ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
Festival of the Brain
25-29 MAY 2016 / FOLKESTONE QUARTERHOUSE
This May Folkestone Quarterhouse turns its attention once again to
the extraordinary workings of the brain.
With co-curators Susanna Howard of Living
Words, and Diane Dever of Folkestone Fringe,
they have kept abreast of cutting-edge
neurological research via health professionals,
scientists and artists and consulted with people
and local communities across Kent, so that the
second Normal? Festival of the Brain brings
together the latest developments in science and
art over five days from Wednesday 25th to
Sunday 29th May.
With the support of the Wellcome Trust
People’s Award, this year’s festival has doubled
in size and the scope of its enquiry encompasses
dementia, autism, food, mood, the teenage brain,
addiction and artificial intelligence. What happens
when connections, chemicals and catastrophes
send things off course and is there such a thing
as normal?
Meet the performance artist whose stroke
has led to a whole new way of making theatre
and remembering her cues; the show about
happiness based on self-help books, air-brushed
lives and the work of self-proclaimed happiness
gurus; the composer and singer whose new
work is shot through with obsessive compulsive
behaviour; and one woman’s attempt to conquer
her depression through dogsfordepression.org.uk
One aim of the festival is to bring people
together across generations. Based on real-life
25
stories, The Archivists is a performance for
schools and families set inside a brain trying to
keep dementia at bay whilst it sorts through a
lifetime of memories. The Girl and the Giraffe is
a theatre show for 3 to 6 year olds about sadness,
wellbeing and friendship told from a child’s
perspective.
Alongside the arts, they have gathered
eminent scientists and health professionals to
talk about their particular area of expertise.
Neonatologist Dr.Topun Austin will show his film
about baby brain development; award-winning
writer Nicola Morgan will share thoughts on the
teenage brain; substance misuse psychologist,
Luke Mitcheson, will chair a panel discussion on
addiction; and Ros Blackburn will give a firsthand account of living with severe autism.
A heady mix of art and science for the
insatiably curious, Normal? Festival of the Brain
is a pioneering combination of perspectives that
aims to place Folkestone at the forefront of
conversations about the brain, creativity and
wellbeing.
www.quarterhouse.co.uk