Cultural Weekenders 2016 - Bristol Festival of Ideas · Centre Stage takes visitors on a magical journey to explore the story of theatre in Bristol, turning the spotlight on those

In partnership with:

Cultural Weekenders 2016

@FestivalofIdeaswww.ideasfestival.co.uk

Society of Merchant Venturers

Centre Stage: Celebrating Theatre in Bristol

Frankenstein in Bristol

Bristol Old Vic 250

Festival of Nature 2016

Arts Council England 70th Birthday

The Architecture Centre at 20

The Art of Flight The End of Everything and the Start of Something New

Strange Worlds: The Vision of Angela Carter

Chains of Love

Utopias

Bristol Old Vic/Situations Project

Civic Bristol

University Showcase

Bristol800 takes as its starting point the inauguration of Roger Cordewaner as the first recorded mayor of the city in 1216, but will cover many different aspects of Bristol life. There are many anniversaries and new projects to mark and celebrate.

It follows previous year-long commemorative programmes led by Bristol Cultural Development Partnership that have examined the legacy of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (2006), the role of the aviation industry in the region (2010), and the people of Bristol’s involvement in the First World War (2014). It also builds upon Bristol’s great experience as European Green Capital in 2015.

I’m delighted that we have such a significant cultural programme in 2016 and am grateful to Arts Council England, Bristol and Bath Cultural Destinations, Bristol City Council, the Society of Merchant Venturers, the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England for their support.

2 www.ideasfestival.co.uk @FestivalofIdeas

Bristol has a remarkable history, a fantastic present and a great future. All of this will be reflected in the Bristol800 programme in 2016.

Foreword by George Ferguson/

Today, traditional and contemporary arts and culture sit side by side and are recognised as having a vital role to play in making Bristol an active, creative and prosperous city. There is a vibrant year-long programme of arts and culture that ranges from large-scale outdoor festivals to small neighbourhood projects, from theatres, producers and galleries with international reputations to those working with their local communities or behind the scenes to develop the talent of the future. Bristol is seen nationally as an exciting creative city, with businesses promoting innovation and economic growth, and with the arts right at the heart.

Bristol is a city with a rich and fascinating history and nowhere is this better reflected than in its arts and culture. The theatres, architecture, concert halls, art, museums and libraries, the artists, writers and performers associated with the city, are amongst the most important and best-loved this country has produced.

Introduction by Phil Gibby/

I welcome this unique opportunity to raise awareness of some of our inspirational cultural organisations and projects and much look forward to the exhibitions, debates, performances, walking tours and other activity. It’s a good way to celebrate Bristol – especially in this year of remarkable anniversaries, including the 250th anniversary of the Bristol Old Vic – and a great way to discover yet more about this city in our Year of Learning. George FergusonMayor of Bristol

@FestivalofIdeas www.ideasfestival.co.uk 3

George Ferguson delivering the Mayor’s Annual Lecture 2015 (JonCraig.co.uk).

So we’re delighted to be supporting a series of events to mark 2016, a year with special significance for Bristol. The Bristol800 Weekenders will be a remarkable year-long celebration of arts and culture that brings something extra and something different to residents and visitors alongside the amazing range of opportunities that already exist.

Over a series of weekends in 2016 there will be special themed events, from new commissions to hands-on sessions, from talks and debates to walks and exhibitions. They will be fun, diverse, challenging, provocative and accessible.

Just like Bristol itself.

Phil GibbyArea Director, South West, Arts Council England

@FestivalofIdeas www.ideasfestival.co.uk 5

Among the local anniversaries in 2016 are:

• 800th anniversary of the earliest mayor of Bristol recorded at City Hall

• 800th anniversary of the Bristol revision of Magna Carta

• 250th anniversary of the Bristol Old Vic• 40th anniversary of St George’s Bristol

(The Music Trust)• 40th anniversary of Bristol-built Concorde

entering commercial service

Bringing together some of the key cultural organisations across the city, the Bristol800 Weekenders represent Bristol’s most ambitious collaborative cultural programme to date; one that offers engaging, high-quality content that will appeal to local audiences, and attract more visitors.

Each weekender will do something different. Some are linked to existing festivals and projects; some provide a highlight for a longer run of an exhibition or show. Some involve setting up unexpected encounters in little known places; some offer a chance to look again at a familiar location or subject. They include new arts commissions, hands-on sessions, talks, debates, walks, films and other activities.

