Adapted for the extraordinary times we are living through, IF: MK has been extended from 10 days to 21 this year.
Running from 10 to 30 July, and with a focus on work by UK-based artists, the Festival returns to the city centre’s parks and green spaces, public squares and retail spaces, as well as online, with a programme of new commissions, outdoor, free and family events, site-specific performances and installations, pop-ups and digital work including a series of ‘virtually live’ concerts.
Highlights include:
- Luke Jerram: Gaia / Museum of The Moon
- Anna Berry: Breathing Room
- Yara + Davina: Arrivals + Departures
- Drake Music: Planted Symphony
- MK Mandalas: Kinetika Flags
- Theatre of Widdershins: Treasure Chest Tales
- Mimbre: Lifted
- Gobbledegook Theatre: Cloudscapes
- Dizzy O’Dare: The Giant Red Balloon Show
- Kapow: Grow
- Slapstick Picnic: The Importance of Being Earnest
- 2Faced Dance: Power
- Gandini Juggling: Smashed2
- Requardt & Rosenberg: Future Cargo
- Jeanefer Jean-Charles: Black Victorians
The longer Festival gives audiences the opportunity to engage more deeply with the programme on offer, whether they are visiting events in-person or experiencing the Festival online through talks, concerts, debates and behind-the-scenes sharings.
Monica Ferguson, Festival Director says: “After the disappointment of cancelling the 2020 Festival, we are grateful for the support from Arts Council England, Milton Keynes Council, and the Department for Culture Media & Sport which has enabled us to plan a special edition of the Festival this year. We are taking the opportunity to shine a spotlight on exceptional British artists, and to highlight the unique Milton Keynes urban landscape, architecture and parklands.
The extension of the Festival over 21 days for 2021 will give everyone more time and space to explore the programme, reflect on an extraordinary year and look forward with hope. None of this would have been possible without all the many businesses, trusts, foundations and individuals who have helped along the way including centre:mk, MyMiltonKeynes, The Parks Trust, MK Community Foundation and The Open University.”
