The line-up of artists for a quirky and popular festival has been revealed. 

The eclectic b-side festival 2024, which takes place on Portland from today, Thursday, September 5 to Sunday, September 8 showcases an array of art. 

This year the festival boasts an international programme of artworks, performances and experiences that will include the likes of Dhagan Collective, Deborah Bowness, Miss High Leg Kick, Gil Mualem Doron and Kirstie Macleod. 

An award-winning trans-disciplinary artist, researcher and curator, Gil Mualem-Doron centres their work on identity and place, histories of displacement, embodied experiences of migration, legacies of colonialism, social practices and transcultural aesthetics.

For the first time since touring England at the Tate Modern, Turner Contemporary and Brighton Museum, Gil’s New Union Flag will be officially installed at Portland Marina.

Alongside the huge flag, local communities will be invited to create their own New Union Flag in the form of a kite, with the artist themselves.

Dhagan Collective, led by Ayan Cilmi and Fozia Ismail, looks to find ways in building imaginative futures that support Somali people in the UK and in East Africa.

A multi-sensory tribute to Somali heritage in the face of climate collapse, Dhaqan Collective invites Portland residents and visitors to enter the House of Weaving Songs.

A domed steel structure based on an Aqal, a Somali nomadic home found in the arid landscapes of Somalia.

Fourteen year award winning global, collaborative embroidery project, The Red Dress, will also be making its B-Side debut. Conceived by British artist Kirstie Macleod, The Red Dress provides an artistic platform for individuals around the world (in the majority women), many of whom are vulnerable and live in poverty, to tell their personal stories through embroidery. 

A wallpaper maker, internationally-recognised for her innovative trompe l'oeil designs, Deborah Bowness’s Paper Trail takes wallpaper into the street. Organisers say that Deborah’s piece brings feelings of connectivity to the environment by creating a sense of place and heritage informed by the histories of Portland’s workers, inhabitants and migrants.

Miss High Leg Kick or Francesca Baglione, is an Olivier Award winning live artist whose work uses collaboration and unusual approaches to engage audiences and produce ambitious, accessible performances.

Bringing a sensory experience to the festival, Eau De Portland is about smell and how it connects with memory, identity and place. Inspired by Miss High Leg’s Eau de Memoire, and by olfactory memories of people from Portland, the piece celebrates the rich experiences and past evoked by one's sense of smell.

As well as the core programme that’s set to take over Portland, the B-Side Fringe Festival is back from Saturday, August 31 until Sunday, September 8.

A dynamic extension of the festival's main event, The Fringe will showcase a plethora of art, craft and installations from open studios and live music to window and garden displays. Across the Island, B-side goers should look out for Fringe signs and discover hidden and not-so-hidden, creative gems on their travels.

The official launch will start with a party on Thursday, September 5 at Salt in Portland Mariana. It promises to be a vibrant evening filled with film, poetry and music. 

Continuing the celebrations with live DJ sets from Vinyl Van and the Hoodoo Jukebox, organisers hope the launch party et the tone for the weekend ahead. 

For more details and to purchase tickets for £7.50, visit b-side's official website.