SPILL Festival + Think Tank

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SPILL Festival + Think Tank

Ipswich's international festival of contemporary arts + Think Tank performance venue 💫

SPILL is an arts charity based in Ipswich, the County Town of Suffolk in the east of England. You are invited to engage with the art we make and the SPILL Festival of Performance, as well the events, groups, classes, courses and venue hires we run from Think Tank building next door to Ipswich Museum. Our mission is to create and bridge all forms of art, to connect with our audiences in meaningful

ways; and to offer learning and other structured career pathways to develop artists, students and cultural workers. Our Artistic Policy is to use performance as a way of creating fresh perspective, to stimulate lively conversations around society, art, oppression and social justice. The way we create is not limited to one approach and draws upon Fine Arts, Music, Film, Storytelling, New Technologies, Science, Medicine, Politics, Psychology, History and Philosophy.

19/11/2025

What did you think of SPILL? 🤔

If you came to a SPILL event in October, we want to hear from you! Take part in our short online survey and...

🎁 Be in with the chance of winning a £50 John Lewis Voucher
🗣 Tell us how we can improve future SPILL events
🙌 Help us to continue bringing art like Steli to Ipswich

The survey closes on Friday 28 November - complete it here:
https://forms.gle/PRxXvVd4ZZhek1Vb9

13/11/2025

Join us for a candlelit retelling of A Christmas Carol this December! 🕯 ❄

Experience Scrooge's ghostly journey of redemption through the streets of old London…

Anthony Roberts, Director of Colchester Arts Centre, is bringing Dickens’ beloved tale to life with his much-loved and funny festive recital, accompanied by pianist Jamie Cunliffe in our candlelit Victorian venue.

Your ticket includes a drink and mince pie, with all proceeds kindly supporting SPILL and our work here in Ipswich 💛

📅 Wed 10 Dec | 19:30
📍 SPILL Think Tank, Ipswich
🎟 £10/£7 (refreshments included)
https://www.spillfestival.com/a-christmas-carol

11/11/2025

4 days
10 locations
300 colourful wooden sticks
1 Leviathan
4 giant photo cubes
6 bells ringing
8 printed sails
10 Ipswich MONSTERS
And you! 💫

Thank you to all our incredible artists, freelancers, volunteers, partners and wonderful audiences for coming along, joining in, and making the festival so special.

🗣
⭐ ‘Uplifting, emotional, comforting’
⭐ ‘Dazzling, sparkling, wonderful!’
⭐ ‘Entertained. Connected. Joyful.’

📸 Pine Agency

28/10/2025

Aged 16 - 25? Want to find out what socially engaged work actually means?

Join What the FLOCK is Socially Engaged Work? with JMCAnderson this Saturday 1 November at Community Hub Ipswich (CHip)!

Best of all, it's FREE - tickets just need to be booked on the Norfolk & Norwich Festival website! 🔽

26/10/2025

🌞 Good morning Ipswich! 🌞

It's the final day of the festival, but don't worry, there's still loads going on!

🌈 STELI is back on Ipswich Cornhill at 10am and 2pm - free, no tickets needed, just turn up and get building a colourful structure out of giant sticks! Bonus points if you wave to someone through the Ipswich portal

💥 Kids show Kaboom: The Art of Destruction is on at the Town Hall at 11pm and 3pm. Super interactive and lots of fun!

🎨 There's a collograph printmaking workshop at 11am at The Hold with artists Sophie Giller and Holly Scholfield. There is ONE ticket remaining!

🔔 And finally, gather at St Clement's Church on Fore Street from 5pm for our Closing Ceremony.
Artists Justin Hopper and Stuart Bowditch will be presenting a piece inspired by the Suffolk landscape, followed by Mark Pozlep and Iris Van Geen presenting a new peal which will ring out across the church and surrounding area.

See you there! 👋

25/10/2025

What happens when the sea stops giving back? 🌊

Tomorrow is the final day to see Mark Pozlep's incredible Leviathan installation, screening for free from 10am to 5pm at St Clement's Church!

This international commission presents an imagined dialogue between Suffolk’s fishermen and the colossal Leviathan, a mythological sea creature and witness to ecological collapse.

And that's not all: at 5pm, there will be sound performances by artists Justin Hopper and Stuart Bowditch, followed by a brand new peal by Mark. Gather in St Clement's Church or the nearby area to hear the bells ring 🔔

All free, no tickets needed ✨

📸 Pine Agency

24/10/2025

About last night's Festival Launch...

The medieval St Clement's Church came to life with performances, music and Mark Pozlep's Leviathan installation! 🎶 🌊 🐟

Thanks to all who celebrated with us ♥

Now: a full three days of art, performance, music and workshops across Ipswich. Check the programme and get exploring!
https://www.spillfestival.com/whats-on

📸 Pine Agency

23/10/2025

🚨 SPILL FESTIVAL STARTS TODAY 🚨

We’re so excited to see you all across Ipswich over the next four days!

Some useful info! ⬇

🎉 Launch Party
📅 Thu 23 Oct | 18:00 – 21:00
📍 St Clement’s Church, Fore Street
🎟 Some tickets remaining! Performances + mini fish and chips
https://www.spillfestival.com/2025-festival-launch

🚪 On the door tickets
Available to buy from 30 minutes before each event (unless sold out). We’ll clearly mark sold-out shows on the website.

⏰ Latecomers
For workshops, talks, performances, and walks, we advise getting to each venue at least 10 minutes before the show starts. We'll try to admit latecomers, but this may not always be possible.

↩ Returns
Can’t make it? Please let us know at [email protected].

🟢 Access
Free essential companion tickets are available at all events, and all venues in the festival have step-free access. Visual stories, created by Thinklusive, are available on each show page, and there are captioned and BSL interpreted performances across the programme.

🎨 Creative Professional?
Explore our talks and workshops, including Steli: Practical Participation and To Make a Living from the Sea.

📸 Alexander Ward

22/10/2025

Interested in the process of creating large, interactive artwork? 💡

Want to find out more about how to engage audiences from all generations in your own art? ✨

Join Stalker Teatro for their Steli: Practical Participation Workshop on Friday for this special session aimed at 18+ students and creatives!

PLUS you'll get a special discount code from DanceEast for their evening performance of Bulabulay Mun? by Timjur Dance!

📅 Friday 24 Oct | 16:00 - 18:00
📍 Wellbeing Studio, DanceEast
🎟 Tickets £5 each https://www.spillfestival.com/steli-practical-participation-workshop

Stalker Teatro are experts in site-specific events, performance art and participatory theatre, with a strong commitment to artistic experimentation within socially sensitive and challenging situations.

If you are on a low income, freelancing, or between jobs, please email [email protected] as we have some half-price tickets available.

22/10/2025

Want to find out more about the history of the Suffolk coast? 🌊

We have a range of events on maritime and coastal history taking place at SPILL 2025, all specific to Suffolk!

We are especially excited to be joined by Dr Tom Johnson, Associate Professor of Medieval History at Oriel College, Oxford, and Slovenian artist Mark Pozlep for a talk on the history of the fishing industries here. Dr Johnson is currently working on a book about the fishing industry in Walberswick ⛵

You can book the talk here: https://www.spillfestival.com/to-make-a-living-from-the-sea

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+441473216545

Website

http://www.spillfestival.com/

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