An antidote to the large faceless corporate festivals is springing up at Merton Farm in Canterbury this July in the form of the community-led Brainchild festival. ………..

‘We’re going to run a festival together’, so gushed the nineteen year old Marina Blake, co-founder of the Brainchild festival, to her friend Isobel Adomakoh-Young at midnight, New Year’s Eve 2012.

Having agreed (with clearer heads in the morning) that the combined talent within their collective friend networks deserved to be shared with a wider audience, the two set about making this revelry fuelled vision a reality.

Skip to six months and a student-flat floor strewn with lists of acts, site maps and tea stains later and the inaugural Brainchild was officially opening its gates to 500 bright young things looking for a more relaxed, culturally focussed festival experience.

Now in its second year, this antidote to the larger cooperate summer music programme takes place at Merton Farm, Canterbury in a three day celebration of interdisciplinary arts talent between 5th-7th July.

Brainchild promises an opportunity to explore shared visions and discuss new concepts in a forum of progressive ideas. Artists and ticket holders coalesce as part of a fluid programme of new theatre, music, talks, films and happenings where the unplanned is as important as the programmed.

The original festival was pulled together in the space of three months on a shoestring budget by a group of visionary Cambridge students of the ‘Occupy’ generation. Isobel and Marina recruited ten other like-minded creative individuals to form the core of the Brainchild team. All were inspired by a frustration with the ‘backstage’ element of larger festivals and so aimed from the offset to break down the boundaries of the traditional ticket-holder vs performers set up and to avoid selling out to commercial institutes.

The union of this founding circle is pre-emptive of what developed to be the central draw to the festival. With attendance limited to 500, Brainchild initiates the formation of a community from a group of strangers who, are brought together into a microcosm a part form their everyday lives, to make art and drive forward new ideas.

This is reflected in the not-for-profit status of the festival and the fact that most of the acts play for free in the spirit of celebrating the communality of creativity. Indeed, last year, festival- goers were so enveloped into the creative vibe of the gathering that they brought their own instruments, creating pockets of impromptu performance.

The aim is ultimately to toe the line between the philosophical and a fantastic party where the intensity is heightened by the intimacy of the venue- if the quality of discussion is electric, so is the atmosphere in the main DJ tent ‘The Shack’ where, the party continues well into the early hours of the morning to the beats of artists including Deft, My Panda Shall Fly, Riffs and Beau, and live art from Andrew Werdna and Chris Gharibi. 

In terms of other scheduled events, this year sees the introduction of new set theatre pieces such as Pink and Gender the Elephant, representing the pick of some of Cambridge’s best productions this year. Headline slots on the music front go to BBC Sound of 2013’s nominated, King Krule alongside Filthy Boy, United Vibrations ad Benin City who have joined the festival to share their music amongst an audience of friends.

Live poetry and debate are high on the agenda with thriving poetry and music blog Poejazzi hosting a jam packed programme and, following her exhibition at the Wellcome Centre, celebrated author and historian Louisa Young will be talking on the culture of the heart. As well as this there will be a chance to experience the work of up and coming film makers with highlights including a screening of acclaimed documentary Creating Freedom, by Raoul Martinez, which has just premiered in New York.

The focus, however, remains upon the openness and flexibility of creativity. Hence, discussions are staged in order to open up debate rather than being didactic and are geared towards allowing equal time to both speakers and open forum questions. In addition, issues and ideas can be furthered outside of the schedule in the festival’s jam space- ‘The Steez Café’- an informal bar and performance tent with a PA open mic for anyone to showcase their work.

Likewise, the stage events are complimented by an eclectic array of wandering interactive performances and many of the art installations are developed over the course of the three days, so that visitors can witness the process behind the finished pieces. There are also plenty of workshops to keep your creative juices flowing and engage in the hands on ethos of the festival with opportunities to experience everything from compassionate voodoo art to to paint on the alternative canvases of three white cars provided by online start-up Drawdeck.

Co-Founder Isobel sums up the experience: ‘We really see our audience as being anyone who has an open mind to something that’s different to a more regimented event and enjoys sharing conversation, skills and most importantly fun. There’s a lot to see and do but it also appeals to people who just want an amazing party- everyone goes away from it knowing everyone else so that the Brainchild community evolves long after the summer’.

Brainchild Festival runs Merton Farm, Canterbury 5th, 6th, 7th July 2013

For further information and tickets, visit the Brainchild site.