Watermans Newsletter Issue No 2

• Continue to develop Watermans as a social enterprise by increasing the number of projects that we undertake that have a social mission • Grow our audience for cinema and children and family entertainment

Twitter www.twitter.com/ WatermansCentre Book online at www.watermans.org.uk at any time or call 020 8232 1010 daily 1pm–9pm.

Guru Tandoori Restaurant/Bar Reservations: 020 8232 1011.

Watermans is on the river, halfway between Kew Bridge and Brentford Town Centre.

Bus: 65, 237, 267 and N9 stop outside.

• Widen the range of commercial partners and sponsors

Watermans has been a great success and become an integral part of the local cultural scene.

But as a result, it is true to say it has outgrown its current site.

So we are delighted to learn that a plan has been put forward to move Watermans to a more central site at the heart of the new development of Brentford Town Centre. It is early days as these plans have not received planning permission yet, but we are hopeful that such a move would stimulate the next stage in Watermans evolution to becoming a world-class centre for arts and cultural activity.

Facebook www.facebook.com/ watermans.artscentre

How to find us

• Develop leadership role in digital arts

Potential relocation

Stations: Kew Bridge/Brentford (South West Trains service from Waterloo) then 10 mins’ walk or bus.

3 things you may not know about Watermans

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Car: Ample onsite car parking for customers

This year over 60,000 people have attended our outdoor events.

Use Facebook?

Please help by ‘liking’ us on Facebook to make it easier for us to spread the word about what we are doing.

www.watermans.org.uk

Outdoor Arts is an expanding area, helping us to reach new and diverse audiences through exciting, engaging events.

Since September 2011 we have taken a diverse range of art to the people in Hounslow, Ealing and beyond including dance, performance art, music, light shows, hair sculpture, juggling and outdoor film screenings.

We have worked with many partners to deliver this programme including the Royal Opera House and body>data>space, Feltham Arts Association, Hounslow Music Service, West Thames College, University of West London and many local schools.

The events have been supported and funded by London Borough of Hounslow, Arts Council, London, the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund, John Laing Integrated Services and Ealing BID among others.

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Reaching people through outdoor arts

South Ealing (Piccadilly line) then 65 bus.

Watermans is managed by the Hounslow Arts Trust Ltd (No 1164904), registered as a charity (No 267426). VAT No 422352977. All information included in this newsletter was believed accurate at time of production, however, please check our website for up-to-date information.

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This newsletter aims to keep everyone we work with, updated on Watermans’ activities, both at our centre in Brentford and on the work we do across West London. In this issue we focus on Outdoor Arts – and we review some of the exciting events that we have produced this Summer.

Gunnersbury (District or North London line) then 237, 267 bus.

The first live performance at Watermans was by Ravi Shankar, the world’s most famous sitar player in 1984.

Air traffic control at Heathrow had to give permission before GEOMETRY, the light sculpture could be installed.

News from West London’s premier arts centre

OCT

Web www.watermans.org.uk

Watermans is fully accessible with lifts and ramps to all levels.

• Expand the outdoor arts capability and programme

• Expand our audience for performing arts

Email info@watermans.org.uk

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We have been delighted to welcome Jess Warren who this year joined the Watermans team as our new apprentice. Jess is one of five Culture Squad 2012 apprentices who have been selected to help produce London’s 2012 Cultural Festival. In this scheme created by the Mayor of London, Watermans, English National Ballet, Roundhouse, Barbican and The Albany, each provide an apprentice with training and support.

Watermans 40 High Street Brentford TW8 0DS

Photo: Claire Williams

Key aims for Watermans’ 2012-15

Contact us

Jess joins Culture Squad

Launching the laser light sculpture At the beginning of 2012, Mayor of London Boris Johnson joined Watermans friends to turn on the light sculpture titled GEOMETRY. Guests included (pictured, right to left): Mayor of London; Antoine de Navacelle, ancestor of Pierre de Coubertin, ‘father’ of the modern Olympic Games; and Geometry artist Felicie d’Estienne d’Orves. In his address, the Mayor said: “My impression is that what you have here is a permanent commemoration of the struggle between good and evil.

