|
Have you ever wondered what secret tunnels and buildings are hidden under the city streets?
llumini Event 2010 presents:
‘Secret Subterranean London’
Underground Exhibition, Tours, Talks & Grand opening night all Free
Venue: The Basement Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London, EC1V 9LT
Dates: 9th Sept 2010 - 15th Sept Open daily 11am-7pm Free
Opening night: Thursday 9th September 6pm – 10pm. Everyone welcome free
Website: www.illuminievent.co.uk
Sponsors & Supporters: Arts Council England funded by National Lottery, The British Postal Museum & Archives, Britain at War Experience, The Brunel Museum, Imperial War Museum: Churchill War Museum, iCatchers, Energizer, Lee Filters, The London Dungeons and TOMPS
An invitation to explore the 'secret labyrinths’ beneath the streets of London, by torchlight.
Take an illuminating art journey, through the history of subterranean London. The Exhibition, with over 50 artists, re-creates many of London’s underground secrets, with illuminating art, props and historical information on these hidden underground gems of our city. Find out the secret doors which unfold vast vaults and tunnels.
Illumini Event 2010 will be held in an underground rustic location in London, and promises to be an exciting and historical look into the history of the secret underground city. The old rustic subterranean dark labyrinth, with its many rooms, alleyways and cells, will be transformed by artists’ and prop makers into several areas of historical underground London, e.g: World War bunkers, disused stations, crypts, historical waterways and many more, the long-forgotten hidden secrets of London.
Free Grand Opening night
The event will start with a grand opening night, which you are invited to with free entertainment; where everyone is welcome. Live acts: stilt walkers, light shows, magicians, illuminating dancers, tarot reading, travel back in time with historical costumed performers, and much more. We hope to see you there. Please arrive early to avoid queues. Opening night Thursday 9th sept 2010 Free 6pm-10pm
Richard Standings Art Installation demonstrated on the opening night
 
Catrina Osbourne as Miss Havisham & Tiina Tuomisto LED light performance
The Circus Company will amaze the audience with their spectacular LED juggling light show, bring a camera to get some great pics
Book your place now for tours & talk
During the event there will be free workshops, talks about secrets that are hidden in London’s underground by a number of special guests: from authors, historians and museums and even Subterranean tours, with venues being opened to the public for this event only. These include The Grand entrance hall of Brunel's Thames Tunnel, where Illumini will present artists, Genetic Moo to be the first artists to exhibit in this unique space for over 140 years, with their light installation. Another Tour will include a torch lit tour of Shoreditch Church Crypt, known as Shakespeares church. Also including a tour on street level, that shows hidden secret doors and entrances to underground gems. There will also be talks on the occult history of London, and ghosts that explore the vaults at night. Hurry to book your place now. To view the event program look at the panel on the right or please Click here .
Special event: Sat 11th Sept & Sun 12 th Sept Tours of the Grand Entrance Hall of The Thames Tunnel Tickets £5
Description of tour of shaft or Grand Entrance Hall
Crawl through a short tunnel to descend by temporary staircase into a subterranean amphitheatre, half the size of Shakespeare's Globe, but hidden underground. The Grand Entrance Hall once echoed to the sound of fairground entertainers but for 140 years has lain forgotten and entirely inaccessible. Illumini will present artists Genetic Moo, who will be the first artist’s to exhibit in this space for over 140 years, with their light installation ‘Animacules-the drop of water'. To fundraise for the re-opening, the Brunel Museum is organising tours on Sat & sun 11th & 12th Sept 2010.
Tickets cost £5 and include admission to the Museum. Tours leave 17.00 & 18.00 on Saturday 11 th and hourly 12.00 to 16.00 Sunday 12 th Sept.
No need to book, just turn up on the day
'Animacules- the drop of water' by Genetic Moo at The Grand Entrance of the Thames Tunnel
In the sweltering summer of 1858, the stench of sewage from the polluted Thames drove Parliament to improve London's primitive system of sanitation. The Times called the crisis "The Great Stink". The quality of the water was so low that it inspired a cartoon entitled "MONSTER SOUP commonly called THAMES WATER," which recalled the work of Dutch Scientist Van Leeuwenhoek. He was a microscope builder and was the first to see what he called animalcules (microorganisms) in drops of pond water. In the cartoon the animalcules had now turned into "hydras and gorgons and chimeras dire".
