The Week in Light & Sound
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Sgt. Pepper Promotion - The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 50 years ago this week – and it remains widely regarded as the best rock and roll album concept of all time. To mark the anniversary, the city of Liverpool is to host a huge cultural celebration, called Sgt. Pepper at 50: Heading for Home from Thursday 25 May to Friday 16 June. The council has invested £750,000 of National Lottery funding through its Ambition for Excellence scheme to fund the celebration. The events include:
When I’m 64 - A mass sing-along - broadcast live on radio - of 64 choirs from across the city and of all ages. With an inter-generational theme, the event will focus on what age really means to anyone who is between 14 and 64.
Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds - A light festival on an Olympic scale, with music and fireworks, in the beautiful surroundings of Camp Hill.
With a Little Help From My Friends - Two public art commissions that examine the nature of friendship and self-sacrifice.
Commenting on the festival, Alison Clark, the Arts Council’s national director for combined arts and director north, said, "Our Ambition for Excellence fund uses National Lottery investment to support the creation of work for major national moments. The events to celebrate Sgt. Pepper at 50 on the scale and of the quality that this festival promises are very exciting."
New Direction - Shakespeare's Globe is advertising for a new artistic director to succeed Emma Rice, with the organisation confirming it is working to "review the dynamics of the current executive and senior management leadership structure". The brief also offers the possibility that the next artistic director or joint artistic directors "could come from a range of differing acting, directing or creative backgrounds".
Rice announced her departure last year, following a row over her introduction of artificial sound and lighting at the theatre. The news that Rice would be leaving in April 2018 was accompanied by a commitment from the Globe's board that it would return to more traditional practices following her tenure.
Let’s Dance - Arts Council England has awarded £5m in funding to develop a new dance hub in Birmingham. Over the next three years, £3m will be invested to develop production and administrative space for dance artists and £2m will be used to support dance activity.
The new hub is to be developed at the Birmingham Hippodrome, subject to a study looking into the feasibility of the location. Plans for the facility, which will be home to the Birmingham Royal Ballet, include a large studio, office spaces and meeting rooms. Peter Knott, Midlands area director at Arts Council England, said: “As the nation’s developer of arts and culture, we want to invest in bold schemes. The Birmingham Dance Hub promises to be just that, enticing audiences and enhancing the city’s reputation.”
(Jim Evans)
