OCM once again co-promotes this unmissable annual festival. It opens with an 8 metre loom and fungal biosonification, and continues over two more evenings with art-core no-wave, guttural voice, instruments crafted from native UK tree branches, and virtuosic sheng.
The second evening, curated by Kate Mahoney, comprises performances by Liv Fontaine, Rainham Sheds, and Lene Vollhardt.
“An absolute treasure of a festival that Oxford’s more adventurous music lovers – and those with even a passing interest in the sounds of the world around us – should hold close to their hearts” Nightshift
Tickets are Pay What You Can and will be available on the door (no advance bookings).
Liv Fontaine
Liv Fontaine is a visual & performance artist whose practice focuses on deconstructing and redefining gendered stereotypes, sickness & status. She is based in Newcastle. Over the past 10 years she has exhibited and performed in numerous group shows and solo presentations. This has included at Lambeth County Court, London, Glasgow International Festival, Elephant West, London; David Dale Gallery, Glasgow; Celine, Glasgow; SuperNormal Festival, Oxfordshire; Raven Row, London; CCA, Glasgow; Matthew Gallery, New York; BLOC Projects Sheffield; ICA, London; Caustic Coastal, Salford; Austrian Cultural Forum, London; and Academy of Art, Vienna.
Rainham Sheds
Rainham Sheds present all-female maximum art-core no-wave on a primitive tip. Both incomparable and conceptual, the five Shedwomen divest themselves of all cultivated musical norms and graces to most efficiently deliver crude skronk with cloven hooves. Brainchild and performance artist Kate Mahony ruminates on subjects including French philosophy, sex with furniture and in damp flats and the nuclear threat.
Featuring members of bands including Shake Chain, Flat Soufflé, The Chop and Sassyhiya among others, you are never far from a Shed and upon watching, we are reminded that we are all a little part Shed.
Rainham Sheds have built a reputation through appearances at acclaimed DIY venues and festivals across the UK and Europe, including HATCH Tramlines Fringe (Sheffield), LUFF Festival (Lausanne, Switzerland), Jaguar Shoes (London), The Green Door Store (Brighton), Supernormal Festival (Oxfordshire), EartH Kitchen (London), Cafe OTO (London), and Sounds From The Other City (Salford, Greater Manchester).
Lene Vollhardt
Lene Vollhardt is a German-American choreographer based in London, working between guttural voice, live performance, and moving image. She trained in classical ballet and Butoh, and the two haven’t stopped arguing in her work since. Recent pieces include the lecture-performance Market Mouth, the film Swirls of Fortune (2025), and Venus Devourer. She has performed in productions by Sasha Waltz and Liz Magic Laser, presented work at the Royal Academy of Arts, Sharjah Art Foundation, and Berlin Art Week. is a Research Fellow at the Law & Theory Lab, University of Westminster, where she researches protocol as a choreographic and para-legal concept.
You can find out about the Thursday evening here and the Saturday evening here.
