Chichester Design is thrilled to be involved in a project for the Cultural Olympics, which will bring together the community of Selsey, near Chichester. Local schoolchildren and traders will unite to celebrate Selsey and its poetic offerings as literary genius Rudyard Kipling based his poem Eddi’s Service (AD 687) on the seaside town.
The plan is to stage a contemporary opera-chorale based on the poem, which centres on Eddi of Manhood End (the Manhood peninsula being part of the Selsey coastline). The opera will be performed in a huge tent specially designed for the event over several nights in 2012 and is designed to create a lasting legacy for community involvement in the arts.
Pamela Howard OBE FRSA, with her international expertise as theatre director and scenographer, is the driving force behind this ambitious and exciting project. After outlining proposals at a local Fellow meeting for the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) held in January 2009, Pamela has now asked many respected artists and designers from the Chichester area to play their parts in the developments.
Our Managing Director, Ben, met Pamela while he was running the Oxmarket Centre of Arts in Chichester. Chichester Design now maintains her website and assists with technical support and when Pamela asked us to be involved in the exciting project we jumped at the chance.
We’ve been involved from the start when Ben went out on location with Pamela, Chris Butler, and Harry Page to film the video to accompany the opera’s proposal to the Arts Council. Ben had this to say on the day:
“It got very wet and cold down at Selsey. Proper wicked weather for walking let alone filming! But it was brilliant experience and I really enjoyed myself. I can’t wait for Chichester Design’s involvement in the project in the future.”
Chichester Design is set to develop the website for the event and Chichester Canvas are working on the design of the auditorium. The music has been specially commissioned and, once written and performed, will take on a life of its own, and is expected to reach out to more remote audiences whenever it is performed.
We can’t wait to see the opera live!
See below for some of Pamela’s visions on the event:
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