Is the Great British Festival dead? Same old (very old) headliners, cash points behind every bush, barrista coffees and a ban on legal highs…. I’m not that old but I remember when the only respectable way of getting into Glastonbury was via a rope guarded by a Crustie, or through a tunnel that someone had been digging secretly since April. No one paid. So if you feel that the original, anarchic and boundary-free spirit of the festival has gone, check out Brainchild, on this coming weekend in East Sussex.

This super-small festival is artist led and non-hierarchical. Yes, the acts, crew and festival goers all camp together – no need to lose sleep imagining the luxury yurt action going on in the VVIP area – and the emphasis on is creative collaboration. Bring a harp, a paintbrush and an open mind seems to be the vibe. It’s set in the fields and woods of the Bentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum in East Sussex, and the whole site, including the stages, will be decorated by a number of up-coming artists. ICA Bloomberg Contemporary, Emily Motto will be making a huge sculpture made of found materials over the weekend and illustrator and Royal College of Art student Josie Tucker will be creating a large-scale mural. A taste of her work is below.

Perhaps most excitingly if the good weather holds, Central St Martins graduate Jacob Meyer-Belkin will be building an igloo made from locally sourced ice which will melt into a paddling pool over the course of the weekend; a tribute to the great Lewes avalanche of 1836. “I think what we want to achieve is an environment where people are free to think critically, try new things and make friends, and to do that under the gaze of big brands would be a shame and opportunity lost,” festival founder Marina Blake told the Indi in a recent feature on the event. Too true. Brainchild is one of the few festivals commissioning large-scale pieces from artists, so if you’re looking for somewhere to get creative, explore new ideas and have a dance with some contemporary art, then give it whirl. Tickets are still on sale – for a very un-2015 price of £65.