4 www.ideasfestival.co.uk @FestivalofIdeas

Bristol800 will ensure wider knowledge of how culture can contribute to city projects as well as make people more aware of the city’s rich history. The cultural activity over this series of weekends will provide fresh perspectives on Bristol anniversaries and other key historic moments to be marked in 2016.

For over 20 years, Bristol Cultural Development Partnership has worked to mark the momentous history of the city and use this to debate the present and look to the future. Our work in 2016 will:

Bristol800 by Andrew Kelly/

• Promote learning about Bristol through small-scale projects linked to many of the historical anniversaries that will take place through the year, along with the free distribution of a specially commissioned book of walks exploring different aspects of Bristol’s heritage and present-day life.

• Present at least 14 weekends of new cultural events from a wide range of artistic disciplines and organisations at venues around the city. The weekends will be produced by venue partners as part of a programme celebrating Bristol’s history, current cultural achievements and plans for the future.

Other anniversaries with a local connection or of local interest include:

• 500th anniversary of Thomas More’s Utopia

• 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare

• 225th anniversary of the first publication of the Observer (the media partner of Bristol Festival of Ideas)

• 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley starting writing Frankenstein

• 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme

• 90th anniversary of the General Strike• 70th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s

‘Iron Curtain’ speech• 65th anniversary of the Festival of Britain• 25th anniversary of the founding of the

WorldWideWeb

We hope you enjoy the Bristol800 Weekenders and the wider programme in 2016.

The events listed in this brochure may be subject to change. Check the Bristol800 section of the Festival of Ideas website for the latest news: www.ideasfestival.co.uk/seasons/bristol-800 and follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Bristol800

Andrew KellyDirector, Bristol Cultural Development Partnership and Bristol Festival of Ideas

Opposite, top left: Roger Cordewaner’s name engraved at City Hall (Robert Davis).

Opposite, top right: Somme battle, September 25 1916: Bristol Troops (12th Gloucesters) moving up in support (Bristol Record Office). Partners who worked together on the Bristol2014 project will be marking the centenary of the battle in 2016.

Opposite, middle: Concorde 216, the last Concorde to be assembled at Filton, photographed in 2009 when it was being used as a stationary visitor attraction (Vicky Washington).

@FestivalofIdeas www.ideasfestival.co.uk 76 www.ideasfestival.co.uk @FestivalofIdeas

This family-friendly, free exhibition includes life-size sets and props from the Disney and Cameron Mackintosh production of Mary Poppins (designed by ex-Bristol Old Vic Theatre School student Bob Crowley), which had its world premiere in Bristol in 2004. Alongside these treats sit spectacular costumes and designs by Maria Bjornson and the gothic candelabra from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera produced by Cameron Mackintosh and the Really Useful Theatre Company.

The exhibition also includes a large selection of intimate production photographs taken by Derek Balmer PPRWA and Desmond Tripp, chronicling the many famous faces that have trodden the boards at Bristol Old Vic over a 40-year period.

A new artwork by Judith Aston (supported by the Centre for Moving Image Research, UWE and Bristol Old Vic) creates a ‘theatre within a theatre’ providing visitors with a glimpse into the captivating relationship between audience and performer, whilst reproductions of costumes accompanied by lovingly detailed designs and the intricate detail of nineteenth century ‘Tinsel’ prints add to the magic.

Centre Stage takes visitors on a magical journey to explore the story of theatre in Bristol, turning the spotlight on those working within the wings and behind the scenes as well as the famous names on stage.

Centre Stage: Celebrating Theatre in Bristol/Royal West of England Academy, until Sun 24 January 2016

Bristol800 Weekender: Sat 23 January 2016 10am-6pm; Sun 24 January 2016 11am-5pm. Last entry 30 minutes before closing.

As the inaugural event in Bristol800, Centre Stage also celebrates the 250th anniversary of Bristol Old Vic, 70 years of the Bristol Old Vic Company, 70 years of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, 70 years of the Theatre Club and 65 years of the University of Bristol Theatre Collection.

As well as family events throughout the exhibition, on 23 and 24 January 2016 there will be special activities to mark the start of the Bristol800 programme.

This exhibition has been produced in collaboration with Bristol Old Vic, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and the University of Bristol Theatre Collection, and is supported by Bristol City Council, Bristol Festival of Ideas, Arts Council England and the Centre for Moving Image Research, UWE.

Royal West of England Academy Queen’s Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PX

Further details at: www.rwa.org.uk

Left: Mr Gomersal as the Prophet Khan in Mazeppa, or The Wild Horse. Tinsel print, c1831. ©University of Bristol Theatre Collection

Below and opposite: Exhibition photographs by Alice Hendy.

