Primadonna festival, Suffolk
September 20, 2019, in Documentary Photography, editorial photography, Social Photography
I received a call earlier this month from the Daily Telegraph picture desk asking if I could spend the weekend photographing a brand new festival in the sunny county of Suffolk. This new festival, “The Primadonna festival” is a hybrid of music, spoken word, food and of course a literary treasure trove of information. Many top authors were on hand to give talks and partake in discussions around the issues of women in literature.
From writing workshops to advice in finding everything from creative inspiration to find the right agent. Radio 4 was on hand to recording and interviewing some of the more famous authors, and presenter and comedian Sandi Toksvig was centre stage during the weekend.
The venue was a beautiful and large private home in the picturesque village of Pettaugh, with the option of weekend camping or day passes for those not living locally. The festival was set up by a group of 18 like-minded women, with the focus on giving women a larger or broader voice in the literary world. They want to create a new and inclusive festival for all ages celebrating the creative community, giving prominence to work by women and introducing fresh voices alongside famous names in a fun and welcoming environment. The festival ran August 30th, 31st and September 1st 2019 in glorious sunshine. The beautiful surroundings in Suffolk delivered an entire weekend of eclectic festivities, from interviews, panels, spoken-word performances and workshops, to live music, films and food. The music came from a varied collection of musicians, with a lot of the bands and performers living locally to the area.
Primadonna, being held in Suffolk, is a new and inclusive festival for all ages celebrating the creative community, giving prominence to work by women and introducing fresh voices alongside famous names in a fun and welcoming environment. Authors (L to R ) Juile Noble, Eva Vende and Jenny Knight, discussed the ups and down’s of an writers life.
I've covered many music and other festivals over the years, from Glastonbury, latitude, Bestival and others in the UK to Coachella in California to one of favourites - Benicàssim in Valencia, Spain and with this latest festival; Primadonna adding its voice and presence to a very crowded market, I was pleasantly surprised at how well thought out and organised the whole was, despite some not so good and very bad behind the scenes unprofessional PR, the whole event was a shining example of a great very British festival. With its capacity capped at around 1,000 people, it was certainly manageable and easy to operator and work around, which makes a nice change from working at much large festivals.
I really hope this becomes an annual event and that it grows in importance; I look forward to hearing more about Primadonna festival.
Tags: Editorial Photography, events, festivals
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