What to look out for at Lincoln’s Frequency Festival this week

Frequency International Festival of Digital Culture will wow audiences with four packed days of digital, culture and tech starting on Thursday.

Streets, screens and public spaces across the city will be bursting with exciting exhibitions, talks, workshops and live performances by artists. It will take place in Lincoln city centre from October 24-27 (10am-5pm daily, but until 9pm on Friday).

The festival as a whole is free, but there are some ticketed events at a cost.

The theme of the 2019 festival is ‘Disruption = Cultural Reinvention’ and the festival programme will aim to challenge perceptions, capture imaginations and inspire change.

The fifth edition of the festival features over 30 events. The Lincolnite has compiled a list of ten highlights to give a full flavour of this year’s festival.

Frequency Festival 2019 highlights

The Fabratory

Driverless Car Challenge. Photo: Siemens

When: Thursday, October 24 until Sunday, October 27 (11am-4pm)
Where: Cornhill, High Street, Lincoln

A family-friendly space with workshops and activities for young curious minds, suitable for ages 5 and up. Build fantastic Lego WeDo models with JuniorStem, then learn to program sensors, motors and lights to bring them to life. It also includes playing interactive games and competing with friends in a Driverless Car Challenge by Siemens.

Click here for more information.

Digital After Dusk

Halo Illumaphonium. Photo: Michael Davis

When: Friday, October 25 (5pm-9pm)
Where: Starts at Lincoln Castle

See the city and festival in a different light with exhibitions, installations, events and happenings until 9pm. Take a twilight stroll and revel in cutting-edge international art and performances. Dancers from Lincoln and North Hykeham will be travelling from uphill to downhill Lincoln for a Digital Light Box Parade.

Click here for more information.

Illumaphonium:Halo

Illumaphonium Halo. Photo: Michael Davis

When: Friday, October 25 (4pm-9pm)
Where: Lincoln Castle

Illumaphonium:Halo is a sculpture, an instrument, an environment. Using sound, light, algorithms and digital sensors, inventor Michael Davis has created an immensely satisfying, creative and magical experience to immerse yourself in.

Click here for more information.

VR Storyroom

VR Storyroom. Photo: Metro Boulot Dodo

When: Thursday, October 24 until Sunday, October 27 (10am-5pm, suitable for ages 13+)
Where: St Benedict’s Centre (off High Street)

The VR Storyroom, created by MBD, is home to a series of Virtual Reality installations and experiences. Travel through time and space to meet a long extinct dinosaur, or be transported back to the trenches of World War One. Put a headset on, close the door and explore.

Click here for more information.

Step Sonic

Step Sonic. Photo: Tom Dale Company

When: Friday, October 25 (7.30pm)
Where: Lincoln Performing Arts Centre (LPAC)
Cost: Tickets available to book on LPAC website priced at £12.50 (Full) and £5 (LIVE pass – students & Under 26s)

Three dancers unite in an amplified environment. Shotgun microphones, custom-made instruments, plate reverbs and amplified boxes capture the rhythms and sounds. Sampled and processed live by composer Jo Willis, the dancers become the band, creating a new type of dance music/music dance.

Click here for more information.

Care(less)

Care(less). Photo: Lindsay Seers

When: Thursday, October 24 to Sunday, October 27 (10am-5pm)
Where: Cobb Hall, The Castle

Care(less) is a new 360 degree film work by artist Lindsay Seers. It uses Virtual Reality technology to give you the opportunity to feel what it might be like to be in the body of an older person facing a gradual reduction in capacity.

Click here for more information.

Upload/Unplug

Upload Unplug. Photo: Pell Ensemble

When: Thursday, October 24 (7.30pm)
Where: Lincoln Drill Hall
Cost: This is a Pay What You Decide event – click here for more details

Meet David. From the safety of your seat, through a custom-built app, your every tap, swipe and swirl will inform who David becomes. A live performance and gaming experience where your choices become data, uploaded to shape a human being.

Click here for more information.

Small Global

Small Global. Photo: D-Fuse

When: Saturday, October 26 and Sunday, October 27 (10am-5pm)
Where: Lincoln Drill Hall

Layers of projections and screens create an invisible cube of images, with light spilling onto the walls, ceiling and floor. Your movement triggers sensors and reveals more visual information. Surround sound will immerse you and your body will become part of the projection.

Click here for more information.

Maga Grabber

Maga Grabber. Photo: Annabel McCourt

When: Thursday, October 24 until Sunday, October 27 (10am-5pm)
Where: Mr Dryclean, Silver Street

Play a traditional seaside arcade game with a political twist. In a direct response to Donald Trump’s infamous brag that he just grabs women by a certain part of their anatomy, this claw grabber machine replaces cuddly toys with ‘Make America Great Again’ merchandise.

Click here for more information.

A Moment of Madness

When: Friday, October 25 and Saturday, October 26 (Friday 3.30pm & 6pm, Saturday 10.30am, 2pm & 5pm)
Where: Lincoln Drill Hall (starting in The Room Upstairs)
Cost: £40 (cover one car load of participants – four people) – click here to buy tickets

Thrust into the heart of a spy thriller, you’ll navigate the political scandal of the decade. Staking out a multi-storey car park you must use every mode of surveillance to hunt down facts and intercept evidence.

*This is suitable for 16+ and under 18s should be accompanied by a responsible adult

Click here for more information.

Click here to see the full programme for the 2019 Frequency Festival.

Frequency Festival is presented by creative producers Threshold Studios, with the support of Arts Council England, University of Lincoln and a select range of city wide partners and businesses.