HOME Annual Review 2020/21 - An extraordinary year
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
HOME Annual Review 2020/21 An extraordinary year
THANK YOU! HOME ANNUAL REVIEW
We’d like to say a big thankyou to all our supporters.
FUNDERS
WELCOME
It’s a cliché to say this has been an work, we switched events from live We even managed to have some
unprecedented year – but it’s also to livestream, took our engagement amazing moments in the building for
FOUNDING SUPPORTERS true. At the end of 2019/20, HOME programme online and we reached out the few weeks we were open. It was
was enjoying its most successful year to our partners to see what we could do amazing to experience the ambitious,
ever. We had nearly 900,000 visits, together to support those who needed exciting live programming, and the
around 7,000 events taking place and us. We changed our commissioning number of sold out screenings and
CORPORATE SPONSORS DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE Ann Quaife Michael Orland over 20,000 people engaged from our processes to make sure we took into performances showed just how much
Auto Trader Tom and Jo Bloxham Lesley Rhodes Jeff O’Toole communities. account the time and effort freelancers people wanted to get back and
Bruntwood Brenda & Arnold Bradshaw Gary Shepherd Gareth Palmer put into pitching to us, and with the experience culture in person.
Clear Channel UK Meg & Peter Cooper Martin Smith Victoria Pinnington On 17 March 2020, when we closed
help of everyone who donated to
LWC John & Penny Early Carole Such Helen Pleasance our doors ahead of the first national This annual review contains just some
Q-Park Brendan Pittaway Andrew Thompson Joe Plumb our Response Fund and the Empty
lockdown, that all came to a sudden of the highlights of a very unusual year
Manchester Airport Raj & Reshma Ruia Sue Thurston Lili Porter Seats campaign we managed to keep
halt. It was the biggest shock we’ve – there’s so much to be proud of that
System One Travel Jane & Stephen Sorrell Nick Tyson Paul Pryke investing in programming and artists.
Timpsons Susan Webster Gabriele Reinsch experienced, and I don’t think anyone it was impossible to fit it all in. I’d like
Transport for Greater Manchester SILVER FRIENDS Philip Roberts would have blamed us for hunkering We also took time to reflect on the to say thankyou to every colleague,
Weightmans PATRON CIRCLE Gerard Allen Susan Rodgers down for the duration. But that’s not diversity within our organisation, artist, contractor, audience member,
World Duty Free Simon and Shalni Arora Richard Armitage Malcolm Rolph the approach we took. inspired by the Black Lives Matter supporter and friend who has made
WSP Andy Beaden Laura Barry Christine Rolph it possible. We couldn’t have done it
movement. We had a lot of important
Martin Boulton Michael Biggs Eva Salgado Sanchez Instead, we doubled down on our
CORPORATE MEMBERS Marc and Jennie Duschenes Maria Bota Anthony Seitler and challenging conversations without you.
commitment to artists, to audiences, to
Eversheds Sutherland Chris Jeffries Chris Brown-Colbert Dee Sheehan internally, and committed to being anti-
freelancers and to the cultural ecology Dave Moutrey
(International) LLP Ashok & Anna Kallumpram Nicholas Clarke Nick Smith racist and pro-equality through the way
of our wonderful city of Manchester.
First Manchester Alison Ross Mike Cooke Paul Sweeney we work and the work we make and Director and CEO
HFL Building Solutions Roger & Margaret Helen Coupland Rachel Tebay We continued to commission new
present.
Slater Heelis LLP Stephenson Alison Crush Julie Thomas
TBWA\MCR Florencia Donagaray Samantha Thorpe
PLATINUM FRIENDS Ceri Dornan Tim Turner
PROJECT SUPPORTERS Georgina Amica-Carpenter Colin Edgar Alison Vaughan
Acción Cultural Española Zac Bearshaw Keith Etherington Beverley Wallace
Beaverbrooks Charitable Trust Richard Bircher Thea Euryphaessa Ben Williams
CONTENTS
Jonty Claypole Joanna Bircher Noel Fagan James Woodhead
Richard and Joanna Bircher Stuart Bishop Anthony Galpin-Howarth Dave Woodyer
Edwin Fox Charitable Trust Derrick Hodnett Pravin Gorajala
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Fiona Hudson Jack Gray A huge thank you to those
Evan Cornish Foundation Steve Jennings Amy Gregson who chose to donate
4 Homemakers: A new take on online theatre
Film Hub North Malcolm Pitcher Prue Griffiths the cost of their tickets, 6 Live to livestream
Garfield Weston Foundation Robert Sherard Liam Harper supported our Response
Instituto Cervantes George Whalley David Harrison Fund and contributed 7 Future 20: From gallery exhibition to virtual reality
JMK Trust Kirstie Hartwell when our seats were 8 Our Plague Year and slow digital
John Ellerman Foundation GOLD FRIENDS Ian Hemmings empty due to social
Jonty Claypole Simon Bennett Peter Huddleston distancing. Thank you for 10 Black History Month at HOME and online
Nora Smith Charitable Settlement Jessica Bowles Anthony Jones supporting us during an 11 Pushing the boundaries
Office for Cultural & Scientific Affairs - Gary Bramwell Roisin Joyce incredibly difficult year. We
Embassy of Spain Alison Bunker Saara Kavanagh couldn’t have got through 12 A moment of joy
One Manchester Lesley Chalmers Alex Kimani it without your support.
