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THE OUTSTANDING LBT
21.12.2011 / Simon Tait's Diary / 0 Comments
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Glasgow's 15 cheers from Niki...
A Place in the sun...
Solved - Heatherwick's dilemma...
This isn't just an opportunity to get a nice, colourful Christmassy image on the page. Not just that. It's also a chance to give it up for the venue with the least promising name, the Lawrence Batley Theatre, one of those cockle-warming enterprises that give communities a heart and don't get mentioned half often enough. It belongs firmly in Huddersfield's sternly Methodist far past and entrepreneurial nearer past. It's set in an 1819 chapel building that had a post-sacred career as an arts centre, squash courts, restaurant and disco before being given to the Kirklees Theatre Trust in 1989 to save it from dereliction and make a venue out of it. It opened in 1996 and took the name of the local founder of a cash and carry chain who was also a philanthropist. It's been a struggle, now like at no other time, but its eclectic programming and loyal associate companies have kept the audiences coming. Now the LBT and in particular its director Victoria Firth, have got their reward It's has been given a rating from Arts Council England as outstanding for "excellence and innovation in its programming", and strong for "audience reach", "financial sustainability" and "governance and management". In his report, Ralph Dartford writes: "The Lawrence Batley Theatre can now be considered a vital resource within its own community of Kirklees. The organisation is also extending its reputation elsewhere in the region and gaining an outstanding reputation for artistic excellence, both in its programming of innovative product, and its ambition to increase engagement with the general public and artists". Oh, and the picture. It's from their pre-Yule show, The Snow Queen, on until Christmas Eve, and the photographs was taken by Gavin Joynt.
Glasgow's 15 cheers from Niki
The city of Glasgow has just had what might be one of its most significant gifts of art in recent times, certainly the most joyous. The Contemporary Art Society has given it 15 works by the extraordinary Niki St Phalle - daughter of a count, cousin of a baroness, she was expelled from her art school for painting fig leaves on their figure sculptures, became a fashion model, returned to painting with growing fame until her death in 2002 aged 72. She was particularly famous for her "Nana" sculptures, the voluptuous and garish papier mache female figures, but she also designed costumes, chairs, a playground and stage sets. The works come from the collection of Eric and Jean Cass ,= and they add to the two St Phalles Glasgow already has which will form the core of an exhibition at The Gallery of Modern Art there in 2013. "Working with Eric and Jean Cass and learning more about the collection that they have so carefully developed over the years has been inspirational" said Paul Hobson, director of the CAS, which has "a unique view of public collections across the UK, and this gift is one of many initiatives that we are championing in museums across the UK. We look forward to seeing the works displayed within the collection at GoMA."
A Place in the sun
Dance is notoriously the Cinderella of the arts for sponsorship so it's particularly gratifying that Bloomberg are back to sponsor The Place Prize, the biennial competition for contemporary choreographers who stand to win £25,000 plus commissions for new pieces. This make the fifth edition, and entries should be in by February 22. Bloomberg have put £1m into the programme since it started in 2004, allowing the creation for 92 new pieces, so it stands alone as the leading provider of new dances in the country. More immediately, The Place's Resolution is back, the annual showcase, opening on Jan 6, which was invented 23 years ago by John Ashton to ease the difficult transition from vocational training to professional performance. This time there will be 78 new productions.
Solved - Heatherwick's dilemma
The trouble about Tom Heatherwick used to be that he didn't seem sure whether he was an architect or an installation artist, so that he got no reviews because arts editors couldn't make up their minds which critic to send. He seems to have settled for being both, never mind media opinion, and the V&A obviously approves because they've got a major show based on the work of his studio, opening in May and running through the whole summer.
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