Lancaster Arts at Lancaster University (LA) is Lancaster University's public arts organisation. The organisation presents performances, for the public, staff and students, through its campus venues the Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster Concerts Series and the Peter Scott Gallery.
Aims and Ethos Lancaster Arts at Lancaster University serves as the university's arts provider, with its venues and events open to the general public, students and staff. It programmes a wide range of concerts, theatre, visual arts, dance and spoken word events and exhibitions via an autumn and spring programme. The Nuffield Theatre and the Peter Scott Gallery have historically brought artists to perform that align with the teaching of academic courses within the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts. Lancaster Arts serves as part of the university's 2020 Strategy to engage locally and internationally with issues and debates of the day and future.
Lancaster Arts is an Arts Council England 'National Portfolio Organisation' (NPO) and as such is committed to supporting cultural and artistic engagement through its programme of contemporary theatre, dance, visual art and music. Lancaster Arts states that its mission: "is to support the many colours of art in the 21st Century and to foster social, cultural, educational and economic impact within this context, as an organization based in the North of England."
Lancaster Arts shares its venues and supports work with other University departments and societies. The organisation facilitates the presentation of external commercial and community based events and student groups who wish to use the Great Hall Complex and its facilities.
Supported artists In 2015 Lancaster Arts (then Live at LICA) launched its 2015–17 Associate Artists Programme. These associates receive assistance which includes; commissions, residencies, presentations, advocacy and specialist support. Artists receive a bespoke package based on a set of mutually and collaborative projects. The three Associate Artists are currently: Andy Smith imitating the dog Quarantine
Commissions Lancaster Arts has a history of commissioning new artistic work, and is supported to do this as an Arts Council England 'National Portfolio Organisation'; it has commissioned a significant amount of new work which tours nationally and internationally.
Theatre commissions The Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster has commissioned numerous contemporary performances and plays. Examples include the 2010 outdoor performance entitled "Jack Scout" which took place in Silverdale, Lancashire. In 2014 the organisation commissioned and produced the theatrical show 'Sea Breeze' exploring the history of Morecambe Winter Gardens. The performance went on to become Alfred Hickling's (The Guardian's theatre critic) top pick for 2014.
Music commissions The organisation also commissions new music. Examples include a work by Canadian composer, Nicole Lizée, for British Percussionist, Joby Burgess: Pioneers of Percussion, a new piece of music by Graham Fitkin for Ockham's Razor's aerial production entitled "Not Until We Are Lost" and Retorica's Live at LICA-commissioned piece by Sergei Prokofiev's great-grandson Gabriel Prokofiev in 2014.
Art commissions In 2011 the organisation commissioned a new film and photographic work by Mel Brimfield entitled "This is Performance Art: Part Two – Experimental Theatre and Cabaret" The Exhibition was accompanied by a new book with a foreword by the then Director Matt Fenton.
In 2014, the organisation commissioned a large-format video installation by British artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard entitled Jumpers (What must I do to be saved).
History Lancaster Arts as its constituent parts have existed for nearly 50 years.
Pre-unification Prior to their merger in 2007 the Lancaster International Concert Series, Peter Scott Gallery, and Nuffield Theatre were operated separately. Historically these were overseen by academic departments as the public arts were established concurrently with the setting up of academic departments in the arts, all of which rested on a foundation of performance and practice in the relevant disciplines. The public arts provision and the departmental curricula were therefore able to support and reinforce each other.
Nuffield Theatre The theatre opened in the 1968–69 academic year with one of the first performances being Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. The theatre was funded in part by a donation of £80,000 from the Nuffield Foundation. Professor Tom E Lawrenson, first head of department for French in 1964, played a significant role in establishing the theatre as a place of practical experimentation – Integral to the theatres original concept was its flexibility which allowed for a life-size replica of a 17th-century Parisian public theatre to be built with original specifications. The Nuffield's designed featured flexible flooring and seating, no windows and a griddled ceiling to allow for this kind of research into theatre history, as well making it perfect for contemporary experimental theatre and for training students in a range of technical skills. The project architects, Shepheard and Epstein drew on theatre designer Stephen Joseph for inspiration. At its opening the theatre was one of the largest black box theatres in the UK.
The Department of Theatre Studies grew out of the founding Department of English in 1972, and its founding head was Kenneth Parrott, who was also director of the Nuffield Theatre Studio. The Nuffield's 'public' performances began as the Nuffield Theatre Club and it developed a reputation for experimental theatre and dance. The Nuffield was granted its public performance licence in 1992.
Lancaster Concert Series Since the opening of The Great Hall at Lancaster University in 1969, there have been regular concerts on campus. Lancaster University's international subscription series of concerts was initially directed by Sir John Manduell from 1969 to 1971 with Professor Denis McCaldin taking over as Director of Music in 1971 leading to the creation of Lancaster Concerts. Professor McCaldin also helped set up the university's new music department which was established in 1968 and appointed its first organist Ian Hare in 1974; Hare served as Organist for 35 years retiring in 2015. The inaugural concert on the Great Hall organ was in March 1979.
