Folkestone Triennial comes but once every three years and excitement is running high as we enter the opening weekend of the 2014 event, which features two of the world arts scene’s leading ladies. Jo Roberts reports.

Yoko Ono and Tracey Emin are two of the biggest names in the arts world and both are represented in Kent this weekend, as the much-anticipated Folkestone Triennial opens.

One of the most ambitious public art projects presented in the UK, artists from all over the world have produced works which have been put in place throughout Folkestone over the past few weeks ahead of the opening on Saturday, August 30.

Among them is headline artist Yoko Ono, widow of Beatle John Lennon, who has produced two original text pieces for the festival, which is this year around the theme Lookout.

The 81-year-old Tokyo-born artist has a long-standing connection with Folkestone because she displayed at The Leas back in 1966 at the Metropole Arts Centre. One of her texts is exhibited on a huge billboard and simply states: 'Earth Peace'. Another is an invitation to the people of Folkestone. The pieces are shown at The Leas and at Folkestone Quarterhouse.

Meanwhile, Kent’s own Turner Prize-nominated art ‘superstar’ Tracey Emin will come back to her more humble roots by selling her own work from the back of a car at a boot fair.

The 51-year-old, who spent her formative years in Margate and later studied in Medway and Maidstone, is joining fellow professionals preparing to sell limited-edition works on the harbour at the Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair, which is part of the Folkestone Triennial on Saturday.

Among the big international names there will still be room to spotlight local artists including Folkestone-based Diane Dever and Jonathan Wright, who have plotted the course of the Pent Stream through the town.

Much of the stream is now built over, but once was at the heart of the town as its main freshwater source.

Another work includes a piece called Vigil by Alex Hartley, hanging outside the Grand Burstin Hotel on the seafront. It has used state-of-the-art climbing technology to suspend a lookout from the highest point of the hotel which will be inhabited throughout the Triennial.

Curator of the two-month festival, which runs until Sunday, November 2, is Lewis Biggs, who says it “is fast becoming a focus of interest around the world”.

He added: “The Folkestone Triennial presents a very special opportunity for artists who want the challenge of showing outside the gallery, museum or sale room.

“I have been careful to invite only artists whose works fits the opportunity; who want to be in dialogue with the urban context, who have something to say about contemporary life in a wider world and who want to engage with a broader audience.”

The official opening ceremony will start at 10am on Saturday in Payers Park, Mill Bay.

For the full list of events and exhibits visit www.folkestonetriennial.org.uk

Tracey Emin will be creating embroidered artworks exclusively for Saturday’s Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair, as well as posters and sculptures, with work ranging from £50 to £800.

She will be joined by other renowned artists Gavin Turk, Mat Collishaw, Chris Barnes and James Unsworth, among others, at the sale. The Vauxhall Art Cargo – a specially customised Vauxhall Vivaro van packed full of art – will offer visitors the chance to get stuck in to the process as well as buying art.

The event will take place from noon to 4pm at the Folkestone Fringe Hub on the harbour. Visit www.artcarbootfair.com for details.

Two became one

Folkestone Triennial and Margate’s Turner Contemporary are joining forces to present the first commission in England by Dutch artist Krijn de Koning.

The piece called Dwelling is a colourful, labyrinthine architectural structure which is erected identically in both locations simultaneously: in Turner Contemporary’s South Terrace and built into a Victorian grotto on Folkestone seafront.

Visit www.folkestonetriennial.org.uk and www.turnercontemporary.org

OPENING OFFERSA Tour of Triennial led by Samenua Sesher will be held between 10.30am and 12.30pm on Saturday from the Visitor Centre in Tontine Street.Triennial Artists in Conversation: Articulated Public Space will involve renowned exhibitors Marjetica Potr and Ooze, Krijn de Koning, rootoftwo and Will Kwan discussing the process and thinking behind their art. It will take place from 3pm to 5pm on Saturday at Folkestone Quarterhouse.Relics Rap in Payers Park will provide a musical fanfare. Folkestone Fringe, Jim Huswitt from Larp Music and Brixton-based Potent Whisper from Raw Material have been using music to bring together youngsters from Folkestone for the free outdoor event from 5pm to 6pm on Saturday.Fish, Chips and the Future of Food is a talk by Paul Smyth, co-founder of Something & Son, in which he will discuss the technology and challenges of the brand’s experimental fish ‘n’ chips ‘farm’, Amusefood, which is on the rooftop of The Glassworks Sixth Form Centre building. It will be held at the Quarterhouse Bar between 4.30pm and 5.30pm on Sunday.All the above events are free but booking is advisable for some via www.folkestonetriennial.org.ukDetailsFolkestone Triennial opens on Saturday, August 30, and runs until Sunday, November 2, at venues across Folkestone. The theme for 2014 is Lookout.Visit www.folkestonetriennial.org.uk