Bury’s new sculpture centre opens its doors

The latest addition to Bury’s cultural quarter has opened its doors to the public with the launch of the borough’s fourth Text Festival.

Bury Sculpture Centre, next to Bury Art Museum, will host a number of international festivals and a conference in 2014.

The centre was officially opened on Friday (2 May) by the Mayor of Bury, Councillor Sharon Briggs.

“Building on Bury’s best international practice, the new space will showcase global contemporary
sculpture for local audiences and visitors interested in the latest developments in art,” she said. “The launch of Bury Sculpture Centre is one of the most momentous occasions in over 100 years of exhibition history at Bury Art Museum. This evening is the perfect opportunity for us to celebrate this
achievement.”

The text festival is a globally recognised event investigating contemporary language art incorporating
poetry, text art, sound and media text, and live art involving more than 60 artists, including an exhibition by internationally renowned artist Lawrence Weiner.

Guest of honour at the opening was Greville Worthington, chair of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, who said:
“There is an established network of sculpture across the North of England, including the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield and the Henry Moore Foundation, Leeds. It is fantastic that the new Bury Sculpture Centre is now a part of that and to open with a show by such an important artist as Lawrence Weiner is an achievement for the team.”

As well as exhibits, the text festival offers interactive opportunities for visitors, including the chance to
leave comments using old-fashioned typewriters. Visit www.textfestival.com

Tony Trehy, arts manager with Bury Council, said: “We’ve already had some very positive feedback from people delighted with this latest addition to the arts in Bury. We hope that the new sculpture centre will attract visitors from far and wide, which will boost the local economy, but also bring the best in international art to local audiences and cultural tourists alike.”

In the autumn, as part of Asia Triennial Manchester, Bury Sculpture Centre will present ‘Remix’, an exhibition of European and Chinese contemporary sculpture curated by David Thorp, an independent curator based in London. He is also Associate Curator at Platform China, Beijing.

The show will include works by David Blandy, A. K. Dolven and Richard Wilson. This exhibition will be accompanied in Bury Art Museum by exhibitions of Russian new media in partnership with National Centre for Contemporary Art in Moscow, and Chinese photography from Beijing.

Bury Sculpture Centre opening times: Tuesday to Friday (10am to 5pm) and Saturday (10am to 4.30pm).

ENDS

Press release issued: 7 May 2014.

Picture attached: Visitors at the opening of the new Bury Sculpture Centre.

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