PRESS RELEASE29 SEPTEMBER 2015

HUNDREDS OF BRISTOL-BASED MUSICIANS, PERFORMERS AND SPEAKERS TO AMPLIFY THE SOUND OF THE CITY FOR THEASTER GATES’ SANCTUM

Temple Church, Bristol, photo: Max McClure

TEMPLE CHURCH, BRISTOL29 OCTOBER – 21 NOVEMBER 2015

Hundreds of musicians, performers and speakers from across Bristol will contribute to a continuous programme of sound performed in the bombed out shell of Temple Church in Bristol, over 24 days, 24 hours a day. Sanctum is the first public project in the UK by Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, who will collaborate with the people of Bristol “to amplify the city”. Sanctum will launch at 6pm on 29 October and run continuously until 6pm on 21 November 2015. Produced by international arts producers Situations, in partnership with English Heritage, Sanctum is commissioned as part of the cultural programme for Bristol 2015 European Green Capital supported by Arts Council England.

A temporary structure, constructed from the remains of former sites of labour and worship across the city, will be built within the ruin of the 14th century Temple Church, transforming it into an intimate gathering place in which hundreds of performers sustain sound continuously over 552 hours. In the care of English Heritage, Temple Church is not usually open to the public so this is a rare chance to step inside the building. The programme, curated by MAYK, the producers behind Mayfest, spans the diversity of talent resident in (or visiting the city) over the 24 days. The participants in the programme are unveiled today, but the schedule will remain secret. Visitors to Sanctum won’t know who or what they are about to hear.

Each day will offer up new surprises. The visitor might enter Sanctum on an early commute to be awoken by a gospel choir, join one of Bristol’s headlining acts at dusk or listen to a stirring call for action. Sound will be sustained in the most free and creative sense by performers, musicians, choirs, spoken-word artists, historians, poets and speech-makers. The sound of Sanctum might range from the thump of post punk and grime, to the infectious beat of flamenco and African samba, from a sea shanty to an aria, from a call for action to a eulogy, from a drone to a rap.

Sound has been interpreted in the conventional sense of music, but also embraces theatre, digital technology, poetry, spoken word and even the whir of a potter’s wheel – a tribute to Theaster Gates’ dedication to pottery.

Highlights include: performances by composer, director and performer Verity Standen, whose work is devoted to the intricacies of the human voice; Sara Zaltash, who draws on her Islamic heritage to sing a version of the Call to Prayer (azan, which not usually performed by a woman) for one hour each day; Spoken word poet Shagufta K will challenge the audience to re-examine gender, race and culture; high energy performances from the drumming/dance troupes Tribe of Doris and African Sambistas; Ushti Babba will perform a set of stomping Balkan rhythms and heart-wrenching Celtic melodies; Count Bobo will groove to traditional Jamaican rocksteady; performance company Sleepdogs will make improvised musical compositions from manipulated, looped and warped recordings of the sounds of Bristol; and in the early hours of the morning DJs will play long sets for night owls and early risers.

The project has been developed through Gates’ working principle of seeing and reflecting upon the unseen and under-heard. He seeks the city’s voices, and tests what future spaces of contemplation might supersede the sanctuaries of the past. “Sanctum is a collaboration with the city’s materials, the city’s administrators, the city’s artists and musicians to engage in quietly restorative work and to amplify the city’s unheard voices,” said Gates.

Claire Doherty, Director of Situations, said: “Bristol 2015’s cultural programme closes with a moment of collective action – public art, but not as you know it. Sanctum reawakens a site which has been sleeping and in doing so, offers us a chance to hear the city like never before.”

Kate Mavor, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: “In our new role as a charity, English Heritage is looking at new and imaginative ways to bring the buildings in our care to life. Sanctum is part of this new approach. Temple Church with its leaning tower is a familiar Bristol landmark, we’re excited to open it for what promises to be a very special experience.”

Kate Yedigaroff and Matthew Austin, Directors of MAYK, said “In the process of curating the performance programme for Sanctum, we have listened to hours and hours of strange and wonderful sound from artists across the city, and begun far ranging conversations around what a response to a space like this could mean. Theaster describes this platform as an amplifier for the city, and it truly is. It’s been fascinating and humbling for us to hear exciting new ideas from artists we know well, but also to discover fresh new voices. An outlandish mission - a 24 hour, 24 day rolling programme – has now become a labour of love, and we can’t wait to share it with the city.”