PRS Foundation Michael Cripps Steve Leader
15 A little help from our friends
Relief Fund for Victims of the Loss of Marla Cunningham Natalie Lebouleux If you would like to make a 16 How HOME supported freelancers during the pandemic
Flight 4U9525 Stuart Dick Polly Low donation, you can do so via
Richard & Joanna Bircher Henry Hall John McAuliffe our website or by texting 18 HOME’s £26 million economic impact on Manchester
Savannah Wisdom Debbie Hargreaves Stuart McCracken HOMEMCR to 70085. 20 HOME in pictures
The Granada Foundation Peter Hargreaves Gwynneth McManus
The Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation Rodney Hill James Medd 21 ¡Viva!: A festival of two halves
The Leri Charitable Trust Karl Jackson Daniel Mills 22 Insane Animals: A year on
The Oglesby Charitable Trust Alex Lourinha Ciara Minnitt
The Peter Kershaw Trust Garry Martin Paul Moore
The Rix-Thompson Rothenberg Ruth McCann Andy Mycock CREDITS
Foundation Derek Munday Emma Nattrass-Daniels Editor Kat Harrison-Dibbits. Copywriting Nancy Hopkins. Editorial Assistant Chloe Beale. Design Gary Clarke
UK Theatres Trust Chris Paul Daniels Lindy Newns Photography Drew Forsyth, Paul Karalius, Chris Payne and companies
W O Street Charitable Trust Monica Pearl Helen Nicolson
Young Manchester Louanne Pellowe-Bailey Thomas Nuhse
HOME is a trading name of Greater Manchester Arts Centre Ltd a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales No: 1681278.
Registered office 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester, M15 4FN. Charity No: 514719 © 2021
2 3
HOMEMAKERS
A NEW TAKE ON ONLINE THEATRE
HOME’s series of new lockdown commissions, Homemakers, challenges and expands the idea of what
online theatre can be, with artists creating films, games, creative prompts and more.
When the country locked down in March mediums. Ad Infinitum created a commissions, including Chris Thorpe
2020, performing arts venues were triptych of video shorts titled A Small and Yusra Warsama’s game, Tell Me.
amongst the first to close their doors. Gathering, having never previously Designed to be played by two or more
Across the cultural sector, there was an worked with film. Using mobile phones, friends, Tell Me explored personal
immediate recognition that there were home cameras and torches, the end narrative, truth and fictions through a
tough times ahead for both venues and result was a collection of darkly comic, series of prompts. Players chose from
artists. twisted tales of loneliness that perfectly a list of questions, then answered on
captured the anxieties of the nation in behalf of the person they were playing
Very quickly, HOME’s team realised
Spring 2020. with, leading to unusual and surprising
that to support artists we needed to
conversations.
find a way to commission them to Ad Infinitum’s Nir Paldi said:
create new work despite the lockdown. “Homemakers was such a liberating, Two commissions, Plaster Cast Theatre’s
And furthermore, we saw an artistic quick and inspiring response to the Homelands and METIS’ Love Letters
opportunity. Could we use the pandemic lockdown. It was like a ray of creative to a Liveable Future, used the postal
and our collective experience of ‘locking light, a blissful break from the horrid service to interact with audiences in an
down’ as a creative prompt to redefine work of cancellation and unproducing. analogue way, while Seriol Davies and
the concept of live art, producing works It was our first go ever at making a Matthew Blake’s Actualquest took the
that have a lasting, digital legacy? film and taught us so much. There was form of a “choose your own adventure
something about seizing that moment game” and David Ellington used the One of the most ambitious Homemakers works
The initial release of five fully-funded
Homemakers commissions for artists
in time that just made you take the leap short film medium to his advantage with was James Monaghan’s Let’s Spend the Night
and get on with doing something you the poignant and political BSL poem
to create new works at home, for Together, an online durational performance
have never done before. The support Liberty.
audiences at home became available to running from sunset to sunrise last June. Here the
we received from HOME was incredible,
the public in early May, just eight weeks Many of the works engaged with the
after the lockdown. Works ranged from
compassionate and generous. The
experience of lockdown, from Bryony
artist talks about how working online challenged
experience changed us: film and
video performances and interactive Kimmings’ I’m falling in love with you him to think about theatre differently.
digital work - something we had little
games, to handwritten fantasy scenarios and it’s making me do stupid things, “Online theatre is not new - think Blast Theory’s Kidnapped (1998) and
experience with pre-pandemic - is an
and silent gothic horrors, all to be a sharply accurate portrayal of the I’d Hide You (2012) or Gob Squad’s Room Service (2003/2020). The
exciting new area for Ad Infinitum that
enjoyed and interacted with from home. monotony of the first UK lockdown, digital is simply another space in which to perform and in which we do
will definitely feature in our work in the
The series has been extended even and reaching out to exes online in ‘perform’ through everyday online interactions, just like how we ‘perform’
future.”
further with plans for new works to be an alcohol fuelled fug of loneliness, in supermarkets, with friends, at weddings or funerals.
released into Summer 2021, and there Naomi Sumner Chan, who created the to Ugly Bucket’s ABC (Anything But
are now over 30 commissions from blog series Wait I’m From Wuhan, had Covid) which questions how far we’ll “The bonus of online theatre-making is that it challenges us to approach
artists creating work across the UK and never worked digitally before, and said: go to oblige the pressures of staying things differently; to dream up new ways of devising that are led by the
internationally. “I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of productive in lockdown. medium itself, rather than just trying to do what you would do in the
response. I was worried people wouldn’t theatre - but online. That seems such a waste to me because there’s so
Some artists featured in the series are The Guardian said of the series that much potential for exciting discoveries. You could create a long list of the
relate to a fictional character or other
HOME regulars, such as Javaad Alipoor, the works “play with what it means to challenges or make the same list again as opportunities. It just depends
adoptees would be annoyed that their
Bryony Kimmings and Hot Brown Honey, make theatre remotely, embracing the
stories and experiences were being told on how you approach it.
are HOME regulars, while by working specificities of online performance.
by a person who did not really exist. “Let’s Spend The Night Together was very much born out of its time. The
with commissioning partners across the Messing with the usual temporality
While the first few days were quiet, soon form was shaped by a desire to bring people together in the only way
country – including Music Theatre Ways of theatre, there are pieces that are
people started to talk back to Jasmine we could (online) to imagine a future at a time when that felt impossible,
and London Sinfonietta, Cambridge fleeting… and those that gradually
and I saw that her story did resonate and to do this together, from the confines of the performers’ own homes,
Junction, and Chinese Arts Now among accumulate.”
and have relevance to people from all using the very real limitations and restrictions to inspire the content.
others – new artists were brought to a
over the world.” homemcr.org/homemakers
HOME audience. “To me, the crucial part of online theatre is to keep live, keep it risky and
Audiences were encouraged to actively Clockwise from main image: Ugly Bucket’s ABC (Anything
lean into the medium with all its opportunities.”
