Day 128, Year of #Mygration: Milton Keynes International Festival, 'migration, community, identity and home'

Produced by The Stables, Milton Keynes International Festival is now a major landmark event in the cultural calendar. Engaging around 500,000 people, the Festival presents a world-class, multi-arts programme over 10 days which includes large-scale and family events.  The programme features The Stables Spiegeltent, home to a programme of concerts, comedy and circus, an Acoustic Stage as well as installations placed in unusual locations across Central Milton Keynes, including parks, public squares and boulevards, as well as in the digital realm. 

The Festival has been recently honoured with the prestigious 'Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe' Label 2017-2018 as one of Europe’s most ‘remarkable festivals’. It was assessed and scored by 95 experts prior to going before the International Jury who said:

The Festival has grown its artistic programme to embrace its local infrastructure, landscape and communities to extend its ambition and relevance to international issues and embrace innovative artistic engagement

The next Festival takes place from 20-29 July 2018. The Open University will also be holding an open forum on Thursday 26 July, 15.30 - 17.30. The event will be an open discussion about what ‘home’ means in relation to the making of The Democratic Set in Milton Keynes. Dr Agnes Czajka, a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Studies from The Open University will be hosting the event with Back to Back Theatre and artist and film-maker, Richard DeDomenici.

One particular installation, Phobiarama, invites you on to Dutch theatre maker and visual artist Dries Verhoeven's theatrical ‘ghost train’ to explore our contemporary culture of fear, difference and migration, with its ever-increasing threats and paranoia. Visitors will be swept along on a thought-provoking tour of today’s angst-fuelling media landscape that’s so exploited by politicians, terrorists, marketers and fake news. Dries Verhoeven is a world-renowned artist who makes installations and performances highlighting the socio-political reality we live in.

The Festival is supported by Arts Council England and Milton Keynes Council.

View the International Festival's 10-day programme