Where were we? Liverpool was a great adventure, July First Thursday was as frantic as ever, the sun has been roasting us down Vyner Street, Little Summer Benefits opens this Thursday evening, a two week show that we’ll tell you about in another blog in a minute or so.

This Saturday, Cultivate is closed in terms of Vyner Street, we shall be presenting “A BETTER WOOLWORTHS” at a rather exciting event called A FETE WORSE THAN DEATH/

The event is happening at Red Gallery, Red Market & Rivington Street, London EC2A 3DT This Saturday July 19th, from Midday until 8pm in terms of the Fete/market part of things, until midnight in terms of the gallery part of the event.

Here’s what’s happening, these are the words of the organisers….

20th Anniversary Art extravaganza to commemorate the original Fete Worse Than Death held 20 years ago in Hoxton Square. Live art, music, films & performances by the famous, the infamous & rising stars of tomorrow…

A FETE WORSE THAN DEATH 2014
20th anniversary exhibition and fete

FETE
Saturday 19th July 2014
12- 11.45pm – Red Gallery
12 – 8pm – Rivington Street

Abigail Lane & Swedish Vanessa: ARSE OVER TIT, HOMMAGE TO YVES KLEIN • Adam Electric: THE MACHINE • Alice Stallard & Alex Wood: DOODLE PIT STOP & THE PINBOARD GALLERY • Bob Pain: OMNICOLOUR & Chip: K2 SCREEN • Bobby Bubble: GIANT BUBBLES • C. A. Halpin & Mme ArtCarti: ART FLANEUR & FORTUNE TELLER • Carolyn Gowdy: POEM PEOPLE • Carson Parkin-Fairley & Bean-Mhi Berriman: CLUB TROP • Cedar Lewisohn: GO AND SEE JOSH • Chart Gallery: SPOTTO! • Christina Mitrense & Jonas Ranson: AGIT P(R)OP • Chris Townsend: COAL STRIKE MEMORABILIA • Cultivate Gallery: A BETTER WOOLWORTHS with Sean Worrall, Emma Harvey, MOB, Quiet Britsih Accent, Julia Maddison and Mathew Tudor • David Robinson: FUNGARIUM • David C. West: SOAP ADDICT • Edward Rose, Carrie Reichardt & Nick Reynolds: ANARCHIC CERAMICS, POP ART KITSCH & DEATH • Barnaby Goff: DOPPUL • Gideon Cube-Sherman: SNAAK • Giusi Tomasello: A PIECE OF ART • Hedley Roberts & Sian-Kate Mooney: DEATH CERTIFICATES • Hercules Fisherman: 3FS • Jeffrey Disaster: MINI MINI • John Costi: WHITE ELEPHANT STALL • Kate Walters: I’LL DRAW YOUR DREAM • KeelerTornero: KEY TONES BESPOKE VINYL • Kev Clarke: THE FACE OF POP • Liam Ryan: HUCKLEBUCK RECORDS • Magnus Irvin: DRAWINGS TO BE SAVOURED & TREASURED • Mark Jones: PORTRAITS • Maurice Einhardt Neu Gallery: BRING ME THE HEAD OF GAVIN BENNETT • Max & Marlowe Reeves: RAVENS • Michal Cole: TIL DEATH DO US PART • Misha Milovanovich: MISHA WORLD POP UP COLLEGE • NoNose: POTATO SCULPTURE • Paul Good & Kirsty Wood: HER IMAGE ECHOED • Paul Hazelton & Tom Swift: DE-IN-STALL: A FETE ACCOMPLI • Paul Sakoilsky: PORTRAIT SOCIETY • Rachel Megawhat & Isabelle Bricknall: HAUS OF MIRRORS • Raul Pina: DR BOMBASTIC • Residence Gallery: PØPMY$‡IC • Robert Booth: PERFORMANCE POURS • Rose Pomeroy: DAZZLE CAMOUFLAGE • Samuel Webster: BALLOONS • Silvia Ziranek: PIN THE TIARA • Stirling Ackroyd: TOMBOLA • Tim Barnes & Katherine Tulloh: BLACKMAIL INC.

