Heated discussion in the Moroccan Tent. Yesterday, Jack Whitewood hosted the annual Fringe Forum with fellow core team member, Becky Boucherat and Art’s Council representative, Nick Green. While last year broached into the possibilities for future Fringes, this year the hot topic was the possibility of gentrification and second homes in Ventnor causing stagnation in the town. Jack believes that gentrification and the problem of second-home buyers are two different subjects and that the development of Ventnor on such a large scale is highly unlikely.
Today’s Forum briefly touched on the subject of the International Festival and whether it had been created to make artists compete for superior playing spots. Jack maintains that the International Festival was designed as separate unit for artists that are less-likely to apply to the Fringe. Though some believe that if this is the case, the International Festival shouldn’t have had such a large slot in the program which sparked up a controversial debate.
The theme moved onto the hope that the Fringe may encourage young people with varying skills to settle in Ventnor to help sustain its creative community. This was a general consensus from the audience, with many spectators claiming that they had grown up in Ventnor. Athough they’d moved away and made their careers elsewhere, most would like to bring what they’ve learnt back to their home town.
All this chat in just under an hour while displaying the most spectacular show of hand animation (see Fringe Forum photos on Facebook for visual reference) that the Fringe Forum has ever seen.
By Catriona Macaulay