5 June 2017

PRESS RELEASE: Lido to Lakeside 1924 to 1992 – celebrating 25 years of Lakeside Arts

Nottingham Lakeside Arts is making a splash this summer to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

In a specially commissioned installation, the Djanogly Gallery’s main space will be reimagined as the Highfields Park Lido. Artist Barret Hodgson invites visitors to take a unique digital dip through the Lido’s decades, from its grand opening in 1924 to its final season in 1980, and ultimately the opening of the Djanogly Gallery in 1992.

Inspired by memories and images of Highfields Lido through the years, Lido to Lakesideis an immersive 25 minute experience for all ages. This innovatively playfulinstallation uses cutting-edge digital technology, 8 projectors and interactive media to recreate the Highfields Lido,allowingaudiences to engage with local history, art and technology.

There are up tosix opportunities to visit the Lido each day* from Saturday 17 June to Sunday 2 July (*excluding Mondays). Guests will be welcomed by the Lido’s host ‘MrJohn Burns’ and accompanied on their visit to the Bath by a proud and efficient Pool Attendant. Visitors can expect an entertaining digital reflection of the site’s history as a public Bath,along with a celebration of its evolution as the Djanogly Galleryat Nottingham Lakeside Arts.

Now welcoming more than 185,000 visitors annually, Lakeside’s programme has continued to grow and develop since opening in 1992. Highlights include The Lowry exhibition in 2011/2012 which attracted 46,800 visitors to a newly expanded gallery facility; and a ground-breaking digital commission for Chinese New Year 2017, Jixiang, which transformed the University of Nottingham’s iconic Trent Building into a digital canvas.

Director of Lakeside Arts, Shona Powell OBE says: “In arriving at a project which celebrates Lakeside’s first 25 years, we wanted to be reflective of the growth of our arts programme from a nationally-respected exhibition programme to a multi-arts and cultural offering for everyone. We also wanted to reflect the University’s roots in philanthropic giving – originally through Jesse Boot – and the University’s ongoing commitment to its local community. The resultant commission uses new technology to reflect the past but deliver it in truly contemporary style. And in choosing to contribute all proceeds from tickets to LifeCycle7 we are continuing the philanthropic approach which Jesse Boot began. We hope he would be proud”.

Highfields Lido was one of the many gifts Sir Jesse Boot made to the city of Nottingham. When it opened in August 1924 it was the largest inland open-air swimming pool in the country measuring 330 feet by 75 feet. It remained a prominent feature of Highfields Park until the City Council closed the space after its summer season in 1980. Eventually the Lido was demolished and the site acquired by the University of Nottingham.

In 1992, the Djanogly Gallery and Angear Visitor Centre opened to the public, and in 1994 the adjacent School of Music and Djanogly Recital Hall opened, completing the first stage of the arts centre. In 2001, the Pavilion, including the Djanogly Theatre, was opened, and in 2011 the galleries were expanded and the University Museum relocated to Lakeside.

As part of its 25th anniversary celebration, Lakeside Arts is inviting the local community to reminisce and share their memories of the Lido on its Facebook events page at facebook.com/LakesideArts

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Press Information

  • Lido to Lakeside takes place in the Djanogly Gallery at Nottingham Lakeside Arts from Saturday 17 June to Sunday 2 July. There are 6 showings daily, except Mondays when the the Djanogly Gallery is closed. Additional evening showings will take place on Wednesday 21 and Wednesday 28 June.
  • To book tickets visit lakesidearts.org.uk/lido or call our Box Office team on 0115 846 7777. Timed entry tickets will cost £3 with all proceeds going to University of Nottingham’s Life Cycle 7 charitable cause – Children's Brain Tumour Research.
  • To request interviews with Director of Lakeside Arts, Shona Powell OBE, or digital artist Barret Hodgson please contact Nottingham Lakeside Arts Press and PR, Nicola Beswick 07761 125537.
  • Barret Hodgson, Digital Artist set up his company Vent Media in Nottingham to provide a creative platform to showcase his combined passions for the visual arts, digital media and the projected image. He has regularly collaborated with Lakeside on Christmas commissions including the hugely popular version of A Christmas Carol and Neverland; and his work with Tom Dale Company – Digitopia – which premiered at the Djanogly Theatre in February 2016 before completing a national tour, is now touring China for the second time in May 2017. His most ambitious commission for Lakeside to date - Jixiang (Propitious) involved 6 massive outdoor projectors using the south face of the Trent building as a canvas for a spectacular sound and vision celebration of Chinese New Year. It was acclaimed by 3000 people over 2 nights.
  • High resolution images for Lido to Lakeside can be downloaded from the press area on Lakeside’s website: lakesidearts.org.uk/press.html
  • Highlights of Lakeside’s arts programme over the last 25 years include The Lowry exhibition in 2011/2012 which attracted 46,800 visitors; Summer Symphony in the Park and commissioning the international pianist Stephen Hough to write Sonata No 2; continued association with the writer Stephen Lowe on a series of D H Lawrence plays; co-commissioning with Sadler’s Wells Aracaladanza’s 2016 production Vuelos; premiering Tom Dale Company’s Digitopia, now touring in China; and a ground-breaking digital commission for Chinese New Year 2017,Jixiang, which transformed the University of Nottingham’s iconic Trent Building into a digital canvas.
  • Lakeside’s academic partnershipshave resulted in national touring projects likeInside Out of Mindwhich was shortlisted for the National Lottery Best Arts Project 2015; and student experience projects like the design of the Dinosaurs of China exhibition which opens in the Angear Visitor Centre 1 July 2017; participation in the Philharmonia and Choir; and Nottingham New Theatre co-productions the latest of which will be performed in Ningbo, China in June.Lakeside Arts has 5 youth theatres, 3 gallery art groups, and many students engaged as volunteers on community projects linked to the University of Nottingham.
  • Lakeside Arts has created special community celebrations which have become a much-loved feature of Nottingham’s entertainment calendar including its free Chinese New Year festivities and 12 annualWheee!Festivals of Children’s Theatre and Dance.

University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD

Box Office +44 (0)115 846 7777
lakesidearts.org.uk

Djanogly Art Gallery Angear Visitor Centre Museum Djanogly Recital Hall Djanogly Theatre Weston Gallery Wallner Gallery