For some artists, Homemakers provided But Covid), Hot Brown Honey’s Don’t Touch My Hair, Bryony
participate with a number of the
a chance to experiment with new Kimmings; I’m falling in love with you *and it’s making me do
stupid things) and David Ellington’s Liberty.
4 5
FROM GALLERY EXHIBITION
LIVE TO TO VIRTUAL REALITY
LIVESTREAM Initially due to open as a physical exhibition in August Digitally recreating the HOME building
and Tony Wilson Place, the artists took
2020, Last Place on Earth became a mesmerising audiences on a journey through different
realms that echoed the five classical
In November 2020, audiences at a later date, and also to be hand peeled potato or a jam jar of dust. virtual reality piece, created by HOME’s Future 20 elements - Black Light (Light), Bleak Sea
used for archive and training purposes Combining the world’s biggest auction (Water), Surface Cloud (Air), Soft Stone
entertainment venues site with David’s anarchic performance
Collective in collaboration with Studio Morison.
for streaming set-up. (Earth) and Nexus Valley (Aether) - each
across the UK were forced style made for an evening of spontaneity with its own message and a specially
The enforced closure of HOME in March
and cutting social commentary. The Future 20 Collective are a group of an increase in choking cities, overheating
to close for a second time, 2020 gave Head of Lighting, Sound and curated soundtrack.
ten artists aged 18 to 25 who started to climates, flooded communities and
in order to combat a rise in Video, Andy Smith, valuable time to Many of the moments in Sh!t Theatre’s Future 20 produced an alternative place
work with HOME in 2019, on a 12 month, extreme poverty. If we don’t act now,
learn more about streaming platforms, original production of Sh!t Actually for audiences to reconnect with nature,
the number of Coronavirus cross-art-form training programme. what will happen to our planet? Does
buy the kit and equip the organisation relied completely on audience through the virtual reality lens. A space
Future 20 specialise in a range of Last Place on Earth give insight to an
cases. For HOME, this for the likely switch to a fully digital participation. As a live audience
disciplines including filmmaking, poetry, uncertain future?” for people to think carefully about who
programme. experience couldn’t be replicated, they are, the impacts of their behaviours
meant a quick pivot from spoken word, photography, visual art,
When the world came to a standstill in
a digital alternative was required to and attitudes towards our planet and
By using remote PTZ cameras, filming music, theatre and glassmaking.
performing to socially perform important plot functions and Spring 2020, the underlying themes of
what actions we must take to create real
could be done at a safe distance in
Taking as its starting point a future the work felt more relevant than ever.
distanced audiences in the a separate room. The cameras could
generate a sense of community. positive change.
eco-catastrophe, Last Place on Earth Working with Studio Morison, Future 20
building, to a live stream be operated by a single person and WhatsApp proved to be the perfect way
explores what the planet could look like responded to the coronavirus outbreak The process of moving from a physical
streamed in HD, ensuring that the to communicate with remote audiences exhibition to the digital realm was
from Theatre 1 for audiences quality of the filming matched the and drive the action forward. In practical
when it is reborn. Inspired by the current by splicing together film and virtual
climate crisis, Future 20 artist Maisie reality to create a new, digital experience guided by artist Ivan Morison, founder
at home. quality of the work. terms, it also meant technical issues
Pritchard commented: “The whole world where they were no longer constrained of Studio Morison. Ivan said: “Last Place
could be instantly shared, without the On Earth evolved around the central
Live shows scheduled for the Winter Although our artists had started to is collectively experiencing impacts of by the size and scale of a physical
need for social media or emails. question within the collective: As artists
season included the World Premiere of plan for the shift to livestreamed climate change and we are threatened by exhibition space.
David Hoyle’s A Grand Auction of My digital performances, online audience Collaboration was at the heart of the and creatives of all types, how best do
Life and Sh!t Theatre’s Sh!t Actually. interaction was unchartered territory, success of using WhatsApp, and by we communicate the urgent issues of
which led to innovative and playful working closely with the production our time - the environment emergency
Fortunately, our technical team were and the collapse of societal norms and
outcomes. team on Javaad Alipoor’s The Believers
well equipped to deliver a livestreamed civic responsibility - and through our
are But Brothers, which was the
offer at short notice, having piloted it David Hoyle’s A Grand Auction of work how do we bring about meaningful
first show in November to switch to
on a number of shows over the last few My Life was based around audiences change?”
livestream, we were able to better
years, including Gutted in 2017 and participating in a live, real-life auction
understand how to use social media The ten featured Future 20 artists are
Swim in 2019. Developing a live stream in the performance space. When it
to create a sense of togetherness. Khizar Ali, Evie Appleson, Elena Brearley,
offer has always been a long term aim, became clear that was no longer
Audience feedback was positive, and James Desser, Saf Elsenossi, Jahday
and the technical team had already possible, David and his team proposed
the addition of the ‘make your own Ford, Sally Hirst, Connor Milligan, Maisie
done a number of ‘as-live’ recordings using eBay to run a live auction during
goody bag’ element allowed further Pritchard and Melissa Sorrell.
from Theatre 2, including Future Bodies the show. Audience members could bid
interaction from home.
in 2018. This was to be shown to on specially curated items, such as a homemcr.org/LPOE
While early Future 20 R&D sessions took place at HOME, the works themselves were transformed into a virtual reality space following the lockdown.