Free Creative talks & Workshops
Illumini also wanted to provide a free service to creative individuals, by offering free artist talks and creative workshops and has invited many well known art organisations to provide informative service at Illumini. Click here for more details and booking details.
Mobile Phone application that takes you on your own tour of Subterranean London
You can even take your own personal tour, by using a clever application for mobile phones, designed by Illumini Artists’ Martin Rieser & collaborating artists Ximena Alarcon & Kasia Molga. 'Riverians' uses GPS and QR code reading. With this application, you can discover the hidden underground world which corresponds to real underground locations in Shoreditch – aligned with the sites of past events such as the Ripper murders – and then use the Riverain's overheard tales to map those sites and find clues and directions to others. All on your own mobile!
Discover underground London on your mobile phone Sun 12th 1pm Free
Talk from the creator of Riverians, where you can even take your own personal tour of subterranean London with this clever application, Using GPS and QR code reading, participants can use their mobile phone like a douser, to discover this hidden underground world, which will correspond to real underground locations in Shoreditch, aligned with the sites of past events, and, then use the Riverain's overheard tales to map those sites and find clues and directions to others. One can participate as a team or an individual.
For a full list of artists and performers please click here
A selection of some performers on the opening night
 
A Cherry on Top Vicky Butterfly
The Grymm Tooms travelling Museum, magic lantern display on the opening night
Founder /Curater: Jane Webb
www.illuminievent.co.uk
Email: illumini@hotmail.co.uk
|
 Free Illumini Talks & Tours
Book Now!Tour of Shoreditch Church Crypt, by Torch light 10.45am Friday 10 Sept , 2pm & Tues 14 Sept . Booking in advance is essential.
This tour will be by courtesy of Rev'd Paul Turp who has a broad and intimate knowledge of the rich and resonant history of this - The Actor's Church - place of burial of many of the most significant figures of Elizabethan and Shakespearean theatre. Here lie James and Cuthbert Burbage - founder managers of the nearby original Theatre and Curtain Theatre. Also buried here lies Richard Burbage , the first actor to play Hamlet and many of the iconic leading roles of English drama.
The tours are limited to 10 people for each tour please book with Illumini for this tour, it's free of charge although donations - at the visitor's own discretion - are always welcome towards the maintenance of the fabric of the building and the vital work of Shoreditch Parish Church.
The crypt can be claustrophobic to some and retains something of the dust and darkness of a unique site of centuries old subterranean character, so please wear comfortable clothing and foot wear and bring a torch.
The tours will last at least one hour. Meeting point will be at the front of the church situated at St Leonard's Shoreditch Church, Shoreditch High Street , Shoreditch , E1 6JN
The Occult World of Subterranean London. Fri 10th sept 11am Free
Creator of The Intuitive Tarot, Cilla Conway, will be reading tarot on the opening night and talking about Occult London as part of the Subterranean London Illumini exhibition.The talk will cover where to meet druids, witches and wizards; how to find good tarot readers; the hidden, occult places of London, and more."Crypts, Creatures and Caverns: the Folklore of Subterranean London." on fri 10th Sept 2pm Free
Dark,tales of London's lost grottos and caverns, strange sewer creatures, urban legends and panics and ghostly goings-on in crypts and catacombs. Scott is a London walks guide, runs the South East London Folklore Society and writes the regular Fortean London column for Londonist. Subterranean City on Fri 10th Sept 5pm Free  Antony Clayton, author of Subterranean City (now in its 2nd revised edition) will talk about various aspects of the inverted city beneath our streets such as lost rivers, sewers, underground railways and government bunkers. The talk will also uncover some of the colourful folklore of underground London including legends of secret tunnels and passages.
