Chorlton’s high street has been transformed into a virtual town to ensure the area’s arts festival will still able to go ahead online this weekend.
Chorlton Arts Festival was originally due to take place in May, but the coronavirus pandemic meant the event had to be postponed.
While Manchester is still in the midst of a local lockdown, creators of the festival decided to get creative about how the event would still be able to take place this year.
The curator of the arts festival, Jess Symons, decided to take on the big leagues of popular video games Minecraft and Roblox and bring Chorlton to life through a virtual world.
Jess, who is also a co-director at Visioning Lab, spent two months working alongside a team of volunteers using Mozilla Hubs and Art Steps software to create the online town.
During the festival, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday, visitors will be able to create their own avatar which can then ‘attend’ talks and performances.
“The art hubs that have been created are communal – so when you visit one, you see other people who are visiting at the same time,” Jess explains.
“Each visitor is assigned an avatar - they look a bit like Lego characters. You can wander around the spaces much like you would in a gallery, you can arrange to meet people there and hang out in the space.
“It's a way of experiencing things together even if you cannot physically meet up.”
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The festival will feature work from Susan Parry, Amy Telfer, Mike Beard, Nerissa Cargill Thompson and Cathy Duggan, while musicians including Chu Yun, Peggy Chorlton and The Dead Xtras will also make appearances.
Jess said the need for a virtual space was to help artists showcase their work but also create the community aspect that is associated with the arts festival.
“I created a Solstice as a new online 3D digital performance and meeting space,” she adds.
“It is themed as an outdoor festival using Chorlton Ees as a backdrop, we have a big screen so people can come in and watch films together.
“It is just so funny to be standing next to a panda and duck watching human musicians performing on a large screen, all the while knowing that you are really at home wearing headphones and sitting at the computer in your front room.”
Peter Topping, Chorlton-based artist and director of the festival, has also helped out creating the virtual space and his paintings of the area have been used to make sure the virtual world truly represents Chorlton.
“When Jess approached us with the offer to facilitate a virtual arts festival we jumped at the opportunity,” Peter, 71, says.
“Our virtual Chorlton has all the important places but also a little bit of mystery because no virtual town is complete without a secret tunnel.
“I am delighted that people can get together virtually, to stroll through their township, enjoy free performances and art exhibitions, and chat together about their experiences.”
You can virtually attend the Chorlton Arts Festival this weekend here.
