There will be two opportunities to creatively explore semaphore and to make your own flags during Darlington Arts Festival 2021, with drop in activity from 10am on Friday 24 September 2021 in a marquee in the Market Square, and activity at the Head of Steam railway museum on Sunday 26 September 2021. Both drop in sessions are supported by Creative Darlington and Arts Council England through Project Funding.
Semaphore is Metaphor offers free drop in activity, learn how you can make flags and how to use them to send words visually across distances. Semaphore is a traditional signing language used across distances before alternate modes of communication like mobile phones or Tablets were developed. It is still used today by various bodies such as the army and navy. So come make your own flags and then have a go on an interface developed created by artist Anton Hecht, to acquire the visual language. What messages will you send, how far can they go, and who will they be to?
Artist, Anton Hecht, who has developed this activity with other artists, has brought many playful ideas to Darlington in the past which have been filmed and shared online and within arts and film festivals nationally and internationally, helping to spread the word about Darlington’s creative spirit! Other works which Anton has shared in Darlington include a Trolley Dance in the Market Square working with GOLD, urban Maypoles throughout the Town, a Stop Start Tango in Darlington Market. He’s also orchestrated A Guidonian Hand where people were guided to sing by prints on their palms, a Sign Language Dual and brought Slime Tango to the Festival of Ingenuity here in 2019.
If you get to either Semaphore is Metaphor session and have a go we hope you have fun flag-making and that if you have a go, people get your message with everyone smiling and nobody flagging (except literally!).
