport.

For full details log on to www.uel.ac.uk/mayfest

Ends/.

For details and pictures contact Patrick Wilson: 020 8223 2061 or 07951 797 975

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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