Digital Lincoln Frequency festival draws record 17,000 people

Frequency 2015, the third edition of a digital culture festival in Lincoln, saw a record 17,000 plus visitors enjoy exhibitions and events.

The festival ran from October 23 – November 1, featuring digital art exhibitions, installations, live performances and debates.

Under the theme of ‘Liberation’, inspired by Lincoln’s copy of Magna Carta, Frequency 2015 brought the world of digital advances city’s medieval streets.

Programme highlights included The One, The Few and The Many, a special light show by seeper at Lincoln Castle, which saw over 5,000 people attend across the two nights, and Enlightenment, a popular installation by Squidsoup in Waterside Shopping Centre which drew more than 800 visitors a day.

Digital artists and interactive designers from across the globe exhibited their work during the week, the majority of which sold out.

They were joined by around 200 Frequency Festival volunteers who supervised venues across the city, including many students from the University of Lincoln.

Presented and curated by Midlands-based media arts producer Threshold Studios, Frequency Festival is brought to the city through an established partnership between the University of Lincoln, Lincoln BIG, Visit Lincoln and Lincolnshire One Venues (LOV).

Principal funding of £145,000 came from the National Lottery through Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts scheme, with additional investment from the Foyle Foundation, the University of Lincoln and Cultural Destinations.

Visit Lincoln manager Emma Tatlow said: “Frequency Festival is one of the highlights in Lincoln’s events programme, attracting visitors from across the country – supported this year by the Virgin Trains East Coast special return train from London King’s Cross direct to Lincoln over both weekends.

“A strong cultural programme is vital for our local economy and gives visitors reasons to visit – and to return – raising awareness of Lincoln and contributing to our ambitions to grow the volume and value of the visitor economy.

‘We are already looking forward to working with the University of Lincoln and the festival organisers, Threshold, on the next Frequency Festival planned for 2017.”

Uzma Johal, co-director of Frequency Festival and Threshold Studios added: “We are so grateful for the support of our funders, sponsors and partners who enabled us to deliver a high quality event, ensuring the Festival Trail remained free and ticketed events’ costs were as low as possible.

“Also a huge thank you to our visitors for coming out to try something different and to the artists and volunteers, without whom the festival would not be possible.

‘It’s now time to reflect and begin planning and making the case for investment to ensure an even bigger and better 2017 edition.”