6 7
THREE MORE
OUR PLAGUE YEAR AND SLOW DIGITAL “SLOW”
A weekly comic series set in a EXPERIENCES
fictionalised version of Eyam TO TRY FROM
brings the art of waiting back
to digital experiences. HOME
THE POETRY HEALTH
SERVICE
Founded by Manchester-based poet,
playwright and performer, Hafsah
Aneela Bashir, the PHS champions
the importance of art in supporting
our mental and emotional health. It
is available to access via a dedicated
website and phoneline, and users are
gifted a complimentary poem – a poetry
panacea – following the completion of a
colour-based flowchart.
ABSENT TENSE
Commissioned by Candoco Dance
Company, Jo Bannon’s Absent Tense
is an audio essay and accompanying
publication which reflects the presence
of absence in our lives right now. Inspired
It can often feel like the digital world is an overwhelmingly fast-moving place, but when it came to commissioning new artwork The artist himself admits he would like to be able to binge
by the first 12 weeks of lockdown and
in lockdown, HOME’s Curator Bren O’Callaghan had a markedly different response. the entire series at once, but says that the weekly format fits
experienced over 12 parts, it is an
in better with people’s busy lives, adding: “We don’t always
As a self-confessed ‘wilful soul,’ Bren wanted to (slowly) walk away from the digital noise and commission a piece of work that intimate meditation on solitude, faith,
have time to sit down and read a full novel, we dip into it
would intentionally drip-feed the slow-roasted coffee equivalent in an episodic narrative. Inspired by the weekly cartoons in loss, breath and time passing.
from time to time and read a few pages here and there,
long-redundant Saturday newspaper supplements, or waiting all week for a favourite TV show to air a new episode, audiences
perhaps at the end of a day, or at the end of the week.”
would not be in control. They would wait and in return, would receive a treat. Then wait their turn once more.
Created exclusively for HOME by artist and illustrator Nick Burton, Our Plague Year is an alternative retelling of life in Eyam
Bren adds: “To receive an email with original content in LOVE LETTERS TO A
cartoon form is comparable in these fast-moving times to LIVEABLE FUTURE
during the Great Plague of 1665-66, initially released via the HOME website and an email subscriber list in a weekly comic
receiving a handwritten note.”
strip format over a ten-week period in May, and then extended to last for a full year thanks to Arts Council England funding. Performing arts company METIS take
The villagers of Eyam in Derbyshire are best known for their decision to quarantine themselves during the Great Plague, in There are other benefits to breaking down the convention of their Homemakers commission offline
order to stop the virus spreading to neighbouring towns and villages. But Our Plague Year is no simple historically accurate art being displayed in a “white cube gallery”. altogether, using old-fashioned snail
retelling – it’s a fictional piece of work, drawing on contemporary narratives and making a connection between historical mail to send audience members a
“Fine dining isn’t only a single scallop in a pool of mango
pandemics aggravated by misinformation, fear and discrepancy of wealth. pack of postcards with instructions for
spittle, it’s a home-cooked roast, a sloppy taco, a child’s
Using a comic strip format, Nick’s work explores self-isolation and human behaviour and features a diverse cast of characters attempt at baking,” says Bren. “For HOME to present the improvising alternative futures. Designed
that challenge received histories of the period. From non-white British citizens, to deaf and disabled characters, Our Plague comic form as a major new visual art commission indicates to stimulate reflection and conversation
Year fuses the reactions of today’s society to the coronavirus outbreak, and layers them over a similar event from 350 years that we’re not restricted by convention, and that it’s possible amongst households, families and friends,
ago. to enjoy art - even laugh at it - instead of feeling humiliated these cards offer participants the dream
by the looming spectre of secret art knowledge you don’t space to imagine how we would like our
From stockpiling vinegar to quack remedies made from toads, onions and treacle, essential needs are re-evaluated in 17th
know about.” world to be different when we re-emerge
century Eyam by a host of characters with varying moral compasses.
from lockdown. Participants are also
While the characters of Our Plague Year are certainly fictional,
As well as food and medicine, friendship, desire and inequality all come under the spotlight. invited to share their visions of a liveable
Nick has also teamed up with Eyam Museum, in Derbyshire,
future with the METIS team either by
Nick’s creative process naturally lends itself to ‘slow digital,’ as each page takes around two days to write, draw, ink and to look at the museum’s collections, and an online Q&A with
post, online or via a video call.
colour. Releasing the comic strip weekly allowed Nick to respond to current events and work those into the finished product, the museum’s curator, Owen Roberts, discussed the parallels
or to make notes for future episodes. between fact and fiction. homemcr.org/plagueyear
8 9
BLACK HISTORY
MONTH AT HOME AND ONLINE PUSHING THE
October 2020 saw a month-long
celebration of Black art, film, theatre,
music, and live performance.
The programme of activity was curated
associated with the Mangrove restaurant,
that exposed police harassment of Black
Britons. Spike Lee’s 1989 drama Do the
Right Thing completed the trio of films.
