Memory Pageant

Remembering and reinventing, dig into your own memories as inspiration for looks that allow you to play within your own heritage.

Inspired and celebrating Downtown Pompey’s recent work exploring our un-told heritage, we’re inviting you to go ‘downtown’ in your own personal narrative, the less polished side of the city, the sticky bit of memory behind the sofa.

Do you remember that tree in the park you used to meet your friends at - transform it into a tasteful bonnet.  Your mum’s old  floral sofa - a lovely gown. That night out where you found a bra on a lamp-post, a rich source of inspiration for a look.  Reject the archive and the history books and come inspired by what’s important to you.

KLONN premieres Embodied Ruins: Reconfiguring Ornament Memory Pageant will also feature the premiere of Embodied Ruins: Reconfiguring Ornament , a new work by Maltese artist and designer KLONN (Gabriel Chetcuti) , developed in collaboration with creative technologist Nick Theuma and facilitated by Play Office .

Blurring the boundaries between architecture, fashion and performance, the project transforms historic architectural details into wearable sculptures using 3D scanning and printing. Bringing forgotten ornaments off buildings and onto bodies, KLONN reimagines heritage as something we can wear, move with and reinvent.

The work celebrates the growing creative relationship between Malta and Portsmouth, connecting the two cities through a shared exploration of heritage, identity and new technologies.

Join us for the first public presentation of this new work, where architectural history takes on an unexpected new life.

Turn a Look Part fashion show, part fancy dress, part celebration of the wonderfully strange things we remember, Memory Pageant invites you to turn your personal history into something spectacular.

We're looking for the beautiful, the ridiculous, the sentimental and the completely unnecessary. The embarrassing family holiday. The carpet in your nan's hallway. Your first night out. That local landmark that nobody else remembers. The tiny details that somehow stick with us forever.

Not dressing up? Come and watch. You don't have to take part in the pageant to enjoy the spectacle. Come along to cheer on the participants, discover the stories behind their creations and see Portsmouth's personal histories paraded in all their strange and wonderful glory.

Expect unexpected outfits, unlikely inspirations and a celebration of the people and places that make us who we are.