beam arts, people, places

A sculptural installation by Abu Jafar

As part of Wakefield’s Summer of Culture 2010, Beam is delighted to exhibit the work of Wakefield-based artist & sculptor, Abu Jafar at Beam.

See Gallery for further information

Join us on Wednesday July 28th and meet the artist.

HOPE@Beam
The Orangery Garden
5 July 2010 - 8 October 2010
Monday – Friday 9:30 – 16:30
Open Saturday 24 July & Saturdays in September
Phone 01924 215550 to confirm
Admission Free

Beam held a Mad Hatterz Tea Party at the Orangery on the afternoon of Saturday 24th July 2010, as part of the national Discovering Places event and Wakefield’s Summer of Culture.

Local groups of young artists, musicians, dancers, and poets performed at the event, which had an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ theme. Many came dressed for the occasion, while afternoon teas raised over £200 for Cancer Research.

We will post images on Flickr shortly.

The next Artwalk will take place on Wednesday 28th July 5-9pm.

Come and view our latest exhibition 'Small Projects' and the sculptural installation HOPE@Beam.
Start your walk at Beam and take advantage of the free parking! For more information about venues open as part of the Wakefield Artwalk please visit http://www.artwalk.org.uk

There is a place, like no place on Earth, a place full of mystery and wonder! It is an ancient place with a story to tell, but within it there is something new, and music and laughter. Where is it, you ask? You will find this place in the heart of Wakefield – its called The Orangery. All are welcome in this place, but it is said the to survive it - you’ll need to be as mad as a hatter!

In the build up to the 2012 London Olympics, and as part of the Cultural Olympiad, on Saturday 24 July locations across the country are joining the national party to start the 2-year count down to the games. Events across the country are being held as part of a programme called ‘Discovering Places’.

Beam, the region’s art and architecture centre, is opening up The Orangery – one of Wakefield’s hidden gems – as part of the celebrations, and staging events with an Alice in Wonderland theme.

The Event        The Mad Hatterz Tea Party
The Time        Saturday 24 July, 11.00am to 4.00pm
And it’s free!

Beam will be organising fun activities throughout the day for the young and not so young, from the ‘Discovering the Orangery’ photo competition through to activities to imagine what the future may bring to the area. There will be an opportunity to visit Beam’s gallery and the chance to view a new sculptural installation in the garden, by Wakefield-based artist Abu Jafar.   

Wakefield’s young poets, musicians and performers from Yew Tree Theatre, The Base and Stagecoach will provide additional entertainment throughout the day. There will be plenty of tea and buns, or visitors can bring their own picnic and enjoy the green oasis in the heart of the city.   

Kate Bennett, Project Manager from Beam: says: “Beam is delighted to be encouraging people to discover new places where they live. This is a great opportunity for people to find out about amazing places across the Yorkshire region. At our Mad Hatterz Tea Party young poets, musicians and performers in Wakefield will showcase their talents and we invite the general public to come and discover the Orangery – an oasis in the heart of the city.  Everyone is welcome to join in the madness and come in fancy dress, bring a picnic and of course there will be tea and cakes!”

London 2012 is the first Organising Committee to create such a wide platform of public participation in the Games, taking the values, ideals and benefits of the Games to people and communities like never before.  The Mad Hatterz Tea Party is part of Discovering Places, the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad campaign to discover the local environment and a programme principally funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor and delivered in partnership between The Heritage Alliance and London 2012.

Full details all activities related to this weekend, including the Beam’s events, can be found at on Londob 2012 web site.

Connect 3 was a programme devised and delivered by Beam in early 2010 in partnership with the Local Authority, in order to consult and engage with three West Yorkshire schools who are in the process of amalgamation as part of the Primary Capital Programme.  Connect 3 aimed to consult the 3 schools communities about the facilities needed to enable 21st Century teaching and learning within the amalgamated school.

School Council members, teaching staff, parents and governors from the two Infant schools and one Junior school were engaged in the structured programme of site visits, design workshops and events. This innovative and fun approach was devised in partnership with a team of creative architects and aimed to inspire, raise aspirations and educate stakeholders from the 3 schools before then consulting on the facilities and design of the amalgamated school.

The Connect 3 process also saw the ideas generated more widely disseminated through the production of a short film, amplifying the voices of the stakeholders involved, and through a ‘Celebration Event’ at which the film was screened and the ideas generated were shared and displayed as part of a series of professionally designed and interpreted panels. The opportunity was then provided for the wider schools communities to comment on and add to the ideas presented.
 
A Roundtable Discussion session followed at which attendees were given the opportunity to obtain clarity on specific questions and concerns around a number of topics pertinent to a 21st Century school, guided by an expert panel of Local Authority representatives.

A final summary report about the programme and its findings has been produced, this will be used to inform the final design brief for the amalgamated school.

We’d like to invite you to come along to our stall at the Wakefield Farmers Market on Saturday 10th July to take part in ‘Cybercity Wakefield’ as part of the Summer of Culture.

Beam and DLA Architecture will be at the market on Union Street between 9am-4pm, where we will be exhibiting ideas about what the future might hold for cities and asking for your thoughts about what the Wakefield of the future might be like. We’ll be asking for your thoughts on questions like,
 
-       How can we power our cities without fossil fuels?
-       Where will our food come from in the future?
-       How will environmental change have affected Wakefield by 2100?
 
We need your input to help inspire an architectural model, which will be built as the centrepiece of Wakefield’s contribution to an international ‘Cybercity’ exhibition to be held in Germany at the end of this year. Models will also be contributed by Wakefield and Hemsworth College students and the final Cybercity exhibition will feature models from groups in Germany, The Netherlands and China, as well as from Wakefield.
 
Drop in and see us at the ‘Cybercity Wakefield’ stall at the Farmers Market, Union Street between 9am-4pm on Saturday 10th July – we look forward to hearing your ideas!
 
Cybercity Wakefield is an innovative media art project between Wakefield Council, Wakefield College, Hemsworth Arts & Community College, Beam, DLA Architecture and artists Graham and Christina Smith and Anja Bardey, funded by Arts Council, England Grants for the Arts.
 
Cybercity Wakefield @ The Farmers Market is part of the Summer of Culture www.experiencewakefield.co.uk

For more information about this event call 01924 215 550

Many of the arts organisations in Wakefiled are supporting The Summer of Culture.

Visit www.experiencewakefield.co.uk for full details.

Beam, Faceless Company, The Art House, Theatre Royal Wakefield, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, The Hepworth Wakefield and Wakefield Council - Invite you to become a ‘Cultural Generator’!

‘The Generator’ – a mobile workshop using theatre, art, dance and music - will be traveling throughout the Wakefield District this summer as part of the Summer of Culture.

But first. . . . .

The Generator Launch Party
Saturday 26 June 2010
Wakefield City Centre
11.00am-2.00pm

Join the Generator gang at the exciting launch event and have your say on culture in Wakefield!

The summer of culture is a 3-month festival from June – September 2010, when Wakefield and the Five Towns will celebrate its cultural heritage through an exciting programme of cultural activities. For full details visit the Experience Wakefield web site.