What's On in The Arts in Rochdale Town Centre

Rochdale Town Centre is looking better than I can ever remember and it promises to improve even further will the renovation of our town hall and the transformation of the surrounding area.

Councillor Janet Emsley, Cabinet Member for Equalities, Safety, and Reform, said: "The town hall will become a free-to-attend visitor attraction and will be open to the public five days per week. It will feature the new Welcome Gallery which will showcase the history of the building through interactive exhibitions and in artworks and stories from communities across Rochdale.

"Many of the decorative painted surfaces will have been restored and on full display in historic rooms for the public to explore, guided by volunteers who will be on hand to offer advice or answer questions. Town Hall Square will offer new, exciting opportunities for cultural and arts events and will itself feature exciting new artworks including the decorative stone carpet outside the main entrance with carved images and motifs created by a local artist.

"From 2024, there will be a full public programme of events taking place within the town hall and in the new Town Hall Square. Activities will range in size and scale, everything from half term kids activities to community-led lantern parades, large-scale art installations, and programmes of cultural and creative activity that enhance curriculum needs for the borough’s children and young people."

A walk around the town centre is becoming like a visit to a rather exciting, innovative, living art gallery, with a plethora of stunning murals including the latest contribution from local artist Doodlher. Add to that live music, theatre plus of course some excellent shopping opportunities and some amazing hostelries to suit every taste and most pockets, our town centre is well worth a visit.

VISUAL ART

Victoria Whittaker [Doodlher] is a Rochdale based pen artist with a passion for telling stories and sparking curiosity through her stunning paper illustrations and wall murals.

Surprisingly Doodlher never received any formal art training although she almost chose Fine Art as a university course but opted for studying French. She explains that she was worried that turning her natural love for drawing into an academic pursuit could threaten its integrity: "I didn’t want it to become a chore, and I wanted to keep it on my terms. Instead, I did my French degree, and enjoyed art on the side".

She cites places, people, stories, and history as huge influences to her work, stating that she enjoys working to topical themes and sharing messages through her art.

Vic has been commissioned many times to design and create mural art, both indoors and outdoors. Despite their size, these murals, like paper size artwork, all share black pen as their common feature.

You can encounter her work across our town centre at: Co-operative Hub, Drake Street, Gregory Couzens Hair Studio, Bombay Brew Rochdale, The Duke of Wellington Mural and her very latest, just completed near the entrance to the Exchange Shopping Centre.

Visit: doodlher.com

TOUCHSTONES

This autumn, all four of the gallery spaces will be taken over by Mischief, an exhibition featuring new textile art and selected pieces from the archives of New York-based queer feminist artist and designer Liz Collins and curated by Julia Bryan-Wilson.

Showcasing the breadth of Collins’ work and continuing threads throughout her career to date, the exhibition will also showcase the ties to industrial making methods, from traditional and low-tech to modern hi-tech approaches, with implicit links to Rochdale’s own historic textile industry.

Alongside Collins’ work, Mischief will give space to the lives and experiences of queer people in Rochdale and other former mill towns in the North of England.

Queer People, Places and Things will exhibit work from significant LGBTQ+ collections, including works from the Juan Yarur Torres Collection – Fundacion AMA in Chile, as well as items curated from the Rochdale Borough collections by a group of Rochdale locals and presented through a queer lens.

Through working with local, regional, and national LGBTQ+ groups, Mischief will tie together Collins’ large scale textile artworks with the often unheard and uncelebrated stories of queer history to be found in our own community.

1 October 2022 – 8 January 2023. Free Admission. Weds to Sat: 10am – 5pm / Sun: 10am – 4pm Slice Cafe - Weds to Sat: 9am – 4pm / Sun: 9am – 3pm

www.yourtrustrochdale.co.uk/venues/touchstones-rochdale

FRIENDS OF ROCHDALE ART GALLERY

Friends of Rochdale Art Gallery [FRAG] have been given a glimpse into the future of Touchstones. In addition to Curator Bryan Beresford introducing the upcoming set of exhibitions for October by the celebrated American artist Liz Collins, Mark Doyle, Head of Culture, Engagement and Heritage outlined exciting possibilities arising from a recent successful bid to the Culture Development Fund of the Arts Council. He explained that change was due, that the Touchstones building needed a new lease of life with more flexibility and usage needs.

The ground floor could be re-structured as two wings either side of a revised central reception-shop area. The ‘colleges side’ wing could be devoted to creative learning, with education and studio spaces. The ‘memorial gardens side’ wing could be stripped back and accommodate a mezzanine level, allowing for both commercial and creative integrated collections and dining areas, including a 100-seat theatre space.

FRAG meets on the second Thursday of the month, usually at Touchstones. Tea, coffee & biscuits served from 1pm - guest Speaker from 1.30pm - 2.30pm. Members £3, non-members £4 on the door. All welcome. Annual membership only £10 and you will be supporting your local art gallery and get discounted rates on talks and trips organised by the Friends and invitations to private views for exhibitions.

