Rochester Art Fair is a new and exciting event providing art lovers, art collectors and the local community based in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, London and the surrounding areas, with the opportunity to browse and buy beautiful, original artwork and interact directly with artists from across the UK and Europe.
Set against the lavish backdrop of the 18th Century Rochester Corn Exchange in the historic town of Rochester, Kent. The Fair showcases a wide variety of visual art including 2D and 3D works, created by both established and emerging artists.
All Consultant
Private View Friday 6th October 2023
5 - 9pm
Saturday 7th October 2023
10am - 6pm
Sunday 8th October 2023
10am-5pm
Gordon Lamont is an experienced Producer, Director, Writer and Actor, now offering Consultancy and Training services. Over many years his clients have included BBC Learning, BBC Academy (training), Discovery Channel, Historic Royal Palaces, Parliament Education and many others. As a Director he’s worked with some of our finest actors and writers including Sandi Toksvig, Terry Jones, Adjoa Andoh, Tom Baker – and who could forget Brian Blessed! Gordon writes: ‘I’ve worked both sides of the glass, experienced much technological and cultural change and still have a deep love for our profession which I take great joy in sharing with others’
Books include Drama in the Primary Curriculum (BBC), 100+ Ideas for Drama (Hodder), The Confidence Book (Sheldon), Living with Birthmarks & Blemishes (Sheldon)
Music and sound composer for film, games and other visual media – Simon Marchant.
Sound and music production including recording, editing, mixing, restoration and mastering for musicians and other clients.
I create immersive and emotive music under the name Slow Worm Sound Works using a combination of electronic and traditional instruments alongside field recordings and the use of experimental audio manipulation techniques.
I am a core member of the post-punk band Normil Hawaiians with records originally released by Illuminated Records in the early 80s and lately re-issued (also on vinyl) by the London label, Upset The Rhythm. We have been fortunate enough to have been given positive reviews for all our releases from a range of publications including Wire, Mojo and The Quietus. Other Ways of Knowing, a track from our first album, was used in the Lemaire Fashion Show of Fall-Winter 2019/20 and another track, Martin, from our second album, featured in the February playlist last year from fashion house The Row. This February, the song ‘Yellow Rain’ from our debut 1983 album ‘More Wealth Than Money’ again formed part of The Row’s highly respected playlist. We are currently in the process of putting together quite a significant and eclectic collection of new material. As well as coming up with many of the creative ideas, I am responsible for recording, editing, mixing and mastering the work and I am hoping all will be completed and ready for release by the end of the year. I have also recently mastered Bertie Marshall’s (formerly known as Berlin and founder member of the Bromley Contingent) retrospective album, Exhibit, also on Upset The Rhythm records.
From a personal perspective, I have an interest in exploring alternative approaches to sound/music creation. I believe that composition is simply a process of discovery and that the most interesting music comes either from searching deeper and further or from foraging with an unorthodox technique. I like to use found sounds as compositional sources in a variety of ways, especially when these are linked to specific spaces. For example, waves lapping the shoreline of Tayinloan on the West coast of Scotland morph into a darkly submarine and slow moving harmonic eddy in the track NR728524 (to be included on the new NH album). In this piece the only sound source is the recording of the waves. These are gradually and progressively filtered using Sophia Poirier’s wondrous Rez Synth to sculpt form from a block of natural sound.
Alda Dizdari - Concert Violinist
I have worked with Simon on various occasions, more notably Simon recorded my audiobook “Kiss Me Again; A Memoir of Elgar in Unusual Places”. What was even more unusual than the book was our setting, we recorded during lockdown and due to restrictions we did the whole recording outdoors, with the birds singing in the background. Simon did an excellent job. He was endlessly patient and spent hours and hours working on getting the right balance and perfect effects. His suggestions were so wise and I am really happy with the result of our collaboration. I am lucky to consider him a friend.
Bill Regard - TV and film producer and director, composer
I was very lucky to meet Simon just before covid struck and we worked in my studio / office and then over Zoom with some clever screen sharing. We created 10 tracks - 5 songs and 5 instrumentals which got called Left Brain: Right Brain. Simon’s tech skills made the process seem very easy when in fact Logic is far from easy partly because it’s so vast! Simon was prepared to get stuck in and if needed lay down a bass line or whatever, when he thought I was struggling, which was often, and he brought his wife Zinta in to do back up some brilliant vocals which made a huge difference to the tracks.
Simon was excellent to work with and very patient. We explored the depths of Logic together and came out the other end with some great tracks.
I am a freelance consultant in cultural placemaking, creative health and wellbeing. I’m also the host and producer of Creative Health Podcast – which you can find on all the podcast channels, and via my website www.creative-health.co.uk and Instagram @creativehealthpod.
I have 20 years experience in cultural, heritage and creative industries, devising creative community projects, events and cross sector partnerships from concept, planning, fundraising and delivery, to evaluation.
I’ve worked with Laura for over a decade on a range of cultural projects and events in Kent, including a groundbreaking arts and health commission with Public Health in 2013, for which LV21 was lead delivery partner. As a commissioner and project manager, Laura is hugely supportive and always looks for opportunities for others to grow and develop their practice. Her enthusiasm combined with her expertise is a valuable asset in developing engaging, high-quality projects. She cares as much about the process and the experience of everyone involved, as the creative output, so you know when working with her that it's going to be a positive interaction.
Päivi Seppälä - Director, LV21
Laura works with a constant enthusiasm and energy and measured approach to consistently over achieve what is required in a professional and personable way. She has an obvious ability to manage complex relationships and challenging situations with calmness and professionalism, working equally comfortably with people at all levels and connecting strongly with the cultural sector. Her work with KCC broke new ground in public sector commissioning and remains a national example of good practice which set new standards in local government improvement.
Tony Witton – Culture Service Manager, Kent County Council
Blueprint Arts have worked with Laura on a number of our projects connecting and celebrating communities in Gravesham and Dartford. Laura is so incredibly supportive of our work and hugely generous with her knowledge of the arts in Kent, strategies for developing projects and connections to local community groups and organisations. Laura is also incredibly friendly and positive and we just love working with her.
Laura Kavanagh – Artistic Director, Blueprint Arts
Conservator + Victoria = Conservatoria! My name is Victoria Haddock and I am a qualified paper conservator. I recently set up a studio in the newly built Murston Heart hub in Murston, Sittingbourne, Kent after working at a variety of places and projects such as the V&A. So I am able to take conservation projects into the studio but I also travel to London and the South East to work in situ or to offer help, advice, condition assessments and condition surveys. I work on a variety of paper based works of art on paper and archival material, as well as bound books and photographic collections. I can also offer conservation quality level mounting.
I have worked in the arts all my life. Most recently I was the Director of Ideas Test, one of Arts Council England’s original flagship Creative People and Places (CPP) projects. In just over four years I led a successful change management process taking Ideas Test into achieving independent charity
Your memoir! Are you thinking about writing one? Or are you already writing and feeling stuck? Wherever you’re at, I am here to to offer guidance, inspiration, accountability and all the advice you need. My name is Marnie and I’m from Whitstable.
“Is my story worth telling?”
Yes, yes and yes again!
❤️❤️❤️ #amwriting #memoir #WritingCommunity pic.twitter.com/Lsr4xHyt6d— M Summerfield Smith (@MarnieMemoirs) February 12, 2022
Laure Meloy is a dramatic soprano, specialising in challenging 20th and 21st century opera. She has performed at the Royal Opera House, Hungarian National Opera, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, as well as with English Touring Opera during their Olivier Award winning season.