Returning to London once again, the InTRANSIT festival will take over Kensington and Chelsea from the 9th to the 25th June. 

InTRANSIT returns to the capital to showcase a programme of site-responsive art and performance based on the theme of ‘Island Life’, which will showcase the work of artists who look at the contrasts of urban isolation and connectivity, celebrating community and the principle that ‘no man is an island’.

Highlights of the festival will include a series of large-scale, playful sandcastles produced in conjunction with the Museum of Architecture; an immersive exploration of JG Ballard’s novel Concrete Island; an electro-folk opera at the Print Room; an art exhibition in a secret subterranean space at Notting Hill Gate station; and a day of dance and participation from Polynesia and Melanesia.

The festival is curated and produced by O’Neill/Ross, championing work that is relevant and unique. InTRANSIT exclusively commissions new art in every genre in unexpected locations.

Curators O’Neill/Ross said: “InTRANSIT and the Portobello Pavilion have the power to make creativity a part of the every-day landscape – something both inspiring and accessible. Across the cultural sector there has been a real move towards connectivity and engagement, with InTRANSIT’s core of outdoor and site-specific practice consistently involving a high proportion of younger audiences. This is our fourth year at the helm of InTRANSIT, and we look forward with eager anticipation to an ambitious summer of giant sandcastles, mass vocal projects, pulsating motorway art, and three weeks of non-stop creative activities.” 

Some examples of what the festival will feature includes:

• Portobello Pavilion: the temporary structure will host a series of free practical workshops and lectures focusing on community engagement and experimentation. In homage to this year’s theme, the Pavilion will take the appearance of a small wooded island rising from the tarmac, involving the community in an ambitious and innovative build process.
• Sandcastles: each of the large scale sandcastles will be displayed outside the Design Museum, in Duke of York Square, and at Portobello Market and will be accompanied by exhibitions and discussions on ‘Beach Architecture’ as well as practical workshops for all the family.
• Airborne: composer and artist Verity Standen will work with local groups of singers to surprise audiences with pop up performances in a variety of locations.

The InTRANSIT Festival will run from the 9th to the 25th June. For more information  visit: http://www.intransitfestival.co.uk/.