Arts centre in Birmingham, England
MAC
(stylized as
mac
) (formerly
Midlands Arts Centre
) is a non-profit
arts centre
situated in
Cannon Hill Park
,
Edgbaston
,
Birmingham
,
England
. It was established in 1962 and is registered as an educational
charity
which hosts art exhibitions, Indie Cinema, live performances and Creative Courses for all ages.
The centre re-opened in May 2010 after a £15m facelift. It has four performance auditoria, rehearsal and media studios, a cinema, cafe, bar and
art gallery
. With 1,028,371 visits in 2015, MAC is the 14th most-visited free attractions in England.
[1]
History
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]
The idea for an arts centre in Cannon Hill Park was the result of a meeting between local residents: theatre writer and director
John English
, his wife, Mollie Randle, and local politician Frank Price in the late 1950s.
[2]
Eventually 8.6 acres (3.5 ha) of land in
Cannon Hill Park
was made available by
Birmingham City Council
in 1962 for this purpose. It also housed the Cannon Hill Puppet Theatre under John M. Blundall. The foundation stone for the new arts centre was laid on 19 June 1962 by six people representing those for whom the centre was intended.
[3]
In 1965 director
Mike Leigh
went to work at the theatre and started experimenting with the idea that writing and rehearsing could potentially be part of the same process. Between 1972 and 1987 it was the home of the former
Birmingham Youth Theatre
, a company aimed at encouraging and nurturing talent amongst people aged 15 to 23 who were not involved with drama or theatre. This company was founded by local teacher Derek Nicholls, who later became Director of the mac.
Adrian Lester
and
Andrew Tiernan
began their careers there.
Other artists who performed here include
Yoko Ono
,
Kate Malone
, and
Ewen Henderson
; and renowned musicians and bands such as
Ruby Turner
,
Ocean Colour Scene
,
UB40
, and
ELO
played at MAC in the early stages of their career. Indian classical dancer Nahid Siddiqui taught
Kathak
classes here, and famous
Bharatanatyam
exponent Chitra Bolar started teaching at MAC in 1978. Their contributions established MAC as a centre for South Asian dance and performing arts.
[4]
The centre closed from April 2008 to 1 May 2010 for a £14.8 million refurbishment.
References
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External links
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