+ Darren Coffield: FACTUAL NONSENSE books • Gavin Turk: POP t-shirts • Jessica Voorsanger: BRADY BUNCH badges • Swedish Blonde Design: BE THE WORST badges

Exhibition
19th – 31st July at Red Gallery
+ special evening reception with guest speakers on 30th July to mark the actual day of the 20th anniversary of the Fete.

Uliana Apatina • Florence Boyd • Lorenzo Belenguer • Matthew Benington • Simon Bill • Sir Peter Blake • Cedric Christie • Darren Coffield • Michal Cole • Mat Collishaw • Sam Crabtree • Richard Dyer • Tracey Emin • Angus Fairhurst • Gordon Faulds • Maria Teresa Gavazzi • Jenny Gordon • Hanz Hancock • Paul Hazelton • Zebedee Helm • Alice Herrick • Andrew Herman • Taisha Hirokawa • Damien Hirst • Dannielle Hodson • Georgie Hopton • Gary Hume • Marie-Louise Jones • Ricca Kawai Kalderon • Mick Kerr • Ida Ivanka Kubler • Christina Mitrense • Jessica Morris • Patrick Morrissey • Ben Oakley • Danny Pockets • Brendan Quick • Steven Quinn • Hedley Roberts • David Robinson • Paul Sakoilsky • Martin Sexton • Hidekazu Sogabe • Bob and Roberta Smith • Sarah Staton • David Taborn • Sam Taylor-Wood • Gavin Turk • Jessica Voorsanger • Sam Walker • Gillian Wearing • Max Wigram • Tom Wilmott • Silvia Ziranek

On Saturday 19th July 2014, be at the crossroads of Charlotte Road and Rivington Street, EC2 to face ‘A Fete Worse Than Death’. For one day, Rivington Street will be closed to mark the 20th anniversary of a landmark event kick starting an exhibition hosted by Red Gallery.

The 20th anniversary exhibition of ‘A Fete Worse Than Death’ at Red Gallery will allow artists the chance to reclaim the area for a day whilst giving the public a rare opportunity to see and buy early artworks made by the YBAs before they were famous. There will be a painting by Gary Hume painted on a local warehouse wall for Joshua in 1994 as well as original memorabilia from the Fete & Factual Nonsense gallery – sold in aid of the Joshua Compston memorial fund and assisting in raising money for a memorial to be erected in Hoxton Square.

The exhibition will be curated by Darren Coffield (artist), Alice Herrick (artist and director of Herrick Gallery) and Sam Walker (artist and co-director at CHART gallery).

HISTORY

Before the hipsters, before the boutiques, before the bars, in a then derelict part of the East End, Joshua Compston’s decision to open an art gallery on Charlotte Road and stage collaborative street events re-drew the artistic and cultural map of London and the contemporary art scene. For Joshua Compston (1970 – 1996), life was a special kind of nonsense: Factual Nonsense. Seen by some as the romantic martyr of his generation and by others, as a prankster, sending up the art establishment, Compston’s gallery ‘Factual Nonsense’ (FN) was quite unlike any other.

‘HYBRID “POP CULTURE” EXTRAVAGANZA’

Compston’s ‘A Fete Worse Than Death’, was an anarchic swipe at the notion of a traditional village fête staged in Hoxton in the summer of 1993, which brought 4000 visitors to an area most people never knew existed. Several artists, including Gavin Turk, Gillian Wearing, Mat Collishaw, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and Gary Hume manned stalls selling art and provided entertainment, Damien Hirst and Angus Fairhurst dressed as clowns and produced the first spin paintings at the fete (on sale for £1). In 1994, at his second ‘A Fete Worse Than Death’, Compston encouraged ‘organised starry-eyed liberation’ of the art world ranks whilst allowing anyone the opportunity to experience ‘art of all denominations without the annoying handle of art around it’. The event featured performances by Gavin Turk’s ‘Killers and Cannibals’, Cerith Wyn Evans’ ‘People should beg God to stop’ and Leigh Bowery’s neo-punk band Minty.

Darren Coffield spent four years compiling a biography ‘Factual Nonsense, The Art And Death Of Joshua Compston’ on his art school friend. As Coffield explains:

‘’The book & exhibition came about because it seemed incredulous that this unique and brilliant individual who was one of the main driving forces in the regeneration of Hoxton and Shoreditch should be totally forgotten whilst others claim credit for his ideas.’’