That is to say the immortal light sabre combat that took place between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader is taking place and will take place over the skies of Brentford, and will continue to draw people in wonder… I congratulate you very much, you have created a brilliant beacon for Brentford.”

Funded by the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund, Geometry uses the latest laser light technology and has been lighting up the Brentford night sky all year.

What people said…

In a survey of those attending the autumn/winter outdoor events in Hounslow:

90% enjoyed the event very much

88% said they were very likely to attend again

94% believed that the events add vibrancy to the area

89% believed that the events

create a better image for Hounslow and footfall to areas increased, helping to enliven our town centres.

www.watermans.org.uk

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London 2012 Cultural Olympiad

SHOWTIME! Hounslow High Street was full of energy and activity from:

Dance! Dance! Dance!

Big Dance 2012 was the UK’s biggest ever celebration of dance.

Thousands of events took place across the UK as part of the London 2012 Festival. Hounslow played a full part in these celebrations as Watermans produced a whole series of events that got the borough dancing.

The Big Dance Bus The Big Dance Bus is an entertaining way of bringing all sorts of dance to urban areas and remote and disadvantaged communities.

It is a converted Routemaster with its own MC, dance group, stage and pumping sound system that combines performances with opportunities for the audience to ‘get up and dance’. Watermans produced three Big Dance Bus stops this Summer in: Hanworth Library and Leisure Centre, Lampton Park, Hounslow (Big Dance Opening Ceremony) and Haven Green, Ealing.

Reeling in Ealing The season of outdoor events closed with a free Pop-up Cinema in Gunnersbury Park.

People were invited to bring a picnic, listen to the desi-beats mixed by BBC Asia Network DJ Bobby Friction and then sing and dance along with the brilliant Bollywood film Band Baaja Baaraat (12A) (Wedding Planner), which was screened in Hindi with English sub-titles so everyone could enjoy it.

Showtime gave people the chance to enjoy world-class entertainment and culture on their London doorstep in a series of outdoor performances by leading national and international artists. The Showtime spectaculars in Hounslow and Ealing were produced by a team from Watermans which includes our own Cultural Olympiad apprentice Jess Warren (see story on page 4). Ealing Broadway saw performances by the fabulous hair artists and entertainers from Spain OSADIA and Raspo Steel Orchestra which brought Caribbean sunshine to Ealing.

Feltham Shopping Centre enjoyed The Silver Tree, performed by the AvantGarde Dance Company and produced by Remarkable Productions – an energetic mix of Chinese pole dancing and hip-hop.

• Upswing Dance, a fusion of aerial dance and hip-hop centered around the pursuit of love.

• Red Poppy Ladies’ Percussion who recreated the drumming experience of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony • Energetic comedy from Wet Picnic • A live relay between various performance artists by Lyrix Organix • A comic-strip show involving music, physical theatre and circus skills as Bash Street Theatre performed Strongman while all time Saurus (pictured) created by CloseAct moved through the crowds creating a kind of Jurassic Hounslow

The Owl and the Pussycat went to…

Brentford The ROH2 – The Royal Opera House’s contemporary programming arm – brought its first ever performance of a new opera, based on the story of the Owl and the Pussycat to Brentford. The libretto was written by Terry Jones and the music composed by Gill Dudley.

The performance took place on a stage floating on the Grand Union Canal, anchored in Brentford Dock.

The world premiere event was accompanied by a community music and media project conceived by Watermans and created by body>data>space working with Brentford’s primary and secondary schools.

Big Dance Opening Night celebration On the first day of Big Dance Week, Watermans produced the big event for West London in Lampton Park, Hounslow. With typical stoic British resilience a large crowd turned up in the pouring rain to watch the London School of Samba and the open air screening of the classic dance film ‘Grease’.

Big Street Dance To round up the Big Dance festival, Big Street Dance aimed to get people dancing in streets across the country – setting a party atmosphere for the start of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Watermans got the people of Hounslow up on their feet with Kuljit Bhamra’s Chutney in the Street and a performance by the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ finalists The Jive Aces.

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