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This Valentine’s Day, Love the Future has commissioned four films that explore the discrepancy between how we demonstrate love with gifts and our awareness of how they are made. The films look at the cost of consumerism on this day of celebration and reveal the real story behind the flowers, jewellery, lingerie and chocolate we buy.

In partnership with the Fairtrade Foundation and Parques Virtuales, the films will be showcased at Love the Future’s gala event on Sunday 14 February 2016 – an evening that will celebrate fair trade and show how inextricably linked we are to the wider world and the people who work there.

Creative Producer Hywel George, Griot Creative. With film-makers Ali Nye, Tom Mansfield, Phoebe Fleming, Varujan Smallwood.

Further details at: www.lovethefuture.co.uk

Love the Future aims to deliver environmental and social change in the city.

Chains of Love/Bristol800 Weekender: Sun 14 February 2016

The End of Everything and the Start of Something New programme is led by Bristol Festival of Ideas.

Artists, writers, and commentators will reflect on what we are losing and what might replace it; look at how people, societies and organisations can change; and debate the positive things to look forward to. They will take part in a weekend of talks and debates to discuss the issues, examining examples in the past and now.

Further details at: www.ideasfestival.co.uk

There’s much talk that the old certainties have gone and that things have to change: the end of nature; free speech; the middle class; cities for all; the welfare state; employment (with robots taking over the workplace); Europe.

The End of Everything and the Start of Something New/Bristol800 Weekender: Fri 18 - Sun 20 March 2016

This weekender follows the Death Fair (5 March 2016) at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, a day of talks and activities offering a practical guide to dealing with death. Activities will include shroud wrapping, will-making workshops and guided tours to discover how people over time have dealt with and celebrated death in the city. There will also be a Death Café for people to chat about any aspect of death. Part of the death: the human experience exhibition (ends 13 March 2016).

Further details at: www.bristolmuseums.org.uk

death: the human experience (JonCraig.co.uk).

All photos provided by Love the Future.


The following year, she visited the home of Lord Byron on Lake Geneva with her future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley. It was a wet and chilly summer, so to pass the time Mary and her companions competed to write the best ghost story. Her tale of a scientist who reanimates a corpse was developed into the novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, published in 1818. It was partly written while Mary was lodging with Shelley in Bath.

Among the many interpretations of the work is that it can be read as a commentary on slavery and that Mary’s time in Bristol raised her awareness of the issues surrounding the trade. It may also be interpreted as a warning to scientists to consider the consequences of their unorthodox experiments, particularly with regard to the sanctity of life.

Frankenstein in Bristol is led by Bristol Festival of Ideas.

During 1815 the writer Mary Godwin spent some time residing in Clifton, Bristol.

Frankenstein in Bristol/Bristol800 Weekender: Fri 22 - Sun 24 April 2016

• The second series of Coleridge Lectures with speakers looking at utopian thinking; utopia and the Left; utopia in everyday life; utopia and the American dream; and the future of utopia.

• An evening of new poetry, song and prose about utopia with 15 poets and writers commissioned.

A weekend of debates on utopia will include sessions with the University of Bristol that look at what a utopian Bristol might have been and what it might be in the future.

The events are led by Bristol Festival of Ideas with the University of Bristol.


2016 is the 500th anniversary of the publication of Thomas More’s Utopia. This provides the opportunity to look at and reflect on the applicability of utopias; where utopian thinking has gone wrong; where it is still needed; and what might work in the future. The programme includes:

Utopias/Bristol800 Weekender: Fri 20 - Sun 22 May 2016


The overall programme will include a newly commissioned dramatisation of Frankenstein by Sara Davies and Marilyn Imrie with Bristol Old Vic Theatre School students.

The Bristol800 Weekender will include:

• Sessions with scientists, historians, artists, and commentators debating the science of Frankenstein; the relationship between the arts and technology; and the ethical implications of Frankenstein-type creativity today.

• Readings of specially commissioned essays and poems inspired by the novel, its themes and ideas; the life and work of Mary Shelley; and science. Speakers to include: John Burnside, Vanessa Kisuule, Helen Mort, Fiona Sampson, Adam Thorpe.


John Burnside (Helmut Fricke), Helen Mort, Adam Thorpe (Daniel Thorpe), and Fiona Sampson (Ekaterina Voskresenskaya)

Ambrosius Holbein’s depiction of the island of Utopia from the 1518 edition of Thomas More’s book (Wikimedia Commons).