Living London uncovers the mysteries that lie beneath us. Sat 11th Sept at 11 am Free
Living London will give a free talk on Subterranean London. Find out about secret tunnels and rooms that exist in our city. The talk will explore many locations, uncovering the mysteries, they lie beneath us.There will also be a guided tour arranged for the 15th Sept, please see other listing
'Eighth Wonder of the world' on Sat 11 th Sept 2pm Free
Brunel's Tunnel was designed to move cargo under the Thames, but opened as a banquet hall, shopping arcade and underwater fairground. Now part of the London Overground, this is the oldest tunnel in the oldest metro system in the world.Robert Hulse, Director of The Brunel Museum, tells the story of the men who worked in the dark, dodging flames and raw sewage every day to build what the Victorians called the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World'
Special event: Sat 11th Sept & Sun 12 th Sept Tours of the Grand Entrance Hall of The Thames Tunnel Tickets £5
Crawl through a short tunnel to descend by temporary staircase into a subterranean amphitheatre, half the size of Shakespeare's Globe, but hidden underground. The Grand Entrance Hall once echoed to the sound of fairground entertainers but for 140 years has lain forgotten and entirely inaccessible. Illumini will present artists Genetic Moo, who will be the first artist’s to exhibit in this space for over 140 years, with their light installation ‘Animacules-the drop of water'. To fundraise for the re-opening, the Brunel Museum is organising tours on Sat & sun 11th & 12th Sept 2010.Tickets cost £5 and include admission to the Museum. Tours leave 17.00 & 18.00 on Saturday 11 th and hourly 12.00 to 16.00 Sunday 12 th Sept.
No need to book just turn up on the day. "What lurks beneath - spirits and spectres of subterranean London" on sat 11th Sept 4.30pm Free
 Are spirits still imprisoned in the underground cells of the House of Detention? Who is the actor that haunts the tunnels of Covent Garden station and do ghosts still roam the secret labyrinths beneath the streets of London? In this talk, Rosie Murdie, ghost investigator and member of The Ghost Club will tell some of the ghostly tales associated with subterranean City of London.
Post Office underground miniature Train on sun 12th Sept 11am Free
Chris Taft, the curator of the postal museum and archives, will give a talk on the post office miniature underground railway, which was used to carry post through central London. The talk will also including rare footage of the underground railway and the train, which is now no longer used.
Discover underground London on your mobile phone Sun 12th 1pm Free
Talk from the creator of Riverians, where you can even take your own personal tour of subterranean London with this clever application, Using GPS and QR code reading, participants can use their mobile phone like a douser, to discover this hidden underground world, which will correspond to real underground locations in Shoreditch, aligned with the sites of past events, and, then use the Riverain's overheard tales to map those sites and find clues and directions to others. One can participate as a team or an individual.
Mysteries & ghosts of London Underground sun 12th Sept 3.30 pm Free
A talk from a member of London Underground Staff, covering the baffling mysteries & ghosts in the dark dank recesses of London's Subterranean Tube System
Silver Vaults Tue 14th 11am Free
Rebecca Steiner will reveal the history and secrets of one of London's oldest trades, taking visitors on a virtual tour through the underground jewellers workshops of Hatton Garden. Here we will see how some of the most illustrious gems are forged carefully by hand, using tools and techniques that have remained unchanged for hundreds of years, and follow stone-setters, polishers and engravers as they work their magic below the streets and shops of the city
Empire of Shadows by Patricia Smyth. Tue 14th Sept 1.30pm Free
This talk explores Victorian London's criminal underworld through contemporary representations and popular melodramas in which the metropolis was reproduced on-stage. It will investigate the notorious subterranean locations believed to be occupied by a vast criminal and outcast population. The talk will also reveal the symbolism of London 's depths in the nineteenth century as the locus of buried desires, a dark mirror to the world above ground and a lost realm of magic and superstition in contrast to the daylight city of rationalism and progress'Into the Belly of the Beast: Exploring London's Sewers' by Paul Dobraszczyk Tue 14th 4pm Free This talk will consider the allure of London's sewers, past and present. It will cover early explorations of these secretive spaces - from the poet Ben Johnson to the Victorian journalist John Hollingshead - to the present day activity of 'draining'. Drawing on the speaker's own experiences and richly illustrated with photographs, this talk will appeal to all those fascinated with London's underbelly.A Walk 'Living London uncovers the mysteries that lie beneath us' 15th Sept 2pm at Embankment station. £5
This walk needs to booked, in advance full details below.See the clues that show us the extent of the Thames in the early 19th century; secret government tunnels and the deepest underground station in central London; find the doors that lead to secret tunnels; hear about the bodies that no longer lie underneath the Abbey and what is that huge brown concrete block on the edge of Horse guards Parade for? A fascinating walk that will have you asking "what's beneath me?" for weeks to come.The walk costs £5 and needs to be booked as limited numbers. Payment via paypal or cheque.Please note the walk starts at Embankment tube station not Illumini. You will all meet outside on the left entrance from Embankment station at 2pm on 15th September. For full booking details please email us |
