Celebrating the cultural richness of our area is a huge privilege. Kirkleatham, just outside Redcar, has become a hub of creativity with not one, but two festivals, making it their home this summer.
The Festival of Thrift and Between the Tides are very different in tone and focus, but they do share a common purpose – to bring families together in a celebration of creativity and community and a real sense of place.
I have been commissioned to photograph both festivals across multiple years, giving me a unique opportunity to document not only the events themselves, but also the atmosphere, energy and identity of a region that places culture at its heart. I covered the Festival of Thrift last year in Billingham, and the attached images to showcase the vibrancy, scale and community spirit that make the event so distinctive.
The Festival of Thrift attracts between 35,000 and 50,000 visitors and it has firmly established itself as much more than just a festival – it has become synonymous with sustainability and conscious living.
It is a joy to cover as it is multi-faceted featuring hands-on workshops, music, theatre and a market showcasing independent makers. The challenge, as a photographer, is to capture these diverse elements and translate them into a cohesive set of images to reflect both the scale of the event and the intimacy of individual moments.
Kirkleatham Museum and Grounds plays its part in the feel, and success of the festivals it hosts. The historic architecture, lush grounds and village layout provides a huge cultural stage.
Between the Tides, a free, outdoor event for families, is a natural fit for Kirkleatham. It celebrates performance and storytelling through theatre, puppetry, circus and dance. For a photographer, it is a joy to capture as it is all about movement, expression and interaction between performers and the audience.
This requires an intuitive and responsive approach to get across the energy of a circus act, the subtlety of a theatrical performance or the joy on the faces of children, fully immersed in the experience.
Working across both festivals provides a contrast in both style and storytelling. The Festival of Thrift, with its primary focus on sustainability, requires a broad, documentary approach to capture the scale and ethos of the event.
Between the Tides calls for a more performance-driven approach focusing on the fun interactions between the performer and audience. For me, these commissions go beyond photography. They capture the spirit of not just the festivals, but of the place. Memories, as well as images are preserved.