Simon Trinder
A group of Fine Artists from the University of Bolton have managed and promoted the first public exhibition of their artwork.
They aim to open the debate on an eclectic mix of contemporary themes. The exhibition will be opened by the award winning Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), film and television actor, Simon Trinder. Simon has recently worked with the University on a Macbeth Investigation Day and is now looking forward to opening the Moot Point exhibition – he says:
‘The desire of every man is an escape from banality and sameness through genuine self expression, whatever the medium: music, fine art, film or drama; so I agree with essayist Percy Dearmer when he says ‘art is not only delightful, it is necessary’. I know we will be both delighted and provoked when we enjoy the brilliant variation of work at the Moot Point exhibition’.
In December the group, known as Access Approved Art, saw their artwork ‘come under the hammer’ in the local community as they raised significant funds at a public auction hosted by Martin Henfield, former presenter of the BBC’s North West tonight news programme.
A spokesperson for the group says: ‘We have established ourselves as a well organised, resourceful and creative collective focused on the business of realizing a public exhibition.
Traditional approaches of painting, drawing, sculpture and printmaking will combine with other artistic media such as film, digital photography and installation. The exhibition opens with a Private View on Friday 25 May and runs until Tuesday 29 May 2012 at the Cube Gallery Manchester.
University of Bolton lecturer Justin MacGregor is about to tell the story of how he helped end communism.
Writer and director Justin, who works in the Faculty of Arts and Media Technologies, has based his play ‘How I Helped End Communism (and save democracy for George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin)’ on his real life experiences in Moscow-controlled Poland in 1989.
With a cast of Eastern European and British actors, it tells the true story of how he and eight other Canadian and American students were invited to teach free speech behind the Iron Curtain and accidentally helped bring it down.
The play will be performed at the Lowry, Salford from Thursday May 17 to Saturday May 19 at 8pm (Friday matinee 2pm) by Come As You Arts Northwest, which recently performed the award-winning ‘God Wept And The Devil Laughed’. It is the first in a series of new plays about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Tickets are £10 or £8 for concessions.
May is the start of exhibition season for us here at the University as we anticipate the opening of several shows with great excitement.
First up will be the launch of the much anticipated MA Exhibition Encompass on Friday 18 May, to be held in the Grade ll listed building, Falcon Mill, in Bolton. Artists Sharon Forrest (2011 Bolton Open 1st prize winner), Stuart Hine, Siobhain Moakes and Tracie Shaylor (2011 North West NADFAS winner) currently studying towards an MA Fine Art, have collaborated to curate the exhibition, which will also feature work from prominent emerging and international artists such as David Mach, Ian Irvine, Kerry Phippin, Robyn Woolston, Jason Simpson, Amanda Rae, Ed Pien, Adrian Moakes, Pete Marsh, Valerie Hallliwell and Denis Whiteside.
Encompass will be closely followed by the equally anticipated MootPoint Exhibition which launches on 26 May at the Cube Gallery in Manchester. MootPoint is an exhibition of contemporary artwork by Access Approved Art a collaborative group of second year Fine Art students from the University of Bolton.
And May closes with the ever-popular Creative Writing showcase. This year final-year Creative Writing students will present Word Up which will be two, exciting and eclectic evenings presenting a plethora of new literary talent –30- 31May -.
We are now deep in the throes of organising Bolton Festival of Arts, which will see organisations from across the town come together to celebrate the vast array of artistic talent we foster here in Bolton. The week-long free Festival of Arts, which will run from 14-21 June, will launch with the simultaneous openings of the University of Bolton Creative Show and the End of Year Shows for Bolton College and Bolton Sixth Form College. It closes with the ever-successful Digital and Creative Futures 2012 event, which works with nine to 12 year olds, helping to to inform them of the potential careers opportunities available in the digital and creative arenas.
Exciting times – I’m sure you will agree!
A play written and directed by University of Bolton tutor, Justin MacGregor, has seen its lead actor win the Best Studio Performance prize at the Manchester Theatre Awards (MTA).
The MTA are the most important theatrical awards outside of London. Actor, Matthew Ganley, won the prize for his powerful performance in God Wept and The Devil Laughed.
The play was Justin’s second in his critically acclaimed anti-war trilogy which all played at the Lowry Studio Theatre.
Justin said Matthew is fully deserving of the award because the actor had to portray the complex character over several different decades.
He said: ‘I gave Matthew a huge task – he had to play a character who went from 14 years old through to his seventies and had some killer monologues that I was re-writing up to two weeks before the first performance.’
Justin was all the more pleased with the award because of the stellar theatre companies nominated in other categories. He added: ‘For a small theatre company like ours to win a prize alongside companies like the National Theatre and artists like Marina Abramovic and Braham Murray is especially gratifying and inspiring.’
Students from the University also worked on the production in everything from set design to stage management.
Justin says it shows the strength-in-depth of his students and quality of the course that they can work on such a production. He added: ‘I think it says a lot about the course that we are able to engage our students on professional, award-winning productions like this. It is something we are all deeply committed to.’
