Several huge sculptures from the world-famous Burning Man festival will be put on display in the Peak District this year.
Chatsworth House, just across the border in Derbyshire, will be the first place in the UK to host the artworks.
12 sculptures will be placed in the grounds of the stately home, including a giant bear made of 200,000 pennies and a winged horse elevated 20 feet in the air.
Visitors to the grounds will also be able to see a curved jet plane that’s been reimagined as a flower.
The Flybrary by Christina Sporrong – a Burning Man sculpture that will be displayed at Chatsworth House. Credit: Tex Allen
Radical Horizons: The Art of Burning Man will be unveiled at Chatsworth from 9 April and will remain in place until 1 October.
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The free-to-visit outdoor exhibition is going to feature eight existing sculptures and four that will be built on site.
Members of the local community will be invited to help with the creation of the artworks, mirroring the building that takes place at the actual Burning Man festival.
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Burning Man festival in Nevada. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Burning Man normally takes place in the Nevada dessert, attracting tens of thousands of people with its mix of music, arts and community.
Historically, several of the festival’s biggest sculptures are burned over the course of the event.
The festival’s team and artists are now creating a little bit of that Burning Man magic in the countryside of Derbyshire.
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Wings of Glory by Adrian Landon at Burning Man. Credit: Adrian Landon
Radical Horizons will be free to visit, but parking at Chatsworth has to be pre-booked.
Kim Cook, director of creative initiatives at Burning Man, said: “We’ve come to understand Chatsworth as a place to foster innovation, creativity, thoughtfulness and thinkers since its early days, something that is also central to our work and ethos at Burning Man.
“Our hope is that the art in the landscape will provoke joy, new ways of viewing, and be an invitation to make up your own story about meaning as you explore the beautiful expanse of Chatsworth.”
The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, who reside at Chatsworth House, said: “We’re delighted to be announcing this celebratory programme for Chatsworth.
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“The exhibition in the house is a marker in time – a record of our acquisitions that we want to share with others – while the sculptures in the park continue the great tradition of the estate as a backdrop for contemporary works.
“We very much hope that visitors find inspiration here in this special place.”
Featured image: Lodestar by Randy Polumbo at Burning Man. Credit: Espresso Buzz Photo
Art & Culture
Manchester’s historic Portico Library secures £6.4m funding grant towards its transformation
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s Portico Library has secured a whopping £6.4 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In case you missed it, ambitious plans to transform the historic Grade II-listed building on Mosely Street were already unveiled last October… but now, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced it is committing £6.4 million of funding towards the project, hoping that the building thrives as the UK’s most sustainable historic library for generations to come.
The grant is being described as a ‘major milestone’ in the approximately £12 million Portico Reunited project.
The Portico Reunited project will look to ‘reunite’ the historic building’s three floors for the first time in over a century, creating a fully-accessible and sustainable cultural library.
Founded all the way back in 1806, The Portico Library played a central role in Manchester’s rise as the world’s first modern city, and since then has been serving as a window into the past and a providing a place of inspiration for anyone who needs it.
The Portico Library has secured a £6.4m funding grant towards its transformation / Credit: Purcell Architecture (Supplied)
Crucially, plans will see a step-free entrance and lift installed to make the library accessible to all.
There’ll also be new exhibition and event spaces introduced as part of the scheme to explore the stories of Manchester’s communities and the city’s heritage. There will a Northern Bookshop, showcasing regional and emerging writers, and independent publishers, as well as a creative Portico Kitchen, which will celebrate the city’s food culture, writing, and history.
A place for school groups, families, and all people to explore Portico’s collection and experiment creatively also forms part of the plans.
Dr Thom Keep, Librarian and CEO of The Portico Library, called the funding grant a ‘landmark moment’ in the Portico’s ‘rich and complex history’, and a ‘huge achievement’ for its staff, trustees, volunteers, and partners.
“Thanks to National Lottery players, we can reunite this extraordinary building and make room for people to discover, learn and create together,” he added.
“We have listened to thousands of people about what the Portico could become, and their ideas and experiences have helped shape these plans.
“Our ambition is a library that belongs to the whole city – a place to discover remarkable collections, question the stories we have inherited, and create new possibilities together.”
Manchester City Council has granted planning permission and listed building consent for the project, and the building is expected to close for construction in late spring 2028 and reopen once again in early March 2030.
Following reopening, the transformed library is expected to welcome around 95,000 visitors each year.
Featured Image – Purcell Architecture (Supplied)
Art & Culture
Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Daisy Jackson -
10th February 2022 
