Blue Skies Festival

2011-13

Blue Skies - Dundee's festival of 'kite flying, stargazing and rainbow chasing' was a festival that included giant origami, paper plane making and city centre rainbows as well as film screenings, dance and live music performances. Blue Skies was initiated as a project for Dundee and took place in August in 2011, 2012 & 2013

Events included:

New commissions by Smallpetitklein dance company and visual artists Alistair McClymont, Pernille Spence and Keiko Mukade

Rehearsed reading of Little Eagles by Rona Munro presented by Dundee Rep Ensemble in the impressive surroundings of Broughty Ferry Castle.

A perfomance of Brechts 'Life of Galileo' interrupted by astronomical lectures.

A performance by British Championship winning ice skaters with 2013 Scottish Album of the Year shortlisted band Remember Remember at Dundee Ice Arena

Kite flying, rocket launching, origami, poetry, paper plane making, and drama and scenery making workshop at the annual Celebration in the Park event

Paper aeroplane championships!

Special screening of the classic '80s film Top Gun accompanied by a squadron of guitarists in Dundee Airport check-in lounge.

THe creation of an temporary independent state by artist Gair Dunlop on a island in the River Tay.

Each year the festival closed with an evening of music, performance and stargazing at Mills Observatory timed to coincide with the Perseid meteor shower.

Blue Skies was brought together by a partnership of arts organisations from across the city of Dundee, led by DCA.  Participating organisations include: Big Sky, DCA, Dundee Rep Theatre, Dundee Science Centre, Hot Chocolate, Leisure and Culture Dundee, Scottish Dance Theatre and Smallpetitklein.

Photos from the Blue Skies Festival by Alan Richardson and Erika Stevenson