Essex - Jiangsu Cultural Festival

Join us in a 10 month long celebration. Many events are planned to celebrate our links with China involving Chinese groups resident in Essex. Other events will involve people or artefacts which will have travelled from Jiangsu to Essex especially for the Festival.

Many of the participating shows and performing groups have been brought to Essex by Essex County Council as part of the Essex-Jiangsu Festival, the biggest international arts festival Essex has ever enjoyed.

One of the first events major events will be an exhibition of terracotta figures. A selection of 43 terracotta figures from the Han Dynasty will be displayed at Colchester Castle museum from 19 July to 2 November 2008.

The Han Dynasty lasted over 400 years, from 206 BC to 220 AD, and is considered to be one of the greatest periods in the history of China. The Han figures were discovered in 1984 in the area of Xuzhou, in the northern part of Jiangsu Province. The collection includes horses, soldiers, dancers and musicians. Many of the figures still show some of their original pigment.

Essex-Jiangsu Cultural Festival 2008 events calendar:

May
Museums and Galleries Month – ‘China East – it’s not as far as you think’

27 and 28 June
Midsummer Music@Spencers in Great Yeldham. Jazz with musicians from China. For more information visit: www.spencersgarden.net/index.html

29 June
Dragon Boat Races - Lakeside Diving & Watersports Centre, West Thurrock

Throughout July and August
RHS Hyde Hall China Plant Hunters’ Trail
A self guided garden trail with information about Chinese plant hunters as well as a display of Chinese plants and vegetables. www.rhs.org.uk/WhatsOn/Gardens/hydehall

1 July
Photo Exhibition illustrating the Essex-Jiangsu link at Colchester Library.

19 July - 2 November
Terracotta Exhibition at Colchester Castle Museum
www.colchestermuseums.org.uk

22 July - 17 August
Photo Exhibition, Loughton Library

19 - 31 August
Photo Exhibition, Essex Record Office, Chelmsford

2 September
Photo Exhibition, Brentwood Library

7 September
Dragon Boat Races, Meadows Park Lake, Billericay

Other events will include:

The Nanjing Acrobats

World class contemporary art

The Nanjing Little Red Flowers
Don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to see a performance by the Little Red Flowers, some of China’s most talented performing artists aged from six to twelve years old.

In this spectacular show, the young performers will present a series of Chinese folk dances including Butterflies, New Boots and Children from the Mountains wearing traditional Chinese costume. They will sing well-known Chinese songs and play traditional Chinese instruments including the erhu and guzheng. A group of seven children will take part in an impressive drumming performance which will take your breath away. This highly visual performance has been specially adapted for non-Chinese audiences and will delight both children and adults alike.

Public performances:
20 September: EASTmeetsWEST spectacular outdoor event at Weald Country Park
27 September: Charter Hall, Colchester
28 September: Harlow PlayhouseThe Yangzhou Puppet Company
Enjoy a rare performance from the award-winning Yangzhou Puppet Company. Yangzhou in China is known as the ‘hometown of puppets’ and so it’s no wonder that the Yangzhou Puppet Company is one of China’s finest.

China has a long history of puppetry dating from as far back as 947BC and it is an important Chinese tradition. It was used as a form of entertainment for the Chinese Royal Family before becoming popular amongst the public.

A cast of eight highly skilled puppeteers and dozens of beautifully crafted puppets will entertain the audience with dancing, drawing and calligraphy. This special performance will charm visitors of all ages as well giving an insight into Chinese culture.

Public performances:
20 September: 10.30 – 1.00pm - Witham Puppet Festival
20 September: evening EASTmeetsWEST spectacular outdoor event at Weald Country Park
21 September: Rayne Village Hall
26 September: 1.30pm & 6.30pm Cramphorn Theatre, Chelmsford
27 September: Plume School Hall, Fambridge Road
28 September: Priory Park Bandstand, Southend
3 October: Great Stony, Ongar
4 October: Mercury Theatre Colchester
5 October: St John’s ARC, Harlow

Mastercrafts from Jiangsu
Come and watch some of Jiangsu’s most skilled craftsmen and women at work as they demonstrate the arts of kite making, mask making and painting, woodcarving, face painting, decorative knotting and lantern making.

Traditional crafts such as these are highly valued in Jiangsu and play an important part of the region’s cultural heritage. Many craftmasters learn their trade from a parent but it takes many years of dedicated practice to produce such beautiful and highly detailed work.

A team of five of craftmasters from the Nanjing Arts and Crafts Company will tour venues throughout Essex in November 2008.

Tour dates:
8 November: Library tbc
9 November: Hylands House
10 November: tbc
11 November: Rochford venue tbc
12 November: tbc –school in Canvey. Teachers workshop
14 November: Warner Textile Archive, Braintree
15 November: Mercury Theatre Colchester
16 November: Harlow Community Centre

We will update this page regularly so please return to find out more about this unique county-wide celebration.