Medway Superstars premieres 10 striking filmed portraits highlighting the creative talents of artists based in Medway, Kent - from emerging voices to globally established names. Directed by 51zero Artistic Director, Margherita Gramegna and funded by Arts Council England, the Medway Superstars films capture the region’s artistic energy.

Margherita says:

"I’m delighted that Medway Superstars will be part of Estuary Festival, where this work can reach new audiences and contribute to a wider cultural conversation.

Through these film portraits, I’m trying to raise some questions: What makes a place an 'artistic hub'? What is the role of artists, the community, and local authorities in shaping it? How can artists make an impact if nobody knows who they are or where they are? How can a local place like Medway gain global significance?

With MAPP, I want to build a living archive that inspires and guides future innovation and possibilities.”

Medway Superstars is about mapping an evolving creative landscape. These portraits are artistic interpretations rather than conventional documentaries - distilled moments and poetic exchanges that move between formality and play.

Each artist’s portrait act as a reference point, visually charting Medway’s creative scene and positioning it within a wider artistic context. While each artist’s work is inspired by Medway, their stories reflect universal themes—identity, community, and creativity—resonating with global audiences.

The choice to use portraiture ties into the idea of capturing human stories that transcend time, place, culture, and language, with each artist offering a dynamic insight into Medway’s artistic identity.

The artists reflect not just on their connection to Medway but also on its future— envisioning the cultural growth of their community and their role in it.

The launch of this project marks Stage 1 of a broader ambition to
create MAPP (©Medway Artists Portrait Platform), a dynamic, digital atlas of Medway’s artistic topography.

MAPP aims to raise Medway’s profile as a significant creative hub and serve as a resource that empowers current and future artists to flourish within its cultural, social, and economic narrative.

Margherita Gramegna is an Italian artist and filmmaker based in Rochester, Kent. Following a creative collaboration that led to the founding of Ripetta 9, an artists’ studio in Rome, she moved from a career in graphic design into video and media arts.

In 2006, she was awarded First Prize at the Berlin’s Emergeandsee media arts Festival. Her films have been screened across the UK and Europe, including at Whitechapel Gallery, Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Herbert Read Gallery, Raindance, Eat Our Shorts Festivals, Cannes 60th SFC, Zlín Festival (Czech Republic), and Loop Festival (Barcelona).

In 2019, she was invited to participate in a collaborative artist residency
at Fondazione Bevilaqua La Masa, producing a short film exhibited at Palazzetto Tito, Venice.

Her public art commission from Francis Knight, Artists Don’t Bite, for Art at The Centre, earned her a nomination for the Rouse Kent Public Art Award.
Margherita has curated the 51zero festivals and cultural projects introducing significant contemporary artworks and films to Medway. She has led international collaborations and exchange programs between Medway and Northern France, with her projects receiving recognition and awards from Recreate, ICR, a-n, and Arts Council England.

Through her involvement in the Creative Medway Cultural Compact, Intra Community Trust, and Medway Cultural Partnership, she has worked extensively to raise Medway’s profile as a centre for contemporary art and artists to thrive.

Margherita is currently developing MAPP (©Medway Artists Portrait Platform), a major initiative advocating for the role of artists in Medway’s urban and cultural regeneration.

51zero
Founded in 2010 by Margherita Gramegna, 51zero is an artist-led organisation dedicated to presenting festival programmes featuring international artists and filmmakers whose practice sits between contemporary art and cinema.

51zero produces cultural events with a focus on place making, that support and showcase artists, create opportunities for emerging talent, and engage audiences across Kent, the UK, and beyond.

Rooted in the region, 51zero takes its name from the geographical coordinates of Medway, where it is based.”

Medway
Medway is an urban conurbation (population 280,000) of five towns – Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Rainham – along the River Medway in the South East of England within the Thames Estuary Production Corridor.

2024 marked the 40th anniversary of the closure of Chatham Naval Dockyard, resulting in the loss of 20,000 jobs and the decline of a globally recognised centre for shipbuilding skills and education.

Since 1984, while the area has struggled socially and economically, its artistic community has grown locally, regionally, and internationally. Creative practitioners from the local art school (variously known as Medway School of Art, Kent Institute of Art and Design, and UCA) and musicians, including Billy Childish, Tracey Emin, James Taylor (James Taylor Quartet), Nitin Sawhney, and Zandra Rhodes, have built successful international careers.

With the art college’s closure in 2023 and Medway expected to become one of the fastest-growing urban conurbations outside London, this is an important moment in time to be fore-fronting the voices of the next generation of artists embedded in the area.

https://www.51zero.org

Image: Margherita Gramegna / MEDWAY SUPERSTARS / 2025 / Margherita Gramegna