Quad, the new landmark arts centre in the heart of Derby,UK, is due to open on Friday 26th September. One of several new venues opening up in the East Midlands, Quad will play a key role in developing the areas profile.
The building, which cost £11.2 million to design and build, brings together two previous organisations, Q Arts and Metro Cinema, creating a new venue of local, national and international significance. Quad will house, for the first time out of London, the BFI Mediatheque, a digital jukebox that gives viewers access to over 1000 films and television programmes.
Included in the building is a large contemporary art gallery, two cinema screens, cafe bar, workshop spaces, artists’ studios and The Box, a space for live performances, seminars and film screenings.
Internationally acclaimed artists Jane and Louise Wilson are the first commissioned exhibitors, creating an installation which draws on Derby’s industrial and cultural history.
World re noun artist and musician Bill Drummond will also be creating a performance that involves more than 1,700 local people. “The 17-Slice Through Derby” invites participants to have a voice recording session and a group portrait and video portrait taken
The opening of Quad coincides with Derby Feste, with performances and shows running from 26 – 28 September, and Cultural Olympiad, a four year National programme of cultural activity running until 2012.
