Your Supporter News / Autumn 2017
INSIDER
Welcome
Welcome to Southbank Centre Insider. I am proud to be the guest editor of our new look supporter magazine. I joined Southbank Centre as Chief Executive in May and it was a pleasure to meet so many of you at our Supporters’ Presentation on 18 September. I enjoyed hearing your stories about performances and moments enjoyed across our site over the years. We have relaunched our supporter magazine to share even more anecdotes, news and updates about how you’re all making a real difference to Southbank Centre. The year ahead is an important and exciting time in Southbank Centre’s 66-year history ahead of our restored 1960s arts venues reopening. Take a look at our exclusive interview with Hayward Gallery Director, Ralph Rugoff, to find out what’s in store in the gallery’s 50th anniversary year, and how you can be part of our historic Let The Light In project in its final few months. Thank you for all that you do.
Elaine Bedell Chief Executive
2 Autumn 2017
Insider Updates Our 17-acre site has been bustling with activity over the past six months. Here are a few of the ways your support has made a difference.
A breath of fresh air
It’s been another busy summer in Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden as our team of volunteer gardeners have been sprucing up the olive tree boxes, and looking after the colourful wildflowers and vegetable boxes. The gardeners are part of a volunteering programme coordinated by Providence Row, a London homeless charity, and Grounded Ecotherapy, who provide therapy through horticulture for people who have lived through addiction or homelessness. Many of the volunteers have said how beneficial the experience is to their physical and mental well-being.
Around the world in 50 festivals
WOW – Women of the World festival celebrates women and girls, and looks at the obstacles that stop them from achieving their potential. WOW London returned in March for its seventh year where speakers included Angela Davis and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Thanks to you, WOW is now a global network of festivals and to date, there have been 50 international festivals in nearly 20 countries on five continents.
Join in!
As part of WHY? What’s Happening for the Young festival, Southbank Centre welcomed a group of 15 young artists to take part in our Young Activists Programme. Aged between 15 and 18, this year’s activists included a lobbyist for young carers, a campaigner for deaf and disabled artists and a theatre practitioner challenging intergenerational divides in Northern Ireland. Your support means that 50% of Southbank Centre’s programme continues to be free so that thousands of children and young people have the opportunity to celebrate their voices and right to influence social change.
‘WOW has given our girls a platform to get their voices heard...[and] opened their eyes to the plight of women around the world.’ Head Teacher of Mulberry School, partner school of WOW
Illuminating Art
Since its opening in 1968, Hayward Gallery has brought the best in international and UK art to the South Bank. Closed since September 2015 for essential refurbishment, we spoke with Hayward Gallery Director Ralph Rugoff on what you can expect from the renovated gallery, Gursky and the 50th anniversary year. Words by Sevana Ohandjanian
Behind closed doors Hayward Gallery has been undergoing a transformation, from the blinds to climate control technology and the infamous pyramid rooflights, being readied for its 50th anniversary year. Thanks to the generous support of over 50,000 people through the Let The Light In campaign, 66 brand new rooflights have been installed to let natural light filter into the upper galleries for the first time. The height of the galleries has also been increased by a metre, and anticipation is mounting for the grand reveal in January. Ralph Rugoff has been Director of Hayward Gallery for 11 years, during which time he’s helmed everything from putting a lake and rowing boats on the gallery’s roof (Psycho Buildings, 2008) to last year’s off-site audiovisual artwork exhibition, The Infinite Mix (2016). Rugoff thinks visitors will be more than impressed with the new building. ‘When we reopen the galleries… they’re going to [have] a very airy feeling that will be surprising to people who associate the Hayward with being a concrete windowless bunker.’ It’s all part of a larger plan to give visitors a feeling of openness and transparency to the world, both literally and figuratively. As Rugoff says: ‘When you walk into room after room in a gallery that all have the same even lighting, your brain gets a signal saying that you don’t need to pay attention to this environment… I think being in a place where the light feels alive is going to keep your mind alive and your attention much sharper. Natural light is the best spectrum of light for actually looking at colours in art, so it’s a great thing to have in this new situation.’ Along with the rooflights, a relocated project space showcasing emerging artists awaits visitors on reopening. ‘It gives us a place where we can have events for up to 120 people, which we didn’t have before,’ says Rugoff. ‘We’ll try and take advantage of [it] with different kinds of talks programs and possibly some performances.’