An ambitious programme of shows has been announced for the year, to include one production from each of the centuries the theatre has been operating – from the eighteenth to the twenty-first – plus one play by Shakespeare for whose work the theatre was designed in 1766.

These highlights include:

• The return of Timothy West to the theatre as King Lear in a poignant reworking of arguably Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy.

• Sheridan’s The Rivals, a comedy of manners which premiered in 1775, nine years after the theatre opened.

• The Grinning Man, a new musical based on Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs, directed by Tom Morris.

• A revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night which unites the talents of Jeremy Irons, Lesley Manville and Richard Eyre.

• Owen Sheers’ critically acclaimed verse play, Pink Mist.

• A co-production of The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary!, created by Peepolykus.

• A collaboration with the celebrated Cornish theatre company Kneehigh titled The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk.

In 2016 Bristol Old Vic becomes the first British theatre in history to survive 250 years. It will also be a milestone year for Bristol Old Vic as it prepares for the next phase of building works, which will begin during the year and will transform the front of house spaces, creating a warm and welcoming public building for the whole of Bristol to enjoy.

Bristol Old Vic 250/Bristol800 Weekender: Sat 28 - Mon 30 May 2016

To celebrate the anniversary of the theatre’s opening date of 30 May 1766, there will be a series of Bristol-wide projects allowing the whole city to get involved. These culminate over the bank holiday weekend, 28-30 May. Bristol Old Vic will hand the theatre, foyers, studio and the street beyond over to the people of Bristol. There will be performances for everyone, packing out all the Bristol Old Vic stages with talented performers of all ages, backgrounds and abilities who embody all that is great about Bristol. The celebrations will close on 30 May with an evening of rip-roaring entertainment and an outdoor light and sound spectacular fit to celebrate the historic 250th birthday.

‘I feel the creativity coursing beneath the pavements of Bristol, like its life blood.’ Jeremy Irons

For more information about the anniversary year, including how to get involved in the Bristol Open Stage either as a participant or audience member, and the full line-up of theatre shows visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/birthday

Bristol Old VicKing Street, Bristol, BS1 4ED

Photographer: Philip Vile.

@FestivalofIdeas www.ideasfestival.co.uk 1514 www.ideasfestival.co.uk @FestivalofIdeas

The Festival of Nature gives wildlife-lovers of all ages a unique opportunity to discover and enjoy the natural world, featuring a line-up of hands-on activities, amazing river art and performance, workshops, celebrity talks, live entertainment, local market stalls and much more.

The programme starts with a Bristol celebration on the weekend of 11-12 June at Bristol Harbourside. Go wild with a host of interactive exhibits and activities from the giants of the natural history world including the BBC Natural History Unit, National Trust, Bristol Zoo and RSPB. The weekend will culminate in a spectacle of colour and sound at 4pm on the Sunday as the festival sets sail from the Harbourside and begins its journey along the River Avon to the city of Bath.

Arts, performances and workshops will spring up in towns, villages and river banks with opportunities to dip, dive, create, investigate and marvel at the wonders of the Avon.

At the end of its two-week voyage the festival will arrive in the city of Bath. A spectacular city-centre evening event will be held on Friday 24 June, followed on Saturday 25 June by the festival finale – a day of hands-on activities, innovative arts, events and entertainment.

Follow the journey with up-to-the-minute information on Twitter @FestofNature

All events are free of charge, but some will require pre-booking via the Festival of Nature website.

Further details at: www.festivalofnature.org.uk

Embark on an adventure along the River Avon as the Festival of Nature takes to the water this June.

Festival of Nature 2016/Festival of Nature: Sat 11 - Sat 25 June 2016

Bristol800 Weekender: Sat 11 - Sun 12 June 2016

Exploring the wild side of Bristol’s waterways.

In 2015, ACE gave the largest ever Exceptional Award to BCDP for the Bristol 2015 projects: Arcadia Spectacular; Withdrawn; Theaster Gates’ Sanctum; the Richard Long exhibition; the Bristol Whales; and Festival of the Future City.

Led by Bristol Festival of Ideas, this weekend (date to be confirmed) will look at the impact of ACE support and policies upon the city over the last 70 years. It will include publication of research material on how ACE has worked with Bristol over seven decades including an analysis of the Bristol2015 projects; debates with staff and chairs about the future of arts funding and policy; special arts projects marking the anniversary.

