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THE MAC FACTOR
20.01.2012 / Communities / 0 Comments
Patrick Kelly on the little arts centre in Belfast that became the city’s biggest ever arts investment
Five years ago, double Oscar winning actress Meryl Streep breezed into Belfast - not for a stint of filming or even to host a glittering event with top politicians in attendance. Her destination was a cold a draughty one time museum which then pro- vided a home for the sharpest dramatists and artists in Northern Ireland.
Streep lent her considerable star appeal to a fundraising event for the centres plan's for a new venue saying that she was "proud to come to Belfast to celebrate the city's commitment to the centre and its great good work".
Rumour has it that Streep will be paying a return visit in time for the opening of that new venue in a £17 million six storey building and many observers think that it would be a fitting tribute to the work of the arts centre if she did.
The latter part of the 20th century was not a good time for the arts in Belfast. The Troubles that began in the late 60s and early 70s squeezed the life out of many venues. As people deserted the city centre, frightened by car bombs and sporadic outbreaks of rioting, theatres, gal- leries and cinemas closed. Visiting artists from rock bands to classical musicians gave Northern Ireland a wide berth for more than two decades before the IRA ceasefire and the historic rapprochement between Unionists and Republicans led to them sharing places in government.
Only a few beacons shone through the artistic gloom in that period. One of them was the Old Museum Arts Centre. A team of dedicated volunteers transformed a down at heel Grade One listed building in an unprepossessing street into a hub of artistic activities, with theatre, galleries, cafe, films and play space crammed into its warren of rooms. OMAC quickly gained a reputation as a home for the eclectic and cutting edge art which was to make household names of the likes of Stella Duffy, Turner prizewinner Willie Doherty, giving a platform to an unlikely one man show dedicated to snooker star Hurricane Higgins. It was also one of the first arts venues to run an education and outreach programme.
Now OMAC is to be re-born - in a brand new state of the art building in what is becoming a new cultural quar- ter for the city. The new multi-art form MAC they are dropping the 'O') will include two theatres, three visual art galleries, a dance studio, education, workshop and rehearsal spaces, offices for resident arts groups and (of course) the obligatory café and bar. After a few false starts, (the original project was pencilled in for 2007), the MAC will open its doors in April 2012 with a 'world class' programme. Organisers hope to attract 200,000 people each year and want it to become a venue on the European circuit. The galleries will be the largest purpose-built visual art spaces in Northern Ireland with technology and design allowing it to exhibit major art works from around the globe - a ground-breaking first for Northern Ireland.
The spaces are flexible, allowing art and theatre of varied dimensions to take place. The organisers promise "at least 10 world premieres each year of the very best work that our local companies can offer." Not to mention innovative and exciting music that will "refresh the parts that commercial music venues can't reach." And of course, a determination to "develop the next generation of artists by championing new and emerging work".
Ambitious it is - but chief executive Anne McReynolds (who has been with OMAC since 1996) has massive back- ing from the Northern Ireland government and Belfast City Council, both of which see the Mac as a pivotal project in the regeneration of the city centre area now known as the Cathedral Quarter. The quarter already has a num- ber of trendy bars and restaurants and already hosts an innovative spring arts festival but McReynolds hopes that the Mac's wide ranging programme will be one more rea- son for staying up late in the city.
She is keen that the new centre preserves some of the most important aspects of the old one. "One of my main challenges is to try to transfer the "OMAC factor" from here to the new space, she says." On the one hand we'll try to preserve the intimacy that created such a special relationship with audiences but on the other we want to aim to be an arts centre with international status."
Creating an iconic building was part of that aim - and an international design competition attracted 120 entries, including some from China. In the end, it was local company Hackett Hall McKnight which won the commission, creating a "spiral" of spaces, many of them showing the deep rusty brick that characterise the commercial heart of Victorian city.
McReynolds says that the long gestation of the new arts centre give them time to learn lessons from others building arts centres and to "cherrypick" the best ideas.
And flexible spaces are vital - because not only will they be required to host cabaret or concerts, but also play host to more commercial activities like conferences, prod- uct launches and corporate events.
Despite its hefty public backing, the MAC will need to generate substantial amounts of revenue in a harsh economic climate which is likely to buffet Belfast harder than most other cities. Isn't there a danger that the Mac will turned out to be an expensive showroom for the latest whisky launch?
"We know we have to generate other types of income but the core activity will always be the arts," responds McReynolds. "There are so many spaces here, it will be a good balance."
Getting the balance right will be tough, but then tough is what this little big art centre is all about.
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