ARTS & CULTURE
Artistic Triump h IN CELEBRATION OF WYSING ARTS CENTRE’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY, RUTHIE COLLINS CONSIDERS THE LEGACY OF THIS BOUNDARY-PUSHING ARTISTIC HUB AND LOOKS TO WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
“W ysing today has been 30 years in the making, but it’s also a chance to think about the future,” enthuses Jo Marsh, chair of Wysing Arts Centre. She is radiating positivity about the 30-year celebrations, which started in February this year. Founded 30 years ago as what Jo describes as an “inspirational workplace for artists” in the tranquil village of Bourn just outside Cambridge, it’s a ‘cultural campus’ set amid 11 acres. It boasts sculptures, studios, a Grade II listed farmhouse, a music recording studio, a gallery and a critically acclaimed public programme. The last 30 years have seen Wysing really develop and come into its own in the UK as a flagship arts organisation – pioneering risk, experimentation and the exchange of ideas. “That original mission remains today, it just gets activated in different ways,” explains Jo. “Two of the four original founders of Wysing Arts Centre are still on our board and are very much the heart and soul of the organisation. They are still there at the centre of what we do – along with the artists.” The anniversary is also a crucial chance to look at the highlights of the organisation’s 30 years. “We are taking a leadership role in terms of diversity and
inclusion – a lot of arts organisations can struggle with this. But Wysing has forged ahead with how to programme artists from different ethnicities and genders – marginalised voices,” continues Jo. You can see this reflected throughout the centre’s programming, team and operations. Wysing’s annual music festival is no exception, navigating that interdisciplinary line where art and music meet. Feted last year as one of the UK’s ‘most valuable’ music festivals by The Guardian , it’s programmed a fiercely
diverse range of international art – with help from the likes of guest curator Camae Ayewa, aka Moor Mother. In 2014, it championed female talent, making women the primary focus of the festival. Wysing’s celebrations kick off with The View From Behind The Futuristic Rose Trellis , an immersive multimedia opera by Ravioli Me Away – a trio with a distinct, subversive edge. The production is on tour before a second performance of the opera at Wysing on 30 March – which is unfortunately already sold out – but you
“As space for artists to work becomes increasingly hard to find, Wysing’s offer only becomes more crucial, thirty years on”
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