The new architecture will also be utilised in the impending 50th anniversary year, starting in September with a symposium on the Hayward’s ongoing archival project. But that’s not all. ‘We’re also doing a publication that’s bringing together the best essays published by Hayward Publishing in the last 50 years… and we’ve got a light piece using the pyramid rooflights that will go in late November. Throughout the year there’ll [also] be outdoor commissions.’ Not to mention the reopening exhibition: the first major UK retrospective of acclaimed German photographer Andreas Gursky. Rugoff looks forward to welcoming those who’ve helped the restored Hayward Gallery come to fruition, and explains why Gursky is the ideal choice to helm the first show. ‘He has continually reinvented the possibilities of what photography can be, how to look at a photograph, what a photograph represents and how it represents the world. We definitely wanted somebody who was all about opening up new windows and ways of seeing. Gursky seemed like the perfect person.’ According to Rugoff, the themes of Gursky’s work – sites of mass commerce, leisure and economy – give us an insight into global capitalism in a whole new way. ‘He has said that he’s not interested in the individual but in the behaviour of the species… you get a sense of a totally new idea of what photography can be.’ The new galleries with their added height and natural light, make this the perfect artistgallery marriage in Rugoff’s eyes. ‘They’re intensely detailed and they’re huge; the biggest photographs are five metres in length,’ says Rugoff. ‘I think it will look great in the space… the artist himself loves the building.’ So with a plethora of events to look forward to, what does Rugoff see in the gallery’s future? ‘Just one fantastic show after another.’
Feeling inspired by the upcoming Hayward Gallery events? You can be part of Hayward Gallery’s future by supporting our Let The Light In project. Donate online today or call 020 7921 0801. Thank you lluminating Art
Visual Arts 5
Bernstein’s MASS Friday 6 and Saturday 7 April 2018
Southbank Centre’s Artistic Director Jude Kelly introduces Leonard Bernstein’s MASS, which she directs next April in Royal Festival Hall In Leonard Bernstein’s centenary year, the questions raised by his most ambitious and unusual work are as pertinent as ever. MASS brings together hundreds of inspiring young musicians, actors, singers alongside professionals and dancers to ask how communities can retain a sense of optimism and meaning in troubled times. I’m excited to be shaping and presenting this brilliant theatrical and musical piece for its fans and for new audiences on 6 and 7 April 2018, in Royal Festival Hall. Formally risky, Bernstein’s musical extravaganza borrows the shape of the Roman Catholic mass, into which it draws a democratic range of musical styles, including musical theatre and opera, rock and blues. It follows a religious celebrant’s crisis of faith, played out in the presence of a full classical orchestra, rock band, brass band, choir, children’s choir and a congregation of street singers. The MASS was premiered nine years after the assassination of JF Kennedy, as a golden era of American optimism came to an end. Vietnam, the Kent State massacre, the turmoil of the Civil Rights movement, the backlash against feminism and the disintegration of Flower Power were some of many elements that caused a moment of existential meltdown in the confidence of the USA as the philosophical leader of the Western world.
6 Classical Music
In uncertain times, the ‘mass’ of people hinted at by the work’s title have the potential to become a destructive mob or a force for good. The work plays out a dialogue that incorporates different cultures, identities and experiences in order to find a solution that can satisfy and galvanise everyone. This narrative speaks to my deep belief in the power of debate, collaboration and imaginative thinking to tackle the challenges we face as a society, on a national level and on the global stage. The invitation to gather together in a celebration of the arts and community lies at the heart of Southbank Centre, dating from its inception at the Festival of Britain. Nearly 70 years on, the legacy of this bold statement of optimism and communal creative spirit continues today. I’m delighted that these performances will be conducted by the inspiring Marin Alsop and feature the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and our partners Chineke! and Tomorrow’s Warriors.
You can support community art projects like this. To donate today, visit our website or call us on 020 7921 0801
Bernstein’s MASS
She heard an orchestra for the first time
here Capture the moment. Name a seat at Southbank Centre. To name a seat or for more information, visit southbankcentre.co.uk/nameaseat, call 020 7921 0801 or email nameaseat@southbankcentre.co.uk
‘Music was a wonderful way to spend time with my Dad when I was young, and hearing jazz for the first time, I have Southbank Centre to thank for this. Supporting the Let The Light In campaign is a wonderful way to keep those memories alive, and naming a seat was a lovely way to say thank you to my Dad, and it made a great birthday present. I cannot wait to see the works completed, giving the opportunity for future generations to enjoy this wonderful building and create their own memories.’ Charlotte, Let The Light In supporter
‘I strongly believe that music, art and culture make our lives better. By being a supporter, you feel part of a place where creativity, inspiration and debate get together to make our world a better place… I’ve been a fan of Southbank Centre for years. It was time to take part and support a place that has brought me so much joy and inspiration.’ Carmen, Southbank Centre supporter
If you would like to make a donation or want to talk to us about your support of Southbank Centre, please contact Rebecca Macdonald on 020 7921 0801 or email supportus@southbankcentre.co.uk
southbankcentre.co.uk/supportus
Cover credits: © FCB Studios Photo credits: page 4, Hayward Gallery © Morley von Sternberg Southbank Centre is a registered charity no. 298909