Princefest

About

Cultural icon Prince is one of the few pop superstars whose work defies categorisation and whose life remains truly enigmatic. From Friday 14 to Saturday 15 December the ICA will survey the artistic impact of the Purple One with Princefest, 2 days of screenings, talks, Q&As and live music performances. ‘No one else will ever have a career like Prince. The main reason for this is, of course, his incredible range of ability across so many creative disciplines: we will not see his like again.' — Matt Thorne, author of Prince (2012). Matt Thorne kicks off the festival with a talk about his new biography Prince (Faber &Faber) with ICA's Tom Wilcox. Regarded as the ‘definitive work on the man', his biography provides a starting point for a discussion about this extraordinary artist. A double bill screening of Purple Rain, the first film Prince starred in, and Graffiti Bridge, the unofficial sequel which he wrote, directed, and starred in will be screened on Friday evening. Prince karaoke will take place in the bar on opening night with London based pianist, singer and composer Rod Melvin on piano. To round off the evening there will be a late night screening of Sign of the Times. Professor Sarah Niblock, co-author of Prince: The Making of a Pop Music Phenomenon, discuss the fashion Prince has pioneered throughout his career. The speakers will explore his music, performances, sounds, lyrics and the plethora of accompanying visual material such as album covers, posters, fashions, promotional videos and feature films. Nineteen amateur and professional guitarists will perform some of Prince's greatest hits in the bar on Saturday evening. Screenings of Under the Cherry Moon, Barbarella and a documentary introduced by acclaimed journalist Barbara Ellen (TBC) will round off the film programme.