May Newsletter

Golden Festival of Food and Music Success
Our Golden Festival of Food and Music, celebrating 50 years of South Hill Park Arts Centre, was super successful, so thank you to all who attended.
The sun came out and live music was playing, with delicious food and lovely crafts all around – what more could you want? Not to forget our free family activities where nearly 500 of you got involved.
We can’t wait for next year!

Thank you Wellington College
A huge thank you to Wellington College who have generously supported our Creative Classroom Initiative and Wilde About Arts Youth Group.
These valuable programs provide arts education to young people who may not normally be able to access it.

50th anniversary throwback
We received a lovely collection of photos of our Jazz Festivals throughout 1975 – 1988 from Bob Draper. Bob told us that it was, at that time, possibly the biggest and only jazz festival in the South East. It was a major event on the jazz calendar bringing thousands of enthusiasts and locals to South Hill Park.
The above photo pictures Charlie Watts, of the Rolling Stones, playing at South Hill Park in 1983 – one of the many huge names that have played here.
Do you have a favourite memory of South Hill Park? Please send a photo and short description to anna.seymour@nullsouthhillpark.org.uk.
Please note, these will be shared in celebration of our 50th anniversary.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road model set
We have had our first production meeting for our summer production, Follow the Yellow Brick Road – A Wizard of Oz Experience, in collaboration with The Lexicon and Bracknell Forest Council.
We went through the stunning set design by Victoria Spearing (who was nominated for Best Set at the UK Pantomime awards 2023) and we can’t wait to see it come to life.
This multi-site interactive performance promises to provide a special day out for families, with incredible tech and lighting – all at only £5 a ticket.
Don’t miss out and book your ticket now (running from Thu 17 – Sun 27 Aug).

Mural for our 50th celebrations
To mark South Hill Park’s 50th anniversary, we commissioned UCA MA Fine Art student Oluwafemi Babalola to create an amazing mural by the Printmaking Studio staircase.
Oluwafemi’s work was part of our recent exhibition, Residual, a reflective response to the mansion. The mural features the artwork from the exhibition, which was inspired by the Garden Room door handle, alongside extended paintwork.
Make sure you have a look at this incredible mural when you next visit!

Family crafts at the Golden Festival of Food and Music
Nearly 500 people got creative at the Learning Tent as part of our Golden Festival of Food and Music.
It was amazing to see the giant collaborative paintings and gorgeous clay sculptures made over the two days, and lovely to see people enjoying puppetry performances from Handmade Theatre.
Our local sponsors Daler-Rowney kindly supported the activity with generous donations of air dry clay.

Exciting workshops this June
Coming up next month we have a number of exciting adult workshops taking place.
You can paint a vibrant summer landscape with artist Caroline Crawford, explore your writing style in a creative writing session with Lynn Hamilton or make a ring in a day with resident artist Erica Sharp.
Find out more and book on our website here.

Live Music on the Terrace
South Hill Park is bringing relaxed music sets to you from the terrace this summer for free! Come along, grab some food and drink from the Atrium Bar & Restaurant – or just relax in our beautiful grounds – and enjoy free music outside in the sunshine.
This month join Eat At Joe’s on Sat 27 May from 2 – 4pm. For more information and to see the full line-up and dates, visit here.

Projector for art installations
Our Exhibition Curator, Loucia Manopoulou, works tirelessly to bring world-class exhibitions to South Hill Park. However, as we do not have an in-house projector, it makes it difficult to find one when needed.
Therefore, we are looking for someone who can donate a good quality projector for this cause. If you can, please contact Loucia at Loucia.Manopoulou@nullsouthhillpark.org.uk.

Ariadne Workshop
Middlesex FDSC Counselling students at Activate Learning Guildford College came along to South Hill Park to talk with Vicky Samara about her poetic collection and exhibition, Ariadne, featured on our interactive wall.
The workshop allowed the students to engage through art with some experiential reflective activities. These activities aimed to increase their self-awareness, explore other means of communicating and possible ways of working with clients in a counselling setting.

Studio Theatre presents Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Our next Studio Theatre production is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein from Wed 14 – Sat 17 June. This is is the first in a new season put together by David Stacey, who took up the role of Studio Theatre Manager in March.
The production features original music and transforms the intimate space of the Studio Theatre into Arctic ice flows and Frankenstein’s cramped laboratory. This is a show you will not want to miss, so book your tickets now.

Corporate Partnerships
Our corporate partner, Village Hotels, attended our Golden Festival of Food and Music and had a blast. We also received a donation of air dry clay from our newest partner Daler-Rowney. We are very grateful for their support at the festival.
If you would like to become a Corporate Partner, take a look at our different partnership packages here and for more information please contact our Sales & Marketing Director, Margaretha Welsford, at Margaretha.Welsford@nullsouthhillpark.org.uk.

Vacancies
South Hill Park is currently looking for a Finance Officer.
This is a great opportunity for anyone looking to work in a creative environment within the arts sector.
If you are interested in this role, please visit our website here to find out more.