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PLYMOUTH SOUND AND SIGHT
17.02.2012 / Festivals / 0 Comments
This year Plymouth is celebrating 150 years of high education, and the university is marking it with a series of arts events organised by its own Peninsula Arts and involving partnerships throughout the South West. Sarah Chapman, Peninsula Arts’ director, explains
The history of Plymouth University is founded on ideas of exploration and discovery, growing out of a rich educational heritage that dates from the opening of the Plymouth School of Navigation in 1862. The university's coat of arms incorporates the motto Indagate, Fingite, Invenite, which translates as Explore, Dream, Discover, reflecting not only Plymouth's long and continuing association with seafarers and explorers, but also its current ambitions for its students and staff. The 150th celebrations acknowledge both the historical legacy of the university and the future, continuing to champion the enterprise of enquiry which fosters innovation - including new research collaborations, for example, between the arts and the university's marine institute, a leading international research centre.
Peninsula Arts is the public arts programme for Plymouth University and offers a year round platform for cultural events, including exhibitions, music, film, public lectures, theatre and dance. The programme is leading on a number of anniversary celebrations throughout 2012, and Peninsula Arts has a particular interest in supporting creative initiatives which explore the relationship between art, science and technology. The diverse programme draws direct inspiration from the expertise and specialist knowledge of researchers and practitioners working across a range of art and science subjects.
Last weekend Peninsula Arts hosted the nationally recognised annual Contemporary Music Festival which this year drew direct inspiration from the theme Explore, Dream, Discover and examined the interface between creativity, music, science and technology. The three-day event united traditional acoustic performance with the latest research into computer and music electronics, creating new sound worlds that explore notions of vast space to the intimacy of the human brain. Selected highlights included "piTrio", a participatory event culminating in an iOrchestra as directed by audiences' iPads and smartphones; and a new rendering of "Fluxus", for electric violin and live electronics, in homage to the 1960s artist group.
Alongside the festival Peninsula Arts is also to showcase the exhibition Landscapes of Exploration in the Peninsula Arts Gallery (until March 31). Curated by Liz Wells, professor in photographic culture in the school of art and media, the exhibition features artists who undertook residencies in the Antarctic between 2001 and 2009, supported by the British Antarctic Survey. This exhibition brings together for the first time art resulting from the various artistic investigations, which reflects on the physical and conceptual impact of working in the remote and extreme environment of Antarctica. The exhibition has been programmed as part of the university's anniversary alongside the centenary of Plymouth born Captain Robert Falcon Scott's historic expedition to the South Pole.
During the Plymouth Marine City Festival (10 - 16 September), the university opens the new marine facility and celebrates a special public art commission on the Plymouth campus entitled "Arrival and Departure" by the award winning artist Ian McChesney.
In partnership with Cyprus Well, the university and Peninsula Arts launch the first ever Plymouth International Book Festival (15 - 23 September), bringing to the city high profile writers. The book festival will also host a special Moby Dick "big read" event - a 21st century audio and visual rendition of the classic sea-faring narrative, featuring contributions from well-known celebrities such as Sir David Attenborough, Tilda Swinton and Stephen Fry.
A busy two weeks of cultural events in September culminates with two major music concerts. The "150th Anniversary Celebration Concert" (Saturday 22 September) showcasing a mix of electroacoustic audio-visual overture followed by a selection of popular orchestral works that evoke the 150-year journey of discovery and reflect the inter- national impact of Plymouth historically. On Sunday 23 September the university hosts a major concert performance held in the grand marquee on Plymouth Hoe. The event profiles popular classics from the soundtracks to The Pirates of the Caribbean, Phantom of the Opera and the Blue Danube Waltz. Both programmes will feature the Plymouth University resident professional ensemble Ten Tors Orchestra conducted by Simon Ible, the Peninsula Arts director of music.
Finally, a unique commemorative CD featuring contemporary work by Seth Lakeman, John Matthias, Nick Ryan and guitarist Will McNicoll (a recent Plymouth graduate) will also be produced and released to the public.
Visit www.peninsula-arts.co.uk
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