Rachael Putland is the Marketing & Communications Officer at SPILL, Ipswich’s international festival of contemporary arts and year-round performance venue. With the festival starting today, Rachael shares this year’s highlights
How would you describe your role and your work?
I’m the Marketing & Communications Officer at SPILL, looking after the website, ticketing, and social media pages. It’s my job to help spread the word about what’s on at SPILL so people can see how they can get involved. During the festival I manage a temp colleague, Reuben, who helps us with social media content creation and live streaming from events.
What will you be doing at SPILL Festival and what can people expect? Do they have to participate, or can they just take it all in from the sidelines?
I’ll be running around taking lots of photos and moving posters! People can definitely participate – Steli by Italian company Stalker Teatro is a large sculpture made out of colourful sticks on Ipswich Cornhill. Our PR, Helen, described the experience as “A bit like Twister meets Kerplunk, minus the marbles, and on a massive scale”. It’s both sculpture and live art. The best bit about it is that it is made by the audience and it’s FREE to participate, so you can just turn up on Saturday or Sunday and get stuck in to building. There will also be a DJ to provide a soundtrack. Times of sessions are 10–11am and 14–15pm. It’s suitable for all the family (ages 4+).
What are you most looking forward to seeing or participating in at SPILL?
We’ve partnered with Brighten the Corners to create a music night at St Stephen’s Church on Friday 24. With DJ acts and headliner “jazz subversive” band Ebi Soda, who have enjoyed airtime and praise from the likes of Huey Morgan and Jamz Supernova (BBC 6 Music), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), and China Moses (Jazz FM). It will be a good chance to celebrate once the festival has properly kicked off on the Thursday.
Where can people find out more about what you do and what’s on at SPILL Festival?
You can follow us at @spill_festival on Instagram and @spillfest on Facebook. The website is the best place to check up-to-date event listings and spillfestival.com.
What is it about SPILL Festival that appeals to you?
The sense of fun! There’s so much going on, and it’s been lovely to explore the beautiful venues Ipswich has to offer. Plus, it’s always good to bring international artists to the County Town of Suffolk.
SPILL Festival starts today (Thursday October 23, 2025) and runs to Sunday October 26, 2025. Visit SPILL Festival.
Featured image supplied by Affinity PR
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