Kenilworth Arts Festival returns with a range of events for 2019

The Kenilworth Arts Festival will return for its third year with a diverse assortment of events on offer. Taking place just a 10 minute drive from campus in the historic town of Kenilworth, the festival focuses on celebrating “outstanding, original new work within the contemporary arts”. 

Starting on the 19th of September, events take place across 10 days in various locations within Kenilworth. Concluding on the 28th of September, the festival’s website states that it hopes to “(transform) everyday spaces into magical venues and (provide) unique live experiences for audiences”. 

Alongside being just a stone’s throw away from the University of Warwick, some of the people involved with both organising the events and artists taking part have links to the University, including author and Warwick academic Caroline Lea as well as the main directors of the event. 

Talks from human rights writers, digital art inspired by music and live music comprise just some of the things on offer

Despite largely being a literary festival at heart, there is a broad spread of events available that differ from the more conventional ones that usually make up such festivals. Talks from human rights writers, digital art and live music comprise just some of the things on offer. 

To gain access to the range of author events taking place on the 21st and 22nd of September, ‘Talking Shop’ tickets are also available for purchase. The weekend pass grants access to the various author talks occurring over the two days, discussing topics from the Windrush scandal to the #MeToo movement. 

Artistic Director of the festival and Warwick alumnus Lewis Smith commented: “We’re really excited for this year’s festival, and extremely proud to be able to welcome leading writers, musicians and visual artists to the town for one-off events in different venues around the town.”

This year’s event line up “engages with some of the major issues facing us as a society today and encourages us to think about the world around us in new ways”

Smith went on to describe the festival as boasting a “really diverse and vibrant programme this year, showcasing a broad spectrum of the creative arts and featuring international artists, UK premieres and one-off collaborations”.  

This year’s event line up “engages with some of the major issues facing us as a society today and encourages us to think about the world around us in new ways”. It “features some brilliant writers and campaigners, including award-winning feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, writer & editor Nikesh Shukla and Guardian journalist Amelia Gentleman, who won the 2018 Journalism of the Year Award for her work exposing the Windrush scandal”.

Lewis concluded that “the festival promises to be a very special ten days of events, and it’s a fantastic opportunity to experience world class arts events only 10 minutes from campus. We’d love to see students there! (P.S, student discount is available for all events!)”.

For more information on the festival see https://www.kenilworthartsfestival.co.uk/.