Videos of the Festival made by Buzz Films are available here:
This March the Library proudly throws its doors wide open to up-and-coming creatives with its first ever Spring Festival. A long weekend of activities will kick off with a spectacular Spring Market on the Library’s St Pancras piazza, and a range of supporting events will open up the Library’s vast and varied collections for use by people in the creative industries, whether for fashion, graphic design, illustration or even typography.
Bringing people together from across the creative spectrum, these events include a must-attend panel discussion featuring Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett and much loved illustrator, Quentin Blake; a morning of networking and business advice with industry experts, including phenomenally successful ceramics designer Emma Bridgewater; and an after-hours pop-up exhibition of some of today’s finest illustration accompanied by a DJ set from Mr Scruff, as well as the opportunity to see the iconic walls of the Library being covered in digital graffiti.
As well as offering a route into the Library’s collections, the Spring Festival also highlights the wealth of free business advice and practical resources available via the Library’s Business & IP Centre, to give creative practitioners a platform to succeed in their craft. Since opening in 2006 the Centre has helped 250,000 businesses and entrepreneurs develop, protect and market their ideas.
Recent success stories from the Centre include wedding dress designer, Lucy Tammam, whose ethical fashion masterpieces have sparked widespread media interest and gained an international following.
Festival highlights include:
Spring Market - Thursday 1 March
Kicking off the Festival will be the British Library’s first ever Spring Market. Skilled designers will form a creative collective, selling their wares and crafts on the Library’s busy St Pancras piazza.
Inspired by...patterns and textures- Thursday 1 March
A must-attend event for fashion and textile designers - British Library curators will reveal the wealth of patterns and textures that weave through the British Library’s collections; with visual inspiration from the Russian Avant Garde, Japanese woodcuts and the Olga Hirsch collection.
Make it, Sell it! - Thursday 1 March
Aimed at crafts and jewellery makers, attendees will network with other makers and meet a team of industry experts including Emma Bridgewater to gain advice on how to take designs to market, protect ideas and manage the production process and scale.
The Art of Illustration- Friday 2 March
A panel of experts including Quentin Blake, Jamie Hewlett, Posy Simmonds and satirical cartoonist Martin Rowson will select and explain their own choice of favourite illustrations from across different genres, cultures and styles. In association with House of Illustration.
LATE at the Library- Illuminate!: A Celebration of Illustration- Friday 2 March
An after-hours pop-up exhibition of some of the finest illustrators working today including Jon Burgerman, James Jarvis, Alice Melvin and Martin Rowson. This is a chance to soak up some of the sumptuous art held at the Library from medieval manuscripts to their modern-day counterparts, including the world’s largest comic. The evening will include masterclasses and a bar as well as live musical performance from Mr Scruff. In association with House of Illustration.
Vintage Knit-Work- Saturday 3 March
Have fun recreating one of the Library’s knitting patterns from our collections. We have thousands of patterns, from 1930s hair accessories to woollen hot pants from the 70s. Basic knitting skills are required.
In partnership with Patons
Emotional Type- Monday 5 March
An inspirational panel, including Keith Martin, University of the Arts, will explore the persuasive and subliminal nature of type and its ability to evoke strong feelings and to connect its audience with places, culture and ideas.
Frances Taylor, Marketing Manager, Creative Industries, British Library commented: “The British Library is committed to supporting the creative industries as we recognise the invaluable role they have to play in the success of the UK’s economy. The Spring Festival will help people to delve in to our collections in a new way, to excite, challenge and inspire the talented creative practitioners working in the UK today. We want people to have fun, play with the collections, discover uncharted territory, find help to develop existing work in practical ways and maybe stumble across their next big idea!”
-Ends-
BoilerPlate
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation and includes books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, photographs,
newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. Up to 10 million people visit the British Library website - www.bl.uk - every year where they can view up to 4 million digitised collection items and over 40 million pages.
The British Library Business & IP Centre is supported by the London Development Agency (LDA) to provide a one-stop-shop to support entrepreneurs and SMEs in London to gain access to and exploit existing and new business and IP (intellectual property) information, and other relevant content and data, guided by impartial Library information experts and associated partners. The British Library’s Business & IP Centre has been used by over 200,000 people since it opened in March 2006. The Centre is free, but users need a Reader Pass. For more information visit: www.bl.uk/bipc