BAC have announced the restructuring of their annual programme after a long process of re-definition and major capital works undergone in 2011. Artistic Directors, David Jubb and David Micklem, aim to give greater ownership of the arts centre to artists, audiences and the wider community, collaborating with venues and organizations nationally and internationally to support the development of new work. The redefinition of how BAC will work has been inspired by international models from Brazil and Belgium, and showcases BAC’s commitment to developing new approaches to producing and showcasing work whilst engaging with a wider understanding of culture.
At the heart of the new programme is the Cook-Up season, comprising long runs as well as the continued development of work through scratch performances, debates and related events. Food will also become more central to the venue and the way it operates as an artistic and community space. Each Cook-Up Season will present a mix of major shows and smaller scratch pieces. Upcoming highlights include Uninvited Guests’s Make Better Please, a co-production with Fuel running from 1st-12th May, as well as the return of Little Bulb’s Operation Greenfield.
As well as their Cook-Up Seasons, work will also be presented as ‘Tuck In’ and ‘Take Out’. The former aims to engage with a wide range of audiences whilst also exploring and developing BAC’s spaces through collaboration between artists and an architect. Highlights include Forced Entertainment‘s first BAC production The Coming Storm, a collaboration with Festival Avignon, Tanzquartier Vienna and the Centre Pompidou , which will be presented in conjunction with LIFT between 19th and 23rd of June in the Grand Hall. In addition, Tuck In presents new work from Kneehigh (8th Dec- 13th Jan) and a collaboration with People’s Palace Projects that brings together thirty Brazillian artists working and living at BAC together with thirty London collaborators in anticipation of the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. Rio Occupation will be taking place between 8th July and 3rd August.
The Take Out season meanwhile will focus on taking some of the best work showcased during the Cook Up season in collaboration with a range of other venues and partners. Highlights will include Wildworks’ Babel, a co-production with World Stages London, Lyric Hammersmith, Theatre Royal Stratford East and Young Vic, which will run between the 8th and 20th May.
BAC will also be collaborating with VideoJuicer and Arts Collective, supported by NESTA, Arts Council England and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to launch Scratch Online, a research-based platform which will reconsider the possibilities scratch offers to the creative process for artists and audiences.