FESTIVAL CHECKLIST

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KODAK M35 FILM CAMERA Capture all your festival memories in physical form with this lm camera that can be used again and again. Price: £25 Stockist: urbanout tters.com

PINEWOOD PONCHO RAINFALL

Scottish festivals can be notoriously damp, so this full-length foldable poncho will keep out the rain without weighing you down. Price: £40 Stockist: nordicoutdoor.co.uk

CHEEKY PANDA WIPES

Wipes are a staple at festivals. Find biodegradable face, hand and antibacterial variations at Cheeky Panda to stay fresh while being kind to the planet. Price: £2–£5 Stockist: cheekypanda.com

ALPINE HEARING PROTECTION Protect those lugs while enjoying noisy headliners with silicone earplugs that can also be used for sleep purposes in raucous campsites. Price: £25 Stockist: alpinehearingprotection.co.uk

Ensure you’re well prepared for your festival away-days and overnights with this selection of discreet but practical items. Megan Merino runs through the packing list

AESOP RESURRECTION RINSE-FREE HAND MIST

A compact mist to keep hands disinfected, hydrated and smelling delicious. Price: £10 Stockist: aesop.com

NOLII MODULAR PHONE CHARGER & BATTERY SYSTEM

This slick portable charger is a great investment to keep any essential electronics full of juice. Price: £55 Stockist: nolii.com

WILD DEODORANT TRAVEL KIT

Stay fresh with this re llable, travel-size deodorant applicator. Scents include fresh cotton & sea salt and jasmine & mandarin blossom. Price: £25 Stockist: wearewild.com

BAMBOO EYE MASK

This hypoallergenic and antibacterial eye mask is ideal for catching more of that sweet shut-eye while camping. Price: £18 Stockist: wearthlondon.com

Green Space Dark Skies

BOX OF TRICKS

The ambitious UK-wide UNBOXED celebration brings a series of spectacular large-scale events to Scotland in 2022. Ailsa Sheldon delves into this package of goodies

UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is a genre-bending explosion of light, colour and experimental events happening all over the UK in 2022 aiming to showcase the breadth and diversity of creativity in the UK and engage and inspire as many people as possible.

Ten large-scale, multi-site projects bringing together arts, technology and science will happen throughout the year, beginning in March. Each project is a collaboration between multiple creatives and partners, backed by a £120 million investment from the UK Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government.

One project has been selected from each UK nation, with a further six commissions selected from UK-wide teams. In addition to Dandelion, Scotland’s selection (see page 18), five further projects will have a Scottish presence in 2022: About Us, StoryTrails, Dreamachine, PoliNations and Green Space Dark Skies. All of them involve audience participation in some form, many use cutting-edge technology and all celebrate and invite creativity in its widest sense – from art and music to science and technology. All events are free and everyone is invited.

About Us launches the whole UNBOXED programme. Taking place at Paisley Abbey and town centre in March, this large-scale outdoor event features live performances of music and poetry alongside multimedia installations. From the Big Bang to the present day, About Us explores the infinite connections linking the universe, the natural world and all of us, from stardust and complex ecosystems to our social relationships and responsibilities. Paisley will be

transformed into a large canvas for projections and animations, and musician Nitin Sawhney has composed a new score to be performed by local choirs. A creative collaboration involving 59 Productions, Stemettes and The Poetry Society, About Us will also take place in DerryLondonderry, Caernarfon, Luton, Hull and online.

More immersive experiences await audiences at StoryTrails in Dundee and Dumfries, as well as 13 other locations across the UK. This project promises to be ‘a deep dive into our collective history’, unearthing and bringing to life stories in each host town and city. StoryTrails will use streets as well as libraries and cinemas to tell a unique range of stories through augmented reality and virtual reality technology. The trails will give participants the opportunity to ‘see’ the host towns and cities in the past and hear stories of people who lived there. Using archival footage from the British Film Institute and the BBC, you’ll be able to experience moments from history in the locations where they actually happened. StoryTrails is supported by prominent historian David Olusoga, who will also create a film about the project. The stories that we tell are important: they help inform our understanding of who we are and where we are going. StoryTrails aims to spark conversations

PoliNations

PHOTO: THISS, CARL ROBERTSHAW, BRONIA HOUSMAN

PHOTO: BFI, NEXUS AND UPLANDS about our collective past, and our shared future.

Dreamachine is a touring production exploring the creativity of the human mind, and may require a leap of faith for the curious participant. Audiences across the four capital cities of the UK will experience a sound and light show with their eyes closed, the idea being that each individual will see rich and colourful imagery that is only in their mind. The project takes inspiration from an obscure 1959 invention by artist Brion Gysin called the Dream Machine, a flickering light device designed to stimulate kaleidoscopic patterns for the viewer. Participants will be invited to share their experiences for a study led by Professor Anil Seth from the Centre for Consciousness Science with the aim of discovering connections in how we perceive and create the world. Dreamachine is created in collaboration by creative producer Jennifer Crook’s Collective Act, working with Turner Prize-winning artists Assemble and Mercury-nominated composer Jon Hopkins.

In August, PoliNations will visit Edinburgh’s George Street as part of Assembly Festival at the Edinburgh Fringe before transferring to Birmingham. A free performance programme hosting a roster of Fringe artists will take place over nine days under the canopy of a 40-foot architectural tree in a celebration of diversity and the multicultural origins of people and plants in the UK.

Finally, Green Space Dark Skies takes us out of the cities and into the UK’s National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty including the Cairngorms National Park, and other sites across Scotland. Some 20,000 ‘lumenators’ are sought across the UK to participate in the events that will see them carrying low-impact, hand-held smart lights specially developed by Siemens for the project to illuminate landscapes in digitally choreographed chains of light. Led by outdoor art pioneers Walk the Plank each light show will be filmed and made available online for wider viewing shortly after the event.

So let UNBOXED be your invitation to get involved, connect with others, unleash your creativity and explore some new ideas and places in 2022. n unboxed2022.uk