A copy of student newspaper SCAN from 2 December 1974 reviews a concert on the 10th anniversary of the university stating: "Because music has played a significant part in the life of the University, and particularly because the Thursday concerts have made an important contribution to better relations between the University and the local community and have established Bailrigg as in of the leading musical centers of the North, it was appropriate to mark the University's 10th Anniversary with an orchestral Concert..."
The concert series brought international professional artists to Lancaster including; Paul Lewis and BBC Philharmonic. The vast majority of concerts were held in the Great Hall but also occasionally the Nuffield Theatre.
Professor Denis McCaldin retired as Director of Music in 2001, having overseen 1000 concerts, to fill the ceremonial position of President of Lancaster Concerts; a position previously held by Sir Arthur Bliss, Paul Tortelier and Dame Janet Baker but which no longer exists. He was replaced as head of the concert series by Tim Williams who ran the concerts until 2013, eventually becoming associate director of Live at LICA. Professor McCaldin retired as Head of Music in 2005, and in 2012 the Music Department was laid down.
Peter Scott Gallery The Peter Scott Gallery opened in the Michaelmas term of 1975 under the name Scott Gallery on the top floor of the new Pendle College building. The gallery was funded by Peter F Scott, CBE, and the Scott family trust. The Scott Gallery was renamed the Peter Scott Gallery in 1988, when it moved up to the Great Hall complex and took over a space originally designed as an outdoor performance area that formed part of the Jack Hylton Music Rooms. It was refurbished and enlarged in 1993. The Irene Manton Room is on the ground floor and above it is a room dedicated to the John Chamberlain Collection.
Public Arts Over time the Concerts, Gallery, and Theatre became more distinct from their related departmental areas and with the merger of theatre, art and music into the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts in 2005 the decision was made in 2007 to merge the Concert, Gallery and Theatre into a single organisation overseen by one director. This merger was termed The Public Arts with Matt Fenton, former director of the Nuffield, overseeing this unification which was completed in 2009. Public Arts was not used explicitly as a brand although it was referenced in A University in its region – building the economy, enriching lives which was a brochure published by the university in 2009. Printed material was produced under Public Arts but under the header 'Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster International Concert Series'. In October 2010 the administrative amalgamation became public under the name Live at LICA (Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts) which would refer to all three organisations.
Live at LICA Live at LICA launched in 2010 with Matt Fenton, former director of the Nuffield as director, and Tim Williams, former director of the concerts as associate director. Live at LICA developed a reputation for supporting emerging contemporary work across the fields of Visual arts, Performance art and Art music. The merger of the three organisations allowed for more interdisciplinary work and the Peter Scott Gallery at this time shifted its focus towards more Contemporary art, talks and Performance art. Live at LICA continued to work closely with Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts to supplement the academic courses with artist talks, performances for students and partnerships.
Tim Williams continued to oversee the concert series until his departure in 2013 where he was succeed as associate director by Fiona Sinclair, formerly of Lancashire Sinfonietta, who continued the tradition of managing the concerts. In 2013 Jamie Eastman, previously Curator of Performance at Arnolfini, replaced Matt Fenton as Live at LICA's second director.
Lancaster Arts at Lancaster University In August 2015 Live at LICA was rebranded to 'Lancaster Arts at Lancaster University' to avoid confusion with the department of LICA, then director Jamie Eastman stated that: "This new name and logo communicates who we are, where we are and what we’re offering."
Venues
Great Hall Complex The university used proceeds from its first Appeal (1964–71) to fund the public arts. These were centred on the Great Hall complex, which was designed to include the Great and Minor Halls, the Jack Hylton Music Rooms, the Nuffield Theatre Studio and adjoining workshop, and the Fine Arts Studios.
The Great Hall The Great Hall is a flexible flat-floored space designed for good acoustics. It contains a small Harrison & Harrison pipe organ, completed in 1979, and is the location for the Lancaster International Concert Series, which commenced in 1969. It was also the place where the renowned popular concerts were staged in the 1980s, these were organised by Barry Lucas working with the JCR (Junior Common Room).
The Jack Hylton Rooms The Jack Hylton Music Rooms, a purpose-built theatre production workshop, rehearsal spaces, and a Life Drawing Studio. The Jack Hylton Music Rooms were named after the entertainer Jack Hylton. A special memorial concert was held by Hylton's son, Jack Hylton Junior, entitled "The Stars Shine for Jack". The proceeds were donated towards the building of the new Music Department at Lancaster University in his honour. When it was opened in 1965, it was hoped that the rooms would make Lancaster into the music centre of the North West.