Representation and space were the key
themes of The Future Minority Majority
Wonders – Where Are Our Spaces?,
hosted by Cheryl Martin, artist and
Co-Artistic Director of Black Gold Arts
BOUNDARIES
to question representation and challenge
narratives, and to champion Black
In the Granada Foundation Gallery, artist
Christian Asare exhibited Love Flows, a
Festival. Some unusual new works have grown from the
artists and Black-led organisations in
Manchester and the North West.
diptych in oils created during lockdown
to celebrate the creative contributions
Cheryl’s theatre work One Woman was
also available to watch online - a hypnotic
lockdown, but one of the most experimental was always
Assistant Producer Sekeenat Karim,
of the trailblazing QTIBPOC collective,
House of Noir.
dreamscape following one woman’s
wrestle with her identity.
intended to be presented digitally – a boundary-pushing
who programmed Black History Month
2020, said: “We really wanted to use Digitally, audiences aged 15 to 25 were And on Instagram Stories, the HOME narrative game exploring grief and extremism.
our platforms across film, theatre and treated to poetry workshops with Young Sound Sessions presented exclusive
visual art to encourage discussion and Identity. Aimed specifically at young performances by Dorcas Sebuyange, Part of HOME’s annual Push
give centre stage to Black artists and people from Black, Asian and ethnically Berry Blacc and To!u x Aden. celebration of the North West’s
organisations, with an aim to continue diverse backgrounds, the workshops creative talents – which has been
working with and uplifting Black artistry explored the Black British diaspora, and extended from a festival to a strand
across the year.” the concept of ‘home.’ for one year only, to allow both
online and live works to feature –
Black History Month was delivered Families enjoyed Celina and the Spider,
Closed Hands is an unflinching work
digitally and at HOME, with audiences a series of three storytelling sessions by
of interactive fiction exploring the
enjoying socially distanced performances emerging writer Ella McLeod, specially
long-ranging complex effects of
from Manchester’s finest spoken word commissioned by HOME. Featuring
extremism on a range of cultures and
collective, Young Identity. renowned trickster Anansi the Spider,
communities. The sprawling 130,000-
Celina and the Spider creatively explored
Working from Home saw Young Identity word story is presented through bold
mortality through handmade puppetry
launch their new book of poetry, with a interactive narrative across five core
and mythical West African and Caribbean
retrospective of the work produced in characters and dozens of additional
gods.
their first five years at HOME, as resident viewpoints and perspectives.
artists. Panel discussions were recorded at audiences, and we really hope that it helps push forward the idea that
Closed Hands was developed by
venues across Manchester and hosted games should, and can, boldly hold up a mirror to our reality in new and
Other highlights in the building included Manchester indie games studio
online. interesting ways. The story is deep and complex, and presented in a way
three one-off screenings of films that Passenger, formed and directed by
that we hope can be explored by both games audiences and those outside
were specially selected to reflect seminal The Black Mirror – Representations of artist and writer Dan Hett, recent
it, too.”
moments in contemporary UK and US Race in Horror Film featured a lively winner of the New Media Writing
Black history. discussion between host, podcaster and Prize 2021. The game was made with Closed Hands is the studio’s first work which builds upon the experimental
intersectionality consultant Esther Lisk- support from Arts Council England. games series developed by Dan exploring his personal experience of
White Riot charts the formation of Rock
Carew, film programmer Liz Chege and losing his brother Martyn Hett in the Manchester terror attack in 2017. The
Against Racism in the 1970s, while The gameplay is a free-form
film curator Adam Murray. studio’s next project will be The Long Night, a commissioned reworking of
Steve McQueen’s Mangrove focuses on fragmented narrative, allowing the
Ernst Israel Bornstein’s famous holocaust account.
the notorious prosecution of activists player to weave their own paths
through the story: both forward and
backward in time. The story is told
through interactive textual fiction,
and the player can also engage more
deeply in the narrative by exploring
the desktops of the characters. This
includes reading emails, exploring
files, replaying conversations, finding
secrets. Presented as an interactive
digital story, the game will also
challenge wider preconceptions users
have about video game storytelling.
Dan Hett said: “We’re really excited
to present Closed Hands to new
10 11
A MOMENT
HOME’s Executive Director Jon Gilchrist talks about
the planning that went into HOME’s September
reopening following the first lockdown.
OF JOY When HOME closed its doors to the public in March, we
didn’t know how long it would be for. But it’s safe to say that
at that point no one anticipated the gravity of the COVID-19
crisis, and the impact it would have on arts and culture in the
UK.
where we consulted with audience members, staff and artists
about our plans for reopening. We set up a panel to help
inform our programming, and it was so successful that we’ve
now built these in-depth conversations with people outside
our venue into our ongoing strategy.
HOME was created as a social space, and in its first five Finally – and most joyfully – Welcome HOME saw us reopen
years it has triumphed as such. In 2019/20 we had a record- with Mr Wilson’s Second Liners performing an afternoon
breaking 900,000 visits to HOME. This is testament to the set outdoors and Mr Scruff playing an evening DJ set. We
incredible team, our supporters, funders and trustees. But didn’t really publicise either – we wanted to create a real
now we had to reconcile ourselves with an entirely new feeling of serendipity around the event. We also created the
challenge: with COVID-19 an ongoing reality, how do we most “HOME” safety video we could – a vogue-through of
create a social space in a socially distanced world? the building and our additional measures, starring Darren
Pritchard, Mother of the House of Ghetto.
We worked hard to look at expert advice, to make sure
our visitors, staff and artists were safe – and we spoke to As I write this, HOME is once again closed. But we’re busy
colleagues across the UK and analysed examples from across planning our reopening events again, and we can guarantee
the world to find best practice. we’ll be HOME soon.
We’re lucky that our design and architecture make it possible
to open with social distancing in place – for example our large
open space on entry, wide central staircase and toilets on
every level. Alongside our catering operator Wardleys, we’ve
worked tirelessly to introduce new measures to make HOME
safe and welcoming.
We took a three-phase approach to our reopening, that
would allow us to move back and forwards between phases
as we needed to – which proved useful in November when we
had to close once again.
