100 Members
Posted in Basildon, Basildon arts collective 1 comments
Welcome to the second day of blogs from me. Today is the celebration of 100 members of the Basildon Arts Collective. For those of you that don’t know Basildon, it is often the butt of many jokes. Sometimes with good reason to be. Pre WW2, Basildon was a collection of small villages and farms. When London started to be rebuilt after the war, lots of families moved out to the new town.
Over the years Basildon has produced a number of people who have gone on to have success in the arts and entertainment. Probably the biggest name to come out of Basildon is the band Depeche Mode. Around the same time there was also Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke, also from the town. Other names to come from Basildon include the actress and presenter Denise Van Outen and Eastenders actress Kara Tointon.
Over the years the live music scene in the town has slowly dried up. In the mid 90s there were approximately 6 venues, today there is only one. This isn’t to say there isn’t the need for such venues. Infact it is probably the total opposite. I can imagine it is frustrating to be part of a band and have nowhere in your local town to play.
There are a number of public artworks in and around the town centre. You can download a copy of the Heritage trail at
http://www.visitessex.com/discover/cultural/summer-of-art/Basildon_Heritage_Trail.aspx
Unfortunately, over the years some of the public artwork has been neglected.
Today the Basildon Arts Collective celebrates over 100 members. It is the collectives’ aims to look after and protect the public art in the town. It was also formed to encourage and unite the artists in the area. There is a healthy arts scene in the district, which is often overlooked. A number of artists involved with the collective have a very rich and knowledgeable background. There are no age or ability restrictions within the group, everyone is welcome. If you live in the Basildon area and would like to find out more about the group, please visit their webpage at
http://www.basildonartscollective.co.uk
The group also isn’t specific to the visual arts (painting, sculpture) but also includes writers, bands, dance groups etc.
These are exciting times for the group and the arts scene in Basildon.
Over the years Basildon has produced a number of people who have gone on to have success in the arts and entertainment. Probably the biggest name to come out of Basildon is the band Depeche Mode. Around the same time there was also Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke, also from the town. Other names to come from Basildon include the actress and presenter Denise Van Outen and Eastenders actress Kara Tointon.
Over the years the live music scene in the town has slowly dried up. In the mid 90s there were approximately 6 venues, today there is only one. This isn’t to say there isn’t the need for such venues. Infact it is probably the total opposite. I can imagine it is frustrating to be part of a band and have nowhere in your local town to play.
There are a number of public artworks in and around the town centre. You can download a copy of the Heritage trail at
http://www.visitessex.com/discover/cultural/summer-of-art/Basildon_Heritage_Trail.aspx
Unfortunately, over the years some of the public artwork has been neglected.
Today the Basildon Arts Collective celebrates over 100 members. It is the collectives’ aims to look after and protect the public art in the town. It was also formed to encourage and unite the artists in the area. There is a healthy arts scene in the district, which is often overlooked. A number of artists involved with the collective have a very rich and knowledgeable background. There are no age or ability restrictions within the group, everyone is welcome. If you live in the Basildon area and would like to find out more about the group, please visit their webpage at
http://www.basildonartscollective.co.uk
The group also isn’t specific to the visual arts (painting, sculpture) but also includes writers, bands, dance groups etc.
These are exciting times for the group and the arts scene in Basildon.
1 comments:
I really hope the Basildon Arts Collective continues to grow. There is such a wealth of talented creative people in the town, it would be such a shame to loose it. It is really down to people to come together and join the BAC and see what a great group this is. Lets stop people complaining that theres nothing to do in Basildon and its a terrible place to live.
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