Fort Process is a multi-disciplinary sonic arts festival set in Newhaven Fort, Newhaven on the south coast of England, produced by Lost Property.[1] The festival takes place within the structure of the 19th century coastal defence, commissioning site-specific art installations and performances that respond to the fort's architecture and network of subterranean tunnels. The first edition was held in September 2014, with later editions in 2016[2][3] and 2018.[4] The festival has been well received with positive reviews from The Wire,[5] The Quietus,[6] Freq[7] and others.
The festival was initially conceived in 2012 by Alastair Kemp, founder of Newhaven's Eleusinian Press, who proposed the idea to a group of Brighton-based arts and music promoters. It was in response to East Sussex County Council announcing that Newhaven Fort would become privately run.[4] The interested parties would form arts collective Lost Property to handle the festival's organisation.[6]
Across its three editions, the festival has presented a wide range of artists and musicians, including: Sarah Angliss, Adam Basanta, Pierre Bastien, Mike Blow, Peter Brötzmann & Steve Noble [de], John Chantler, Rhys Chatham, Audrey Chen [de], Poulomi Desai, Leslie Deere, Timothy Didymus, Graham Dunning, Max Eastley, Ex-Easter Island Head, Michael Finnissy, Limpe Fuchs [de], Mariska de Groot, Ian Helliwell, Daniel W J Mackenzie, Darsha Hewitt [fr], Konk Pack, Kyoka, Joshua Le Gallienne, Grischa Lichtenberger [de], Liminal, Toshimaru Nakamura, Seijiro Murayama, Evan Parker, Aura Satz, Semiconductor, Tim Shaw, Plurals, The Artaud Beats, Gabey Tjon a Tham, Tetsuya Umeda, Zimoun.[1]