For further details please contact Jenny Buckley (Chair, FRAG) on 01706 358686 or Mark Doyle on 01706 924555.

MUSIC

TOAD LANE CONCERTS

Coming up in the atmospheric Church of St Mary in the Baum are: 6th July - Ellada-Angelina Pavlou piano 13th July - Evi Wang piano 20th July - Vincent Chu & Alessandro Pacik violins, Harry Lai pianist featuring the Bach Double Violin Concerto 27th July - Duncan Reid violin & Jonathan Ellis piano

The concert series has been held at St Mary’s since 2001 and was granted the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2020 during the pandemic.

Running every Wednesday, Music at Lunchtime is a weekly live classical music concert series that has been going since the 1960s.

The sessions were initially run at the old Rochdale Art Gallery by the local authority, but since May 2001 have been run by volunteerenthusiasts and artistic director, Dr Joe Dawson. Phone: Dr Joe Dawson 01706 648872 Doors open 12noon, concert starts 12.30pm - 1.30pm, tickets £6. St Mary in the Baum, Toad Lane/St Mary's Gate, OL16 1DZ

On the other side of the town centre, at St Mary’s twin parish church they have Saturday Lunchtime Music at St Chad’s.

Saturday 23rd July at midday - Duncan Glenday (pianoforte) £6 on the door including a drink beforehand / from 11.20am onwards. British pianist Duncan Glenday enjoys a busy and varied performing career as a recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Since completing his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, he has performed over 300 concerts throughout the UK at prestigious venues.

Saturday 30th July - Come and Sing Messiah led by Philip O’Connor, an advanced opera graduate (Tenor) from the RNCM and Manchester Cathedral, Professional Soprano soloist Alicia Cadwgan and St Chad's Philip Lowe as accompanist on the organ. Starts at 9.30am with public concert at 3.30pm. The event costs £10 for participants. Drinks are provided but singers are asked to bring a packed lunch.

Saturday 27th August sees the return of the Scott Brothers Duo (Jonathan and Tom Scott) to perform a live concert of piano duet and organ music. Tickets can be booked in advance (payable on the door) cost £10. Contact Jill Midgley on 01706 639162 or via email: j.midgley448@btinternet.com

ROCHDALE FEEL GOOD FESTIVAL

Saturday 13th August 2022

After a two-year delay due to the pandemic, organisers are promising that this year is going to be well worth the wait.

Performers announced so far include headliners The Fratellis, The Northern Soultrain, Abbie Ozard, Aziz Ibrahim, ENTT, Firewoodisland and DJ Dave Sweetmore.

Main stage (Hopwood Hall College): 1pm - 10.45pm Indoor stages: from 1pm Food and Drink Village: 12noon - 11pm

Indoor venues include The Flying Horse Hotel, The Empire, The Medicine Tap and Hoochi Koochi.

Tickets £7 visit: www.rochdale.gov.uk/feelgoodfestival

CREATIVE WRITING

FALINGE WRITING GROUP

A short walk out of the town centre to Falinge Park you can find Falinge Writing Group; a successful addition to the writing groups of Rochdale.

In its first year, it has produced a book of both prose and poetry in response to the Gaia exhibition in Rochdale Central library. The writing group was led in this project by Seamus Kelly and the resultant booklet One World, One Chance has been very well received.

Falinge Writing Group meets weekly on Thursday in Falinge Park Café at 10am till 12 noon. For further information contact: Eileen.earnshaw@yahoo.co.uk

TOUCHSTONES CREATIVE WRITING GROUP

Based at Touchstones, smack dab in the centre of town, is Touchstones Creative Writing Group [TCWG], the largest creative writing group in the Rochdale borough. Established in 2009 with a current membership of over 180.

During the past twelve months the Group has made real progress, in confidence in its performances, and in achieving publication of its members' work.

Recent activities have included a performance of the 'Mask of Anarchy' which was filmed and shown at the Literature & Ideas Festival, and the publication of an Anthology, "A Diamond Co-operative", containing the work of the TCWG members.

A few years ago, they formed a new performance group, TCWG Pulling Threads, which aims to pull people together who otherwise may not have the courage or conviction to join the group. In 2014 and in the following 3 years, TCWG Pulling Threads performed its project for the WW1 commemorations, performing at the Rochdale Literature & Ideas Festival and Armistice Day, plus several other venues, including Vibe in Drake Street, and in the boroughs of Rochdale and Bury.

Currently, they are performing their new 'Steampunk' production, again written by members. This was performed recently at Castleton Literary & Scientific Society and is again due to be performed for the U3A at the Coach House in Littleborough in September. Details will be on the website soon.

Visit: touchstonescreativewritinggroup.com, for lots of poetry and short stories, plus details of current workshops... well worth a visit!

A town centre to be proud of with opportunities to be excited by. It is down to us to engage and be part of a bright future.

Steve Cooke