Arts Council England (ACE) was formed in 1946 as Arts Council of Great Britain. Over the 70 years since then, it has had a fundamental impact on England and also in Bristol as a key funder and partner in many initiatives, projects and organisations. ACE supports, amongst others, Arnolfini, Spike Island, Bristol Old Vic, Watershed, Bristol Cultural Development Partnership (BCDP), Bristol Music Trust, MAYK, Situations, Knowle West Media Centre, Tobacco Factory Theatres.

Arts Council England 70th Birthday/Bristol800 Weekender: July 2016

Two of the ACE projects supported through the 2015 Exceptional Award: Arcadia (Ben Daure) and the Bristol Whales (Paul Box).


Artists have been passing through the streets of the city, knocking on doors and asking, ‘Have you ever felt like you were in the heart of Bristol?’

The resulting production will unfold in autumn 2016, drawing audiences to unexpected places inspired by the stories and recollections across our diverse, often discordant city.

Further details at: www.bristololdvic.org.uk

This first co-production between Bristol Old Vic – England’s oldest theatre – and Situations – one of the country’s foremost public art producers – begins with the simplest form of theatre: the doorstep conversation.

Bristol Old Vic/Situations Project/Bristol800 Weekender: Autumn 2016

Photographs provided by Destination Bristol.

For 20 years, the Architecture Centre has inspired, informed and involved people in shaping better places in the city and beyond. Place, Time and Architecture will use the passage of time to reflect on the nature of this place that we call Bristol. Who or what shaped it? What has been achieved over the past 20 years? And what sort of city do we want our future generations to inherit? Activities will include:

• A retrospective exhibition presenting a critical review of 20 years of architecture and place-making in Bristol.

• A symposium on Place, Time and Architecture and a related keynote lecture and discussion event drawing on the expertise of leading architects, academics, artists, planners and place-makers of all ages.

• City tours with design and built environment experts.

• A family Fun Palace event curated by young people from the Architecture Centre’s Shape My City programme.

• A Bristol800 artist commission that involves communities from across Bristol in conversations about place-making and the city.

Place, Time and Architecture is a celebration of people and places in the city organised by the Architecture Centre to coincide with the organisation’s 20th anniversary.

Place, Time and Architecture – The Architecture Centre at 20/Bristol800 Weekender: Fri 23 - Sun 25 September 2016

A city-wide celebration of architecture and urban design begins on 10 September with the Architecture Centre’s hugely popular Bristol Doors Open Day event.

The Bristol800 Weekender is produced in partnership with UWE’s Department of Architecture and the Built Environment, also celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2016.

The Architecture CentreNarrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA

Further details at: www.architecturecentre.co.uk

The weekend will include a full display of mayoral archives in a renewed museum section in the Mansion House; education work around the mayoralty; a walking tour of civic Bristol; and the unveiling of a new, specially commissioned artwork.

It will also see the publication and distribution of the Bristol800 book – a special collection of walks and tours around Bristol – which will be used in the 2016 Bristol Great Reading Adventure.

The Mansion HouseClifton DownBristol BS8 3LJ

Led by the Lord Mayor’s Office, Bristol City Council in partnership with Bristol’s Guild of Guardians, this weekend of events will commemorate Bristol governance through the ages, dating back to 1216 and the installation of Roger Cordewaner, the earliest of the mayors whose names are engraved into the walls of the Conference Room of City Hall.

Civic Bristol/Bristol800 Weekender: Fri 14 - Sun 16 October 2016

University Showcase/Bristol800 Weekender: Fri 11 - Sun 13 November 2016


Universities contribute in many ways to cities and the arts. They have a significant economic impact; have many thousands of staff and students participating in city life; provide significant research and knowledge expertise to projects. What, though, is the scale of this work? What is the impact? And where might these partnerships go in the future?

Led by the University of Bristol and University of the West of England, this weekend will showcase projects at both of the city’s universities that involve collaboration with Bristol’s cultural organisations, ranging from the work in data and cities and arts and the environment in University of Bristol to the UWE city-centre campus. It will include the first annual conference on culture/university partnerships – an initiative of BCDP in partnership with ACE and Plymouth College of Art – which will feature case studies, debates, tours, student and staff presentations.

Both Bristol universities play a major role in the cultural life of the city and are now significant partners in many projects, buildings and initiatives ranging from investments in Arnolfini and Watershed through to pioneering work in Bristol is Open, partnerships in festivals and commissions and work with many different communities in the city.

