“Culture runs through all of us. It’s not economics, it’s not political, it’s much more valuable than that…it’s impossible to define exactly but this place stands for it.” Danny Boyle, HOME Patron
Our Chief Executive, Dave Moutrey describes his vision for our newly opened HOME…
HOME is a place that celebrates storytelling, whether through traditional art and exhibitions or via theatre and film. Stories can be told here through literature and music, too – whatever its forms, this is a place where we work with artists to help them tell their stories. They tell them here in Manchester, to the people of Manchester, but stories can come from across the world.
Our role is to ensure that people here get involved in the discussion that those stories bring up. And, not to sound too grand about it, that’s as much about the human condition, and social and political debate, as it is ideas.
The Funfair is a great example of how this works. Playwright Simon Stephens has taken a 1930s play written during a time of austerity, and the rise of the political right, and reset it in Manchester. Yet despite its serious heart this is a play that deals with weighty issues in a fun and Mancunian way. Alongside runs an exhibition and a whole range of films that tie in – and together they create a multifaceted examination of some of the most pressing issues facing us today. And you can see and experience all that and then sit in our café or bar and have a good natter about it.
HOME is a space where people can talk and think, not just consume. So there are gallery tours, in conversations with artists, courses and day schools. We are a BFI film academy, we teach filmmaking and support the development of new directors. Our exhibitions programme supports both emerging and mid-career artists, giving artists the time and space to create new work or develop their careers. We create opportunities for people to take part, too – such as the community choirs who were such an important part of The Funfair – and we are doing more online, with Google Hangouts with some of our theatre directors.
It’s all about letting people talk direct to those we work with, because then the connections between our audience’s lives and the work we show here at HOME will become apparent. And when that happens, new connections will be made, both here in Manchester and to what’s happening across the world. That’s something that used to happen at Cornerhouse but HOME means we can up the ante.
Everything we do at HOME starts with getting people through the doors, and audience engagement runs through all our work. On a very practical level that means we operate several ticket schemes, with prices starting as low as £1, to ensure that everyone in the city has the chance to participate in our work and our programme.
We are developing new audiences, too, but in a way that’s in line with how we work. Take families as an example. While you won’t find primary colours and face paints here – that’s just not what we do – you will find family activities that come with the sort of twist that only a contemporary art centre can provide. Over the HOMEwarming weekend, for example, we screened the classic 1980s movie, Big. Our version, though, was interactive; working with Eggs Collective we turned a straightforward family film into something much more interesting – and which was typical of how we do things at HOME.
What sets HOME apart from many other arts venues is the international element to our work – and what we do, we do year-round. We can experiment in ways that are new to the city, and we have the ability to bring art, film and theatre together in a way that’s unique. All of the companies we work with bring that international focus and we hope to develop long-term relationships with them so that we can create work that looks out to the rest of the world but is rooted in Manchester. So, in fact, our theatre and contemporary art programme is unlike anyone else’s in the region – and our film programme is unlike anyone else’s in the UK.
All of this adds up to an arts centre that is not just about new art, theatre and film coming in from outside. HOME will make Manchester a centre of cultural, creative and digital production. In the future, new work will be made in Manchester first.
And it all starts here, at HOME.
Thank you for your support