The new venues are being designed to get everyone interested in the arts and provide multi-functional facilities as well. Once they open, you may get used to the idea of your local art gallery being the trendiest place to eat, drink and socialise!
The billboards posters are also publicising a new website, www.artof.org.uk, which has been designed as a one-stop shop providing lots of information about what’s happening in each of the new venues. Website users will be only a click away from a great day or evening out.
The campaign carries the theme ‘The art of…’ and includes a ‘touring’ poster which will be moving around the region. The posters will show how art buildings in the 21st century are ideal spaces for social events. This might be for family days out, first dates, and meeting places, which can all be enjoyed within fantastic surroundings.
Laura Dyer of the Arts Council England says people should expect great things for the development of the arts in the East Midlands.
“This is one of the most exciting years ever for the arts in the region, she said. "The world-class facilities are going to attract new art and new audiences from all over the UK and the world.”
The £90 million development comprises:
The New Art Exchange, Nottingham. This development in the Hyson Green area of the city will be the first non-London arts centre dedicated to black contemporary visual art.
Following its opening in June, the venue will be established as a cultural hub, playing a leading role in the local community and supporting African, Caribbean and South Asian arts.
Curve Leicester. At the heart of the city’s Cultural Quarter, Curve will be a magnificent new theatre with a design which maximises the room for directors to have the greatest creativity when staging a performance.
The project will open in November, providing two theatres which can be opened out to create one large space seating over a thousand people. Curve is helping to regenerate a run-down area of the city, improving business in the area and bringing arts and culture to the forefront of Leicester’s image.
QUAD, Derby. QUAD will be a diverse focal point of the arts, showcasing a state-of-the-art gallery, and two independent cinemas. Education spaces, artist studios, multi-media facilities and a café are amongst the new facilities.
Opening in late summer, QUAD’s programme will build on the work of two Derby organisations: Q Arts and Metro Cinema. The merger of the two places will allow for the expansion of their already highly successful programmes, including the screening of 240 films from 25 countries annually.
First Movement at the LEVEL Centre, Rowsley, Derbyshire. Dedicated to developing high quality arts projects with disabled people, Fine Movement is an arts organisation which creates opportunities for adults with severe learning difficulties.
The LEVEL centre will bring together disabled people living across the region and allow them to promote their arts creativity in top class facilities using video conferencing and large-scale projection in a virtual arts space.
Nottingham Contemporary. Set to be the largest single gallery space in the East Midlands, the Nottingham Contemporary will be a very exciting addition to Nottingham’s fast expanding arts culture.
Designed to be an iconic landmark on its completion in 2009, the centre will sit at the ‘gateway’ to the popular Lace Market area which is already home to the Broadway Arts Cinema. It will provide a number of large galleries, social spaces, café bar and a performance area.
To keep up-to-date with what’s happening with these exciting new developments, check out www.artof.org.uk, and look out for the billboard posters around the East Midlands!
