Culture Vulture first appears in Swindon News, the newspaper delivered to all Swindon residents.

January 2008

Welcome back to Culture Vulture. Whilst you are getting over Christmas, here in the Arts team we are busy planning a whole feast of entertainment for you to enjoy next summer!

The Swindon Summer Festival is back. After a year out to recover from our Brunel 200 celebrations the team are busy programming a spectacular array of top-notch international street artists to amaze and delight you. This year we are teaming up with inSwindon and the Swindon Cultural Partnership and are really excited that we will have the newly regenerated Wharf Green plaza as a new performance space. We also have plans for the Big Screen and a whole host of ideas about how to involve the entire Swindon community.

Arts Services have co-commissioned the new show from acclaimed international street theatre company Bash Street - who wowed the 2006 crowds with their silent movie spectacle “Cliffhanger” and we are hoping to commission a very special finale that will have particular appeal to youngsters and be completely unique to our festival.

So put the 12 – 15^th June in your diary now and click on to our web pages to keep abreast with how the programme is shaping up. Better still, if you’d like to get involved as a volunteer, with a group, as an artist or in any other way please email Liz Lavender, Festivals and Events Officer at llavender@swindon.gov.uk or call 01793 466565.

October 2007

Create Studios -
Swindon's Centre for Digital Media

OK, What's Create Studio's?

Create is about improving the quality of life for local people by providing opportunities for creative expression and access to digital media training, production support and facilities. We help people of all ages who are interested in getting involved in, or learning about film, web culture, photography, music, games and animation.

We do this through programming training and mentoring sessions with industry professionals, providing spaces for people to show their work and giving access to cutting edge equipment and facilities. Creative technologies can also be a powerful communication tool. We take the excitement of new digital technologies out to people in school and community settings throughout Swindon, enabling people to tell their stories and to get them heard.

So, if you're an artist, someone in the media industries looking for business support, a young person wanting careers advice, an adult looking to learn new skills, or if you just want to have fun and be creative, give us a call. And if you’re a local band or musician looking to make a recording or get into the music industry, our new sound studio is open for bookings.

You can contact us on 01793 465399, email enquiries@createstudios.org.uk or visit our website www.createstudios.org.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

Stuart Webb
Art Business & Development Manager

August 2007

Summer in Swindon

This is a busy time for culture in Swindon. My diary is fit to burst with festivals and concerts and exhibitions galore. Add to that my children's, school plays, sports days, end of term shows, barbeques and parties and I begin to wonder how I find any time left for anything else.

That's the thing about culture it adds that extra dimension to our lives, it gives us something to look forward to. I am looking forward to a family culture rich day in London in the school holidays. We are taking in the Science Museum and the new production of Joseph with TV star Lee Mead. It's going to be a special family day out.

But you don't need to travel out of Swindon for a special family day out. We have museums like STEAM and Lydiard and Bath Road, and of course the Science Museum collection up at Wroughton. And as for shows, there is the ever-popular Arts Centre on Devizes Road, and thanks to major investment from the council the Wyvern will be back up and running in September.

I'd really like to hear about your favourite cultural activities here in Swindon. What do you like doing, what' s your favourite place, what would you recommend? Please send your feedback to communications@swindon.gov.uk

Helen Miah
Arts Services Manager

June 2007

Summer in Swindon

I love the summer in Swindon. It all kicks of with the Literature Festival in May, moves on to the Bowl concerts in the Town Gardens, and then to the Street Festival, which this year is being replaced with street entertainment for children and families during May half term. Then there's the Mela at the end of July, picnics, concerts and plays at Lydiard, and a Festival of Sport in early June. A new local music festival, Swindon Shuffle, rocks into town on 22 July, showcasing homegrown talent at its musical best. Then there's the Old Town Festival, the Mechanics Institute Children's Fete, the Caribbean Carnival - need I carry on? There's so much going on I really can't understand how anyone can accuse Swindon of having no culture.

The thing I love best about all these events is that the whole family can get involved and have fun together. That's one of the best things about culture - it's a great way to spend time and share experiences.

Wonderful memories are made at cultural events. A visit to a theme park, a fete, a circus, a picnic in the woods, these all count as cultural experiences. Go on - treat yourself and your family to a cultural event in Swindon this summer.

Visit www.swindon.gov.uk/artsandculture to find out more and choose what you are going to do.

Helen Miah
Arts Services Manager

May 2007

Focus on film and digital media

Film is now a popular art form enjoyed by everyone. We can access it at cinemas, on our TVs and now, thanks to the wonder of the worldwide web, on our PCs and even mobile phones. Technology is moving at such a pace that it's hard to keep up; I wonder how many of you are in the same position as me - learning how to use all these new gadgets from my kids!

Did you know that in Swindon we had the first ever cable community television station? Back in the 1970s Swindon View Point provided an amazing insight into life in a fast-growing town. Today the newly relaunched Create Studios (formerly cre8) provides access to a whole host of opportunities to explore film and digital media. Courses, workshops and special projects at all levels and for all ages are on offer at the newly-converted and equipped studios based in the former Joliffe Studio at the Wyvern Theatre. Watch out for the official opening of Create Studios later this month and see our new Arts Services Guide April - July, available at all council sites, libraries and leisure centres. Alternatively, visit www.swindon.gov.uk/artsandculture or call 01793 614837 to request a copy.

Swindon Film Festival recently hosted a highly successful Media Symposium. It seems fitting that Swindon should be reclaiming its place in this field, which is the fastest-growing sector of the national economy. And as the town with the highest number of households with digital access, I suspect our love of film and all things media and digital will continue for many years to come. For further information on Swindon View Point visit www.swindoncable.co.uk.

February 2007

Welcome

to our regular new slot on all things cultural in Swindon. Over the coming months 'Culture Vultures' will introduce you to some of the best cultural activities on offer in Swindon. So what is this culture thing then? Culture means different things to different people. For me culture is everything that I like to do. It's theatre, music, dancing, reading, being with my friends and my family, visiting my favourite places and eating my favourite food. Culture is also about community, it brings us together and it makes us feel good. The culture of a place is what gives it a reputation, be it good or bad. Like it or not, culture is important! Here in Swindon it's often said that we are a 'cultural desert', that there's 'nothing going on, nothing to do and nowhere to go'.

Whilst there are lots of things that we all want to improve, Culture Vultures will challenge that view. Each edition we feature a different cultural thing, a place, an activity or a community. We will build a picture and uncover some of Swindon's hidden gems. To get us started, did you know that we have the oldest municipal arts centre in the country? The Arts Centre in Devizes Road is celebrating its 50th birthday, but it was actually 60 years ago when the first arts centre was established. The then Borough librarian Harold Joliffe had a vision to educate and inspire the people of Swindon by providing a venue for a wide variety of artistic pursuits. His policy of providing a home for local societies to meet, perform and exhibit their arts combined with a professional performance programme is still at the heart of what goes on there today. Find out more about what the Arts Centre has to offer by picking up an Arts Services Programme available from Swindon Borough Council sites or if you would prefer us to post one to you, then telephone us on 01793 614837 or e-mail us at artscentre@swindon.gov.uk.

Helen Miah
Arts Services Manager