The first phase, HOME from Home, involved delivering as
much work online as possible to fulfil our audiences’ needs
for the “HOME experience”, and create as much work for
freelance artists as possible. Second came HOME Soon,
Safety measures included contactless ticketing, PPE for staff, a one-way system and social distancing throughout the building
12 13
After all the uncertainty, HOME’s reopening weekend was a moment of
A LITTLE HELP
joy in the city. We made full use of the outdoor space to allow for social
distancing, with Mr Wilson’s Second Liners playing a raucous, open-air set,
and later in the evening DJ Mr Scruff made a surprise appearance.
FROM OUR
FRIENDS
HOME’s Response Fund was launched on 18 March
2020, after the closure of theatres and cinemas across
the country posed a very real threat to the future of
the arts and culture industry.
At HOME, up to 50% of our income relies on our Reasons for giving were varied, from those missing
building being open to the public and we knew that watching a film or having drinks with friends after work,
the economic impact of closing for even two weeks to frequent donors who once again demonstrated their
would be huge. Little did we know that we would be loyalty and generosity.
facing months of closure, with no clear roadmap for
One Response Fund donor said: “HOME was always
reopening.
the place I would go to after a bad day to catch a film,
Promoted through our social media channels and our see a show or simply get a pint. It’s a wonderful place
email subscriber list, our message was simple. We with excellent staff and I’m happy to support it as much
asked our audiences and supporters to donate so as possible during this difficult time.”
that we could continue to be a beacon of creativity
Another said: “I was very happy to contribute to the
and actively support our independent artists, despite
fund and am glad that it allows you guys to continue
having a closed building.
the great work you do and support your staff and
When we launched our online series of work, artists. I look forward to visiting HOME again as soon
Homemakers in April 2020, we also used this as as possible when it’s open and things are safe again.”
an opportunity to promote giving to the Response
Gratifyingly, we also welcomed new supporters during
Fund. Proceeds from the Fund went directly into
this period. Many of these new benefactors had never
commissioning additional work from artists, and
visited HOME, but wanted to support the creative
by weaving this message into the communications
ecology of the city.
campaign, we were able to maximise donations from
audiences. We were bowled over by the generosity shown to
HOME in our time of need, and raised £51,177 for the
In addition, some of the proceeds from our pay-what-
Response Fund.
you-can tickets went back into the Response Fund,
funding further work for artists in Greater Manchester.
The response to the campaign was overwhelmingly
positive, with many messages of support and amazing
philanthropy.
14 15
HOW HOME
SUPPORTED
FREELANCERS
DURING THE
PANDEMIC
At HOME, we have always been proud to work with some of the employed around managing the The fund was specifically aimed of artists, technicians and creative
very best freelancers across Greater Manchester and beyond, to response to, and recovery from, the towards those who were ineligible practitioners.
coronavirus crisis in the performing for, or were unsuccessful in applying
deliver our internationally renowned creative programme. arts sector. Darren’s presence on for, the Government Self Employment
“Over the past 12 months, HOME has
worked with partners across the city
the Task Force will ensure that Income Support Scheme. Financial
to support freelancers in a number of
voices usually left out of the bigger assistance was targeted at those who
ways. We’ve continued to commission
conversations are amplified and heard had reduced demand for, or capacity
Throughout this unusual year, HOME’s those who hadn’t previously engaged the aim of the Freelance Task Force is new work, including the innovative
with special attention paid to QTPOC to deliver, their services. Freelancers
commitment to supporting freelancers with HOME, but wanted to support to strengthen the influence of the self- Homemakers digital projects, and
voices. who worked in parts of the sector that
has remained a core part of our the creative ecology of the city. A employed theatre and performance expanded the Push commissions for
were unable to trade as a result of
mission. significant proportion of this went community. And in January 2021, we launched a regional artists. We’ve worked with
coronavirus were also encouraged to
directly into commissioning more £500,000 hardship fund for freelancers colleagues across the city region on
Without freelancers, the arts and Using an open call process, we apply.
work from freelance artists. in Manchester, working in partnership developing the GM Artist Hub. And,
culture sector could not function, but appointed performer and theatre From setting up a dedicated helpline thanks to an incredible donation from
with Manchester City Council and
it doesn’t end there, as Dave Moutrey, We also worked with cultural maker Darren Pritchard as our made possible by a generous gift from to answering queries on social media, the Savannah Wisdom Foundation,
our Director and CEO, who is also organisations across Greater representative at national level. our team were there every step of the we’ve worked with Manchester City
the Savannah Wisdom Foundation.
Director of Culture for Manchester Manchester to form the GM Artists A native Mancunian, Darren is a way to help freelancers through the Council to deliver a £500k hardship
The fund was part of ongoing efforts
City Council, explained. Hub. The project was conceived to director, producer, choreographer, to support the freelance population of application process. The response to fund for freelancers who have
support the independent performers, and vogue house mother. Darren has the hardship fund was overwhelmingly not been able to receive support
He said: “Freelance artists, creatives, Manchester’s vibrant arts and culture
artists and companies that make 20 years of experience in the fashion, positive, with support coming from elsewhere.
technicians, security, and a host of sector, and to prevent the loss of a
up Greater Manchester’s vibrant theatre, television and performing both freelancers and venues across
other advisors and workers are vital generation of talented artists and
artistic community by offering free, arts industries. In addition to his “In 2021 we want to do even more,
to the health and creativity, not creative practitioners. the region, and beyond.
practical advice sessions with artist leadership in the infamous House and we’re committed to placing the
only of the cultural sector, but also Jon Gilchrist, Executive Director needs and skills of freelancers at the
development producers and directors. of Ghetto and pioneering efforts in The Savannah Wisdom Foundation
of our economy, communities and is an independent foundation of HOME, said: “The impact of forefront of our thinking as we play
The hub was also a vital source of Black Pride MCR, Darren is also the
city because they are an essential the pandemic on culture has been our role in the cultural recovery of
peer-to-peer support to a number of co-artistic director for the Manchester- committed to social change for
source of the ideas, challenges, skills extraordinary, but it’s in the freelance Manchester and the UK.”
freelancers who were feeling isolated based arts organisation Black Gold a better world. They created the
and insights that make inspirational discretionary fund to support ecology within our sector where the
as a result of losing work due to the Arts.
projects happen.” freelancers working in the creative damage has been most visible. The
pandemic.
