Farewell from Macclesfield Barnaby Festival

Image: Mike and Danny Thorpe. Film Stills

A film commissioned by Macclesfield Barnaby Festival (MBF) premiered last week at a special event in Townley Hall.

The final commission Barnaby. Painting the Town set out to capture the spirit of Barnaby as well as celebrate how the festival enriched cultural life – providing opportunities for artists to create new work and for residents to participate in cultural activity in the town.

Co-directed by father and son Mike and Danny Thorpe, the half hour documentary features some of the people involved in Barnaby over the years, including artists, performers, volunteers, and team members. The film aims to act as a visual record and celebration of the past fifteen years of creative ambition delivered by the Festival as well as exploring its ups and downs. A digital copy of the film will be donated to North West Film Archive and will be available to view on their Vimeo channel.

Mike Thorpe is a graphic designer and artist based in Macclesfield. He has been involved in Barnaby and set up twentysevenb studio on Pickford Street, which provides a base for ten artists. Danny was brought up in Macclesfield and works in sports broadcasting. He is also a musician, playing for many years in a Macclesfield-based band called Racing Glaciers. 

Mike says: “We were keen the film didn’t feel too nostalgic or posthumous. Barnaby has had a positive impact on people within the town. So many people were involved either producing work, or volunteering and it had a real ripple effect, with many of them going on to do something else creative. It really was a great thing for Macclesfield.”

Danny added: “We couldn’t capture everything that Barnaby created. It is our vision of the Festival. We wanted to showcase its legacy, as well as touch on the challenges it faced. We also wanted to ask what comes next?”

This is the first time the father and son have worked together on a film. They share many of the same aesthetic values, but Mike says: “Danny brought the technical skills that were needed as Director and Director of Photography. It has been a great project to work on.”

The documentary will be edited with historic film footage of Macclesfield from North West Film Archive of events such as the crowning of the Silk Queen and a fun day on the Moss Rose estate.

The film ends with a new piece of work written and performed by Ailsa Holland and Angie Aiken, which was filmed in Paradise Mill, part of the Silk Museum. The piece features original spoken word and new music performed on the cello and was written especially for Barnaby. It is a fitting end to the Festival, which saw many artists commissioned to create new work premiered in the town, with some pieces going on to venues around the country.

The soundtrack to the film features music by Danny’s band Racing Glaciers as well as a track by L.A.S.H, a Macclesfield-based quartet.

Sue Todd, one of Macclesfield Barnaby Festival Trustees, says: “There is sadness in saying goodbye to Barnaby but now is the right time to end and to celebrate all that has been achieved.  Barnaby leaves such a strong legacy and can proudly say that it has been a catalyst and support for so many artists and groups who have established themselves in Macclesfield.

“At the heart of the Festival has been the community, its partnerships, its sense of place and distinctiveness. We are grateful to all those who have supported Barnaby Festival over the years, either as trustees, volunteers, artists, partners, funders, or venues. We would not have been able to do this without them.

“We are delighted to end on a creative note through this film with new poetry and music by Ailsa and Angie. We’d like to thank Mike and Danny for making this wonderful film and all the people who have given their time and hearts to Barnaby over the years.”   

Macclesfield Barnaby Festival was established in 2010 as a midsummer festival of arts and culture. Its vision was to engage the community and empower people to create, inspired by the heritage of the town. The founders were local people who wanted to see a vibrant place of cultural happenings made in partnership with the community and led by volunteers.

Within a few years Barnaby was credited with igniting a cultural renaissance delivering exceptional programmes, based around a theme for each of its ten festivals. Barnaby built local partnerships and presented work in shops, cafes, bars, heritage spaces, churches, disused spaces and animated the streets in the town centre.

The film Barnaby. Painting the Town will be available to view later in March on North West Film Archive Vimeo Channel. https://vimeo.com/nwfilmarchive