Clockwise from top left: Cllr Clare Campion-Smith, Lord Mayor of Bristol 2015-2016, Armed Forces Day 2015. Alderman Peter Main, Lord Mayor of Bristol 2012-2013, Launch of Ping Bristol. Cllr Alastair Watson, Lord Mayor of Bristol 2014-2015, Running the Bristol Half Marathon in Mayoral robes for the Lord Mayor’s Charity Appeal. Alderman Faruk Choudhury, Lord Mayor of Bristol 2013-2014, Launch of BME Blood and Organ Donation Campaign. All photos by Chris Bahn, Bristol City Council.

The Art of Flight/Bristol800 Weekender: Fri 25 - Sun 27 November 2016

Weekend of Flight25-27 November 2016

At the end of November there will be three days of events at venues across Bristol, featuring new music by composers Graham Fitkin and Liz Lane specially commissioned for the occasion. The world premiere of Fitkin’s piece, based on ideas of thrust and lift, will take place at St George’s on the Friday evening. Saturday sees the music move to Filton, where Liz Lane will premiere a brand new work for Brass Band. It’s set to be a highlight of the series, as we celebrate ‘the art of flight’ and Bristol’s own aviation heritage right where it all began. Sunday sees St George’s team up with At-Bristol for a fun day of hands-on experiences and music-making.

With Bach as its starting point, The Art of Flight soars off into the skies and space, building programmes around fugue and adding these to music and events that celebrate Bristol’s status as home of the British aviation industry and the 150th anniversary of the Royal Aeronautical Society.The year-long programme, presented by St George’s Bristol, includes the following highlights:

Exhibition of aviation art by David Bent

On display in the Doric Room at St George’s throughout November will be a special exhibition of leading modern aviation artist David Bent’s work.


Bristol Scout image courtesy of David Bent (davidbentstudio.co.uk).

Screenings of Dream To Fly Thursdays in March, 8.15pm, At-Bristol

Discover the mystery of flight with Leonardo da Vinci, the Montgolfier brothers, Wright brothers and other inventors in this immersive 3D show at Bristol’s new 3D Planetarium. Experience the adventure and find out how this immense and challenging dream, for which humankind has strived since the beginning of history, came true.

Concerts

Concerts at other venues around Bristol, including Colston Hall and Bristol Cathedral.

Further details at: www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

Series sponsors:

Bristol Scout image courtesy of Bristol Aero Collection.

Featuring artwork from the nineteenth century to the present day, this exhibition explores the art that inspired Carter’s writing alongside contemporary work that reflects the myriad themes found in Carter’s stories, essays and poems.Carter lived in Bristol from 1960 for nearly a decade. She studied at Bristol University where she specialised in medieval literature, which piqued her interest in the gothic themes explored throughout her writing. While living in Bristol, she also wrote The Bristol Trilogy (1966-1971), three novels set in the city in which, according to her friend and editor Lorna Sage, ‘art and life mingle so that life itself is often a form of art’.

Strange Worlds brings together art and literature, entering the fantastical, surreal and sometimes macabre imagination of Angela Carter (1940-1992) — arguably one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.

Carter published numerous essays on art throughout her lifetime, populating her fiction with references to artists and their work. Strange Worlds brings these characters and works to life in an array of forms including painting, book illustration, photography, sculpture, lithography and film, inviting a dialogue between art, literature and the imagination.This major exhibition curated by Dr Marie Mulvey-Roberts and Fiona Robinson RWA marks the 25th anniversary of Carter’s death. The Bristol800 Weekender will include special events and activity relating to Carter’s work. Royal West of England Academy, Queen’s Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PXFurther details at: www.rwa.org.uk


Strange Worlds: The Vision of Angela Carter/Royal West of England Academy, Sat 10 December 2016 - Sun 19 March 2017

Bristol800 Weekender: Fri 9 and Sat 10 December 2016, 10am-6pm; Sun 11 December 2016 11am-5pm. Last entry 30 minutes before closing.

Opposite: Tail of the Tiger Eileen Cooper, 2002.

@FestivalofIdeaswww.ideasfestival.co.uk

Bristol Festival of Ideas is an initiative of Bristol Cultural Development Partnership (BCDP):

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Published by: Bristol Cultural Development Partnership, Leigh Court, Abbots Leigh, Bristol, BS8 3RA

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Cultural Weekenders 2016 - Bristol Festival of Ideas · Centre Stage takes visitors on a magical journey to explore the story of theatre in Bristol, turning the spotlight on those