the arts
What's On in the Arts Readers of this column will be aware of All Across The Art's (AATA) belief in the efficacy of the creative arts in supporting individual and community well-being, involving both creative artists and their audiences. It is therefore wonderful to see our creative arts community springing into life as artists and arts organisations emerge from lockdown. Encouragingly there are signs that the time taken from us by the pandemic was not totally wasted as creatives have been planning and plotting to be part of a better normal.
Steve Cooke Arts Columnist
A shining example of this is the work being done by the Culture Team at Your Trust [formerly Link4Life] on a new Strategic Plan. The Your Trust’s Charity’s manifesto ‘We Are Your Trust’ identifies Culture as one of three threads that enable and empower individuals: "We’re here to support you to live your best life. We hope to inspire healthier, happier, creative people through our commitment to 'Your Culture, Your Health and Your Community'." Your Trust’s Culture Team delivers Rochdale Borough Council’s festivals and events, indoors and outdoors, across both Events and Programmes and Arts and Heritage. The team’s underlying aim is to appeal to a broad audience, working across a very wide range of cultural and creative activity, from open-air festivals to community events, theatre, entertainment, arts, museums, and heritage in outdoor spaces across the Borough and in three main venues – Middleton Arena, Heywood Civic Centre, and Touchstones plus the Arts & Heritage Resource Centre (collections store) – and beyond, through touring, collaborations, and networks.
Rochdale is known internationally as the home of co-operation so it very apt that ‘co’ is an essential element of the culture team’s desire to become an internationally recognised, and locally relevant centre for co-creation, co-curation, and the empowerment of individuals through involvement in creativity and cultural activity. Touchstones Rochdale has had a very successful make-over and has already provided us with four engaging, entertaining, and stimulating exhibitions such as: Grayson Perry – The Vanity of Small Differences, We Can Do It. War’s Other Voices and What’s Changed? In addition an eclectically stimulating series of workshops for creatives of all ages across the whole range of abilities.
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Middleton Arena has reopened with a wide ranging programme including the much missed pantomime which has been announced as Peter Pan. The Arena has already re-stablished its go-to status on the stand-up circuit with five top performers this autumn: Jason Manford, Clinton Baptiste, Milton Jones, Dave Spikey and Ed Byrne.
The talented Rochdale group Sign Along With Us who finished second in last year's Britain's Got Talent will also be taking to the road for their upcoming fun-filled tour, the first stop being Middleton Arena stage on 26th September. Visit: www. yourtrustrochdale.co.uk
