A letter from the Chairman

LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN February 2006 

A new outdoor Arena on the Herstmonceux castle estate is open for activity this year, thanks to a generous grant from the European LEADER+ scheme.

This venue, part of the long-term Observatory creation centre project, provides a flexible open air performance space for an audience of up to 3,000 people in various configurations.

This summer there will be large scale events in the Arena ranging from massed choirs to ceilidh bands, recording artists to new circus. For appropriate events there will be spit roasts, mulled ciders, champagne bars, English wines etc. Market stalls will offer local produce. Audience members will be encouraged to bring picnics and seating (but no tables please!). As always in England it is advised to allow for any eventuality weather wise. The events will continue except in the case of extreme weather conditions which make the site unsafe or inoperable.

First up will be a May Ball with fireworks designed for the site, folk band with dance caller, Irish mouth organ maestro Brendan Power (music director for Riverdance), and additionally, quick folk dance lessons for early comers and a lantern-making workshop for children.

There will also be a number of small-scale events, working with partners like ESCC’s Wood Season and Euroculture, an arts-led European Youth scheme. The latter group, which INAT brought over the last two summers for a week of music workshops and performances, both at Herstmonceux Castle and the Arundel Fringe Festival, is returning. 60 of these performance arts students were amongst the first volunteers to work on the development of the Arena site. Their visit will include an open rehearsal, to which the local community will be invited.

Another free event, advertised through Wood Season, will be an open day featuring picnicking in the Arena, strolling musicians, an artist- guided woodland walk and a presentation about the future arts centre.

There will also be courses in chain saw sculpture and creating timber framed buildings from scratch using timber from the site.

In addition to Euroculture the Observatory is planning its own international courses for young professionals in the arts and is already setting up a residential course on Henry V, with several of the supporting lectures and screenings of different film versions open to the public.

Our policy is to operate at the highest levels in the arts, using the site and facilities to encourage leading arts groups to come and work here creating new pieces, be they theatre shows, street theatre events or exhibitions. At the same time we want to increase creative opportunities for the rural community in East Sussex.

For instance we will arrange events for the large groups which assisted with land clearance work for the Arena notably the East Sussex Army Cadets, 10 primary schools and three community colleges – Hailsham, Heathfield and Claverham. This could take the form of an event like theMay Ball, or organising workshops and training courses in the schools.

We are negotiating with various artists to perform at the Arena in mid summer and will announce the programme in a few weeks.

A featured event of the autumn will be a “Wellington Ball” on Halloween weekend, which will be a large-scale celebration/party with bands, hot seasonal food and autumn picnics and dancing under the stars (in Wellington boots!) in the Arena.

The climax of the evening will be an imaginative firework display on the theme of the planets, which INAT has been developing with Southern-based company, Frontier Fireworks. They have already used the site, featuring the Observatory building, to create new pyrotechnic effects which have been photographed as a record.

In the course of programming for the Arena we will plan the full range of events envisaged for the site in consultation with various specialist producers and also experts in lighting (Max Von Barnholt of VBK Lighting who worked on Tate Modern) and in acoustics (Rob Harris of Arup Acoustics responsible for the Brighton Dome and Glyndebourne). We have also had helpful advice and assistance from the stage management crew at the Arundel Festival.

For the initial large-scale events, we will use our volunteer team which includes experience of health and safety and front of house procedures and is developing expertise with different forms of staging and technical management. We will bring all the services (electricity, toilets, equipment etc.) on location by event.

The site is insured for public liability, fire etc. and additional large event insurance will be tied to the specific programme.

We are in discussions with several producers and arts organisations both about use of the Arena for creation work (rehearsal, development, making etc.) and for public performance. For example, the East Sussex County Music Service has pencilled a summer date for a large-scale concert with up to 150 young people performing. Over the last few years we have worked with Radiator Arts in Hastings both as performers and as project leaders in schools and also have links to Same Sky and Zap Productions in Brighton .

We have begun the search for sculptors to create work for the Sculpture Trail and land artist Trudi Entwistle is currently considering a residential project with students.

residency, £48,00 from the Arts council and we are applying again to LEADER + for further revenue and capital funding.

We are currently seeking to recruit a fund raising consultant.

Stephen Phillips Chair, The Isaac Newton Arts Trust

This project has been part-financed by the European community WARR Partnership Leader + 2000-2006 Programme, supported by: The European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund of the EU and Defra. It has also been supported by Arts Council England, East Sussex County Council, Wealden District Council, The Spencer Wills Trust, Wynne Baxter Solicitors, The Rural Development Agency, South East Arts Board, Arts & Business and a generous initial donation by American philanthropists and art collectors, the Doctors Bader who also support the International Study Centre and the Observatory Science Centre at Herstmonceux.

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