70th Anniversary 2017: Looe Street Detectives

70th-anniversary

70th Anniversary in 2017: Looe Street Detectives

In 2017 we are celebrating our 70th Anniversary. Founded in 1947 in our historic building on Looe Street, Plymouth Arts Centre was one of seven arts centres set up around the country with funds from the newly established Arts Council of Great Britain.

Artists who have presented their work at Plymouth Arts Centre include Heather Phillipson, Tim Etchells, Bob and Roberta Smith, Patrick Heron, Tracey Emin, Allen Ginsberg, Tom Raworth, Paula Rego, Peter Greenaway, Ralph Steadman, Gwen John, Jenny Holzer, Vong Phaophanit, Richard Deacon, Andy Goldsworthy, Helen Chadwick, Malcolm LeGrice, Beryl Cook, Douglas Gordon and Sir Terry Frost. Many people exhibited here at the start of their careers and went on to become household names. Previous artistic activity in the building has included a theatre, a pottery studio and a jazz club. Malcolm LeGrice played in the house band here in the 1950s.

The Looe Street Detectives are looking for new members. Would you like to join us?

The Looe Street Detectives formed in 2013 to investigate the area around the Arts Centre at 38 Looe Street. Drawn from local residents living and working in the city, we investigated the people and events that made up this part of Plymouth, unearthing fascinating insights into those who lived and worked here over the last 500 years.

Today, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, we are now going to research the history of the Plymouth Arts Centre site and the people who lived and visited over the centuries. This includes you!

We want to explore who they were and what they did and how their actions meshed or collided with the thinking of their day. Do any of these past characters continue to have an influence on our ideas today?

FIND OUT MORE: drop into Plymouth Arts Centre on Saturday 23 September 2017 from 1.30-4.30pm

Please see flyer below for more information.

PAC-1965