The People’s Tower
Burns Brightly
The Burns an’ a’ that! Festival is an annual five day tribute to Scotland’s internationally acclaimed poet, Robert Burns. UZ Arts produced the outdoor and music program for the Burns an’ a’ that! Festival in Ayr town centre in May 2012; this included Burns Brightly, the Ayrshire Roofless programme for that year. Roofless is Scotland’s biggest, most ambitious outdoor arts programme, designed to engage directly with tens of thousands of people in communities across the country; in Ayrshire, Shetland, Glasgow, Dumfriesshire, Aberdeenshire and Falkirk.
The Burns an’ a’ that! Festival programme was a heady concoction of live music, film, drama, comedy, arts & culture, literature, food & drink and family entertainment celebrating Scottish culture at its best. As part of the Burns Brightly programme, artist Olivier Grossetete created his first cardboard tower in Scotland for the festival, aided by local school children. People of all ages were enlisted to help make the gigantic tower that was built layer by layer by the public and then toppled to the delighted cries of the audience.
Surge Festival
In June 2012, the Burns an’ a’ that! Festival and the people of Ayrshire witnessed and participated in the building of a giant lighthouse out of cardboard boxes and Scotch tape. Artist Olivier Grossetete then brought his cardboard tower building to Scotland once again but this time in Glasgow as part of Roofless at the Surge Festival within the Merchant City Festival 2012. Co–produced by our partners Conflux with funding by IN SITU.
The People’s Tower at the Surge Festival within the Merchant City Festival 2012, in association with Conflux.
Torquay Tower
UZ Arts worked with French artist Olivier Grossetête once again, this time in Torbay on 27th July at the Torbay Festival in Devon. As a joint presentation with Born Hectic Events, Olivier built another of his huge cardboard tower designs in Fleet Street, Torquay at the Devonshire festival. Olivier builds giant cardboard constructions with assistance from the general public, this time creating a replica of Torquay’s Harbour Clock Tower. For each build he picks a local iconic tower structure, creating a unique design for each venue. Previously, Olivier designed and created cardboard towers as part of our Rooflessprogramme in Ayrshire at the Burns an’ a’ that! Festival, in Glasgow at the Merchant City Festival in 2012 and most recently at Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, June 2013.
The tower designs Olivier has built in the UK will be rebuilt as part of a cardboard city of about 25 towers in Marseilles in September 2013.
Replica of Torquay’s Harbour Clock Tower at Torquay Festival 2013
Glastonbury
UZ Arts worked with French artist Olivier Grossetête, at the iconic music and arts festival Glastonbury, 26th – 30th June 2013. Olivier builds giant cardboard constructions with assistance from the general public. Previously, Olivier designed and created cardboard towers as part of our Roofless programme in Ayrshire at the Burns an’ a’ that! Festival and in Glasgow at the Merchant City Festival in 2012 reaching heights of 18m. The Glastonbury tower was based on the iconic St Michael’s Tower that sits on the Glastonbury Tor.
Olivier’s tower was built in the Theatre and Circus area of the festival site over the whole festival weekend, working up to a spectacular finale on the Sunday. We had the help of hundreds of festival go-ers who delighted in creating the cardboard construction and helped to build a most spectacular structure, only to see it topple and be ripped apart. We were dubbed one of the top ten events to go and see at the festival by Q magazine. We had the excellent opportunity and pleasure to work with our friends at Born Hectic Events based in Devon and Conflux; the physical theatre, circus and street arts school based in Glasgow, who assisted the UZ team with Olivier’s tower. Conflux presented their new work “Fish Out of Water” at Glastonbury Festival.
The tower designs Olivier has built in the UK will be rebuilt as part of a cardboard city of about 25 towers in Marseilles in September 2013.
Olivier Grossetete at Festival 2018
UZ Arts are delighted to welcome French INSITU artist Olivier Grossetete and his team back to Glasgow for a very special Festival 2018 edition of his international public-built cardboard tower project “The People Unite” during the 2018 European Championships which will be held in August in Glasgow and Berlin.
As part of the cultural programme for Festival 2018 and Glasgow’s 2018 European Championships, Olivier is creating a magnificent Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired structure that will be built by the People of Glasgow.
We will need everyone to come along and help up from 29th July – 2nd Aug to make bricks from cardboard boxes at The Briggait and for the big build on Friday 3rd August in the middle of Glasgow Green. Make sure you come back for the big TOPPLE on Saturday 4th Aug.