The Task Force has created ongoing and cultural sectors and grants of up closure of venues and the subsequent
In April 2020 we launched our
We also signed up to the Freelance points of connection between cancellation of projects has left
Response Fund to supplement lost to £1,500 were made available to
Task Force in May 2020. A national freelancers, organisations, funders thousands of skilled professionals
revenue and raised over £50,000 individual freelancers.
initiative of over 100 performing arts and government. The initiative seeks without work, and risks seeing the arts
with generous donations from our
organisations and led by Fuel Theatre, to amplify the voices of the self- industry haemorrhage a generation
audiences, existing supporters and
16 17
HOME’S
LOCAL EMPLOYMENT
113 onsite Full Time Equivalents (FTEs). FTEs for GM residents 52 induced FTEs. Full Time Equivalents (FTEs)
£12.3m Total annual Gross Value Added (GVA) from direct and induced FTEs
ECONOMIC BENEFITS
£26 MILLION
A GREATER MANCHESTER VISITOR ATTRACTION
£19.7m visitor spend in the local economy £11.2m Annual GVA from visitor spend in the local economy
LOCAL SUPPLIERS
ECONOMIC IMPACT
£2.4m spend in the local supply chain £1.4m Annual GVA from spend in the local supply chain
320 FTEs £24.9m Total impact in the Greater Manchester Economy
PROVIDING VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES
8,149 volunteer hours delivered by 285 volunteers £77,600 of social capital generated as a result of volunteering at HOME ON MANCHESTER
SOCIAL BENEFITS
HEALTH AND WELLBING
343,000 visitors to visual arts projects and exhibitions, cinema screenings and theatre performances HOME had an economic impact to the city of £26 million in 2019/20
£1.0m Health and Wellbeing NHS cost savings from engaging in the arts as an audience member
according to a new assessment, including £1 million in health and
£1.1m
wellbeing cost savings for the NHS.
Total Social Value
Report completed by ekosgen, August 2020. Assessment draws on multiple information sources, including information held by HOME and Wardley Ltd, 2019/20 visitor surveys, official ONS datasets, HCA’s latest additionality guidance and sector specific
reports by Cebr and Oxford Economics. The resulting findings reflect both facility specific intelligence and the application of recognised assumptions and benchmarks to allow the gross impacts of HOME in the Greater Manchester economy to be recognised.
On the day we were planning to firm Ekosgen and took into account The social value was calculated by
reopen in December 2020, HOME HOME’s role as a provider of local looking at the value of volunteering
released a report detailing the employment, as a driver of visitors hours delivered by the organisation,
economic and health benefits of arts to the city and the organisation’s and using research which highlights
venues like ours to Manchester. purchasing power within local supply the social benefits arising from
chains. engagement in arts and culture.
The planned reopening was called
off when Manchester remained in Through direct employment at HOME In addition to drawing audiences for
Tier 3 following the second national and our catering partner Wardley plus our three artforms – film, theatre and
lockdown, and Dave Moutrey, our induced employment – jobs in the city visual art – HOME runs an extensive
Director and CEO, said: “At a time that are supported by the spending of engagement programme which
when it feels more important than employees at HOME – the assessment in 2019/20 worked in partnership
ever for arts organisations to show calculated a Gross Value Added (GVA) with 124 schools and colleges, and
their worth, this assessment proves figure of HOME as an employer of supported three paid internships, four
that not only does HOME play a vital £12.3 million per year. apprenticeships, 364 work experience
role in the arts ecology of Greater participants and 2,795 talent
Additionally, the report shows just
Manchester, it plays a crucial part in development opportunities. Over the
what a huge percentage of employees
the region’s financial success as well. course of the year, the team delivered
at HOME live in the local area –
3,528 sessions engaging 21,910 active
“We’re exceptionally proud of the with four-fifths of our staff Greater
participants.
results of this assessment. The fact Manchester residents while among
that these figures are so high despite those working for Wardley, HOME’s Using research by Simetrica and
the impact of Covid-19 starting to be catering partner who run our bar and the Department for Digital, Culture,
felt in February and March shows how restaurant operation, that figure rose Media and Sport (DCMS) which
devastating the loss of arts venues to 100 per cent. identified engagement with the arts
would be to the city. as reducing GP visits and the use of
As a visitor attraction, Ekosgen
mental health services, the report
“Without arts organisations cities are calculated that HOME added £11.2
calculates that HOME generated a
poorer not just metaphorically – but million to the local economy in visitor
cost saving of £1 million per year for
literally.” spending, and almost £1.5 million
the NHS.
added to the local economy through
The assessment was carried out by
purchasing goods and services in the
economic research and consultancy
local supply chain.
18 19HOME IN PICTURES
¡VIVA!
A FESTIVAL OF TWO HALVES
RashDash’s Don’t Go Back to Sleep was a live verbatim album documenting everyday HOME’s Director of Film and Culture Jason Wood replaces the film posters outside
human experiences of lockdown. the building ahead of our September reopening.
The 2020 ¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Festival was unique
in that it spanned the lockdown – with the first half taking place
under normal conditions, and the second with social distancing.
Stylishly masked visitors attend the preview night of our gallery reopening, featuring MP Alex Sobel, Shadow Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, visits HOME during
three simultaneous solo exhibitions from Nick Burton, Joy Yamusangie, and MSR FCJ. lockdown.
The exhibition was later moved online when we had to close again.
