The Neo-Futurists vs. The Anti-Ismists

The revolution hits the streets...

Our first day in Upnor

A Call to Arms

UPNOR - home of a famous Elizabethan Castle and a former military railway; supplier of men and explosives to the historic Chatham Dockyards. What will happen when The Neo-Futurist Collective take to the streets with placards and megaphones and invite the locals to do the same?

A Call to Arms - a celebration of Upnor's military and industrial past, has been commissioned by Fuse Medway Festival, and will be created from a series of workshops with the people of Upnor in making and performance. The crafting of an Upnor parish map will be our call to arms, a manifesto for future action. It will also act as a score for our performance piece, fusing ceremony and story-telling on the streets of Upnor at 7 pm on Sunday June 14th.

You are invited to the Press Launch, April 14th 2009.
Assemble @ high tide, 2.45 pm Arethusa Jetty, Lower Upnor

3 pm A Grand Arrival by boat.... Four members of The Neo-Futurist Collective stumble ashore - a man in a wet suit, another one wearing a pair of giant ears, one wearing a mask of a greek god and carrying a box of light bulbs and a woman with a basket of cakes and a huge ball of red thread...
A short absurdist ceremony will follow where the Neo-Futurists announce their intent to the assembled crowd, followed by official speeches from local dignitaries. During the ceremony The Neo-Futurist Collective will unveil a blank map of the Upnors to be filled in during the project.

"We bring to you today a blank map, to celebrate Upnor and to ask the question - What is special about Upnor, what do you like, what don't you like, what do you value, what would you change? You Upnorians are the experts, we come to celebrate Upnor..."

3.20 pm Photographs and Q and A's accompanied by Neo-Futurist cakes.

3.30 pm (approx.) The Neo-Futurists will walk to Upper Upnor (about 10 mins) for further Q and A's and refreshments hosted by Kevin and Joy at The Tudor Rose on the High St. Guests can accompany us on foot, or travel by car and meet us there. Local artists including Moogie Wonderland, Peter Reeds and Jane Pitt will transform the pub with sound and installation.