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BASS Festival

BASS Festival (British Arts and Street Sounds) is the UK’s only month long celebration of Black Music and Art. Every June, the UK comes alive with a phenomenal line up of events, new commissions, gigs, exhibitions, master classes, showcases, club nights, theatre, conferences and film.

Working region-wide with some of the World’s finest promoters, venues and artists, BASS is a unique opportunity for critically acclaimed artists from the Midlands, the UK and beyond to share what they’re creating. The festival’s not just about events – there are workshops, masterclasses, artist lounges, film screenings, seminars, new productions and exhibitions – celebrating the past and investing in the future of the scene.

Every year the BASS festival follows a theme to help develop a united, innovative, challenging and progressive method to showcase urban arts.

Previous themes have included:

2006 Urban Art in New Venues
2007 Internationalism
2008 The Elements Hip Hop
2009 Inspired by Africa and Africans

Below is a short video showing the highlights from BASS 2008:

BASS Festival 2008 from Punch Records on Vimeo.

 

Below is a short video showing the best of BASS 2007.

 

BASS 2007 from Punch Records on Vimeo.

Click here to view the brochure for BASS 2009.

Click here to view the brochure for BASS 2008.

The theme for 2010 was DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) forms the building blocks of life and controls the development and functioning of all known living organisms. But what does DNA mean to us individually in the 21st century? Identity, test tubes, control, heritage, science, ID cards, family, databases, samples, genomes, protest?

The fifth BASS festival explored how DNA varies and develops, whether caused by external forces, or by personal development, enabling us to rethink our evolving identities.

Read the BASS brochure for 2010 below: