OOPSFestival
led by the Swallowsfeet Collective
The festival brings together exceptional contemporary performance and visual artists from all over the world, with the voice of the artist at the forefront.
Our collective is artist-led and people-centred.
We aim to lift the voice of independent dance makers through collaborative practice and exchange.
Our history
In 2013, in my final year of studying contemporary dance at Laban (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance) I hosted performance platform ‘Swallowsfeet’ in my hometown of Brighton showcasing final projects from my fellow students. I wanted us to have an opportunity to share work outside the institutional setting before embarking on our professional careers. Following its success, I ran another one the following year.
I recognised the platform’s potential to grow and support more artists. Together, with my peers we shared this vision: to respond to artists needs and provide more nurturing meaningful development opportunities that were so lacking in our industry. Together we became the Swallowsfeet Collective. We have since supported 100+ artists, from 13 countries, showcasing 85+ performance works in Brighton and London, UK. In 2018 the platform became OOPS festival, and continued the platform’s evolution once more.
And now, more important than ever, we are working on ways to widen the collective and continue our practice throughout these unprecedented times.