About: Plymouth Arts Centre
Plymouth Arts Centre celebrating 60 years!
Vision and Programme
Plymouth Arts Centre is the leading organisation for contemporary arts and independent cinema in the city. Through its overall programme of exhibitions, films, events, residencies and education, Plymouth Arts Centre encourages critical debate and questions the role that art plays in the wider culture. It is dedicated to independent film, artists and curatorial practice and has a special interest in artwork that engages with human interaction and social context.
Plymouth Arts Centre was one of the first arts centres in the UK and in 2007/08 celebrates its 60th anniversary of delivering a multi-art form programme. It remains an independent organisation through its ethos of public participation with the development of new and diverse audiences and practices.
Plymouth Arts Centre aims to be the South West’s pre-eminent international arena for risk, innovation, inspiration, creativity and participation in contemporary arts practice and the moving image, in a setting which is passionate, inclusive and welcoming.
Its artistic direction consolidates and extends Plymouth Arts Centre’s core values; widening participation; transparency and inclusively; creativity and experimentation. These are set out for Plymouth Arts Centre to explore the vibrant and provocative nature of contemporary art practice, visual culture and cinema.
The centre has pledged its commitment to creating new thinking and approaches to gallery and outreach education by engaging with all levels of education, focusing on an experimental approach to learning. At the core of this activity will be the development, support and understanding needed to nurture talent in art and design.
Plymouth Arts Centre believes it can have a central role and act as a major catalyst for regeneration through collaborations across the creative industries in Plymouth and the South West of England.
Visual Arts Programme
The Visual Arts Programme aims to encourage critical debate and to question the role that art plays in wider culture. It maintains a special interest in artwork that engages with human interaction and social context, and places emphasis on research, interdisciplinary, collaboration, internationalism, criticality and social exchange through a process based approach.
Artist and Curators Residency Programme
Plymouth Arts Centre artists’ and curatorial residencies provide research and commissioning opportunities for creative practitioners in the region, nationally and internationally. The programme aims to facilitate creative dialogues and collaborations between artists and curators, create new opportunities for emerging practices and become a platform for young artists in the region.
The programme emphasises the exploration of new ideas and commissions through research, professional development and a mentoring programme. Each residency includes a public talk with the artists/curators who are in residence and with invited guests, exploring issues relating to the specific residency.
Current residencies include: Cadu (Brazil) International Artist Fellowship, Arts Council England, and Basak Senova (Turkey) Curatorial Network Residency.
Cinema
Plymouth Arts Centre has operated a cinema since the 1970’s and has the only full time screen dedicated to offering art-house cinema – British, World and Independent product within the city. Plymouth has relied on the Arts Centre to fill this niche.
Within the last 3 months Plymouth Arts Centre has invested heavily in the cinema with full internal refurbishment, increased leg-room and new cinema seating.
Education and Outreach Programme
Creative exploration and critical enquiry are the focus for a programme, which aims to contribute to visual literacy and cultural democracy by establishing dialogues within Plymouth. This inclusive programme values the diverse interpretations, which emerge through an open exchange of experience and offers opportunities to learn and collaborate with practicing artists.
Talks, events, workshops, projects and supported visits encourage active and reflective engagement with the visual art and film programme, the city of Plymouth and the ideas and processes within contemporary culture.
www.plymouthac.org.uk