La Hija de un ladrón Cholitas
HOME’s rooftop bees were so snug and warm that they even melted the snow from At the halfway point of the Argentinian comedy La Odisea de
their hive.
¡Viva! 2020 lineup, we were all set for los giles was a very close second in
a record-breaking year, with audiences runaway ticket sales.”
flocking to a film programme that
But on 17 March, just after the start of
included a special focus on Latin
the pandemic, HOME had to close its
American indigenous filmmakers and
doors, with the festival unfinished.
15 UK Premieres.
Rachel Hayward said: “We were
The festival is curated by a team led
devastated when the COVID-19
by HOME’s Head of Film, Rachel
pandemic struck, forcing us to close
Hayward, alongside ¡Viva! Festival
our doors slap bang in the middle
Safety measures included contactless ticketing, PPE for staff, a one-way system and Coordinator Jessie Gibbs and the
of the festival, but there was never
social distancing throughout the building University of Salford’s Professor of
Oliver Cross performs at a virtual House Party as part of AMP (Accessible Music any question that the safety of
Film Studies, Andy Willis.
Productions), HOME’s project for music lovers, makers and shakers aged 18-25 with audiences, guests and staff had to
different abilities and additional needs.
Jessie said: “We couldn’t have been come first. The news that we could La Odisea de los giles
prouder of our ¡Viva! 2020 line-up, reopen the building in September
and the Box Office stats at the halfway was nerve-wracking but so exciting, could safely welcome back into our
point showed we were all set for a with our greater appreciation of the largest cinema screen, all smiling
record-breaking year. Our inaugural face-to-face celebration of culture behind their face masks, was a truly
film, La Hija de un ladrón, a Barcelona- that we had so dearly missed. We’re joyful moment; it reinforced just how
set family drama with a heavy hugely grateful to the colleagues, special and unique a cultural offering
emotional punch, was hugely popular, festival partners and loyal audiences we bring to Manchester, and how
and it was an absolute pleasure to who made it possible to bring back important the festival is to our loyal
welcome new director Belén Funes the vast majority of ¡Viva! 2020 film audience members, some of whom
to Manchester on our packed-out screenings to HOME last autumn.” have been attending the festival since
opening night. it first launched at the much-loved
Finishing the festival felt truly special
Cornerhouse building 26 years ago.”
“Audiences were clearly in the mood under the circumstances, as Jessie
for some feel-good fun too, and the adds: “To see as many people as we homemcr.org/Viva2020
Despite the huge challenges of running a filmmaking project throughout the HOME Resident Artists Young Identity were the first live performance in Theatre 1
Covid-19 pandemic, we recruited 18 talented young filmmakers to take part in our after the first lockdown, when they launched their new book, Working From HOME. 21
ninth BFI Film Academy.INSANE ANIMALS:
Satirical and subversive with a high energy, gloriously camp show dark performances in Insane
colourful staging, musicals were a was inspired by themes of survival Animals, as the extra terrestrials
new genre for both Bourgeois and and immortality in the Epic of sent to help the human species
Maurice, aka George Heyworth and Gilgamesh, the oldest story ever survive sought to figure out what
Liv Morris, and for HOME. Based on written. makes humans human.
A YEAR ON
fiction, inspired by facts and written
The tale features a relationship Packed with songs that were
in lipstick, Insane Animals was an
between Gilgamesh, a cruel and sharp and salty, notable earworms
outrageous, time-travelling musical
tyrannical kin, and Enkidu, a gentle included part ballad, part Europop
comedy in which two hyper-glam
wild man. The gods tells Gilgamesh anthem Gay for You and the electro
aliens arrive from a faraway galaxy
to love Enkidu ‘like a wife,’ arguably homage to transhumanism, Meat
to rescue present day earth from
making this the world’s first queer Machine. Never before has Mother Before we locked down, we were thrilled to stage the world premiere
impending political, environmental,
and social doom.
love story. When Enkidu is killed Nature been referred to as a basic of cult cabaret duo Bourgeois and Maurice’s Insane Animals from 28
by the gods, Gilgamesh goes on a bitch. The recently-released cast
quest to defeat death and find the recording has been streamed over February to 14 March.
Sound familiar? Little were we to
secret to eternal life. 5,000 times.
know that Insane Animals would
be one of the last shows we would Bourgeois and Maurice translated The Stage called it “a screamingly
stage with a full run and audiences these themes for current audiences, camp, epic space opera”, while
sat next to each other, before our taking tech and transhumanism as Upstaged Manchester said it was “a
own impending disaster. their inspiration to create a hilarious camp cult classic in the making.”
retelling of the story. Audiences
Directed by Dublin based playwright A year on from the show, George
were thrilled by the outrageously
and director Philip McMahon, this Heyworth said: “I’m sitting here
camp, uplifting and occasionally
with Liv now and we both agree the
most amazing thing we remember
was in the second week, standing
on stage and seeing audience
members singing along, doing the
dance routines and holding pride
flags. That’s when we realised
people were coming to see the
show multiple times and that it
was starting to take on a life of
its own. It really felt like a shared
experience.”
Insane Animals boasted an
impressive creative team, including
award winning composer, performer
and multi-instrumentalist Victoria
Falconer as musical director, Sydney
Theatre Award winning set designer
Michael Hankin, lighting designer
Sinéad McKenna, twice an Irish
Times Theatre Awards winner and
costume designer Julian Smith, a
long-time collaborator of Bourgeois
and Maurice and designer for Beth
Ditto.
Directed by Dublin based playwright
and director Philip McMahon, this
high energy, gloriously camp show
was inspired by themes of survival
and immortality in the Epic of
Gilgamesh, the oldest story ever
written.
homemcr.org/insaneanimals
22 23homemcr.org HOME_mcr HOMEmcr HOMEmcr
You can also read
