It’s a thorough Portuguese paint job at Brick Lane’s Old Truman Brewery for the Iminente Festival
Even a ‘selfie’ is considered ‘art’ while preparing for Iminente Festival at Brick Lane’s Old Truman brewery. Picture: Jose Pando Lucas
Portuguese artists have been painting the town red, white and all colours of the rainbow turning Old Truman’s Brewery into some kinds of updated psychodelic showcase.
It’s all done with a European theme in the wake of Brexit depicting what’s going on across the continent.
They have been getting ready for the inaugural UK edition of the ‘Festival Iminente’ opening today in Brick Lane.
The two-day festival features an experimental mix of the best in Portuguese art and music, bringing innovative cultural Lisbon to London’s East End.
It follows a successful debut in the Oeiras region of Lisbon that was staged last year.
The exhibition, curated by Portuguese artist Vhils, puts Lisbon’s Underdogs Gallery with some of Europe’s underground musical acts firmly under a colourful spotlight.
It has been acclaimed by art and culture critics to be “the best in urban music” with a strong Portuguese flavour.
The festival also features art from a carefully-curated line-up of European visual artists from the Continent.
They are creating ‘immersive’ and political pieces of events in Europe, no doubt topical with east London having voted firmly last year to remain in the EU.
The mix of arts, music and politics is aimed at drawing a wider public from across London.
Organisers have signed up Portuguese artists such as Add Fuel, Corleone, Andre da Loba, Bordalo II, Draw & Contra, Halfstudio, Mais Menos, Mar, The Caver, Vhils and Wasted Rita, but also Britain’s Ben Eine and Sick Boy, Ireland’s Conor Harrington and Italy’s Pixel Pancho.
The line-up of live music includes Novelist, Francis Dale, Slow J, Cachupa Psicadélica, Chullage, Halloween, Scuru Fitchadu, Rita Maia’s Migrant Sounds, Batida, Shaka Lion and LV & Joshua Idehen, as well as DJs Glue, Kking Kong, Big, Ride, Nigga Fox and Firmeza.
Tickets are online for Iminente Festival at Truman’s in Brick Lane, close to Shoreditch High Street Overground station.
Jesper Carvalho Andersen 