Sanctum’s opening weekend forms part of the Art Weekender – Bristol & Bath, a three-day celebration of visual arts across both cities also produced by Situations and involving over 50 arts venues, artist-led projects and activities. Theaster Gates will give a performance lecture at St George’s Bristol to celebrate the opening of Sanctum on Saturday 31 October at 7pm.

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PRESS ENQUIRIESOlivia Cerio | SUTTONolivia@suttonpr.com | +44 (0)20 7183 3577

NOTES TO EDITORS:

LISTINGSTheaster Gates – Sanctum – Temple Church BristolFrom 6pm 29 October – to 6pm 21 November 2015 (24hrs a day) (For the list of performers visit www.sanctumbristol.com )

Entrance to Sanctum is free. Capacity is limited inside Sanctum to retain intimacy, and therefore some queuing may be necessary at peak times. To guarantee an entry time, reservations are available from £5 via www.sanctumbristol.com

Sanctum is a Situations project for Bristol 2015 European Green Capital funded by Arts Council England Exceptional Fund and the Henry Moore Foundation. The project is produced in partnership with English Heritage and in association with MAYK, Bristol Plays Music, Babbasa Youth Empowerment Projects and LARA (Lorraine Ayensu Refugee Arts) and supported by Hilton Garden Inn. Sanctum will develop as an ENPAP nomadic project in partnership with Urbane Künste Ruhr in 2016.

EVENTSTheaster Gates Performance Lecture – a one-night-only eventSaturday 31 October 2015 7pmSt George’s Bristol, Great George Street, (off Park Street), Bristol, BS1 5RR Tickets £10 / £7.50 conc. Book now at www.stgeorgesbristol.co.ukBox Office: 0845 402 4001

Public Art (Now) MasterclassWednesday 18 November 2-4pmTwo-hour masterclass on the logistical, artistic and communications challenges of producing Sanctum. Part of Festival of the Future City.Book now £8 / £6.50 conc. www.publicartnowmasterclass.eventbrite.co.ukTwo Public Art (Now) £150 bursaries are available from Situations to attend the masterclass. Find out more at www.situations.org.uk

THEASTER GATESTheaster Gates is an artist, musician and activist based in Chicago. Gates trained as both a sculptor and an urban planner and his artworks are rooted in social responsibility as well as underpinned by a deep belief system. Gates often works with architects, researchers and performers to create artworks that stretch the idea of what we usually understand visual art to be. For his exhibition at Milwaukee Art Museum in 2010, for example, Gates invited a 250 strong gospel choir into the galleries to sing songs adapted from the inscriptions on pots by the famous 19th century slave and potter 'Dave Drake'. In another recent exhibition at Seattle Art Museum, Gates transformed the gallery into an audio archive entitled 'The Listening Room', incorporating a hand-built DJ booth and a DJ who spinned selections from the now closed Dr Wax record store in Chicago, formerly an influential hub for 60s, 70s and 80s music, in particular jazz, blues and R&B.

His most acclaimed work, Dorchester Projects, began in 2009 with Gates transforming a cluster of buildings on Chicago's South Side into alternative cultural spaces. The artist used repurposed materials from across the city to rehouse retired collections of objects such as 14,000 books from the former Prairie Avenue Bookstore, glass slides from the art history department at the University of Chicago and 8,000 vinyl records. Dorchester Projects has become a vibrant gathering point and place of work for many individuals from the neighbourhood. Just as this South Side territory acts a gathering point and resource for a set of on-going activities, so Dorchester Projects and Gates’ studio acts as the production nerve centre for a set of projects and exhibitions in the U.S. and worldwide. Gates is winner of the 2015 Artes Mundi prize, the founder of the non-profit Rebuild Foundation and currently Professor in the Department of Visual Arts, University of Chicago. www.whitecube.com/artists/theaster_gates/TEMPLE CHURCH

Bristol’s Temple Church is cared for by English Heritage and is a ruined 14th century church under which are the buried remains of a 12th century church. The earlier church, built by the Knights Templar, was circular in form, typical of churches of this order and based on the form of the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. By 1307, the order had fallen into disrepute and their lands were later confiscated and handed to the Knights Hospitaller. When the Knights Hospitaller were themselves suppressed by Henry VIII in 1540, the church was taken over by the parish. Nothing is visible at ground level of the original, circular, church, but its form influenced the development of the later church. Its foundations were excavated, and its plan is now marked out inside the later church. The famous tower leans 5 feet (1.6m) out of the vertical. Only the shell of the building, dating mainly from the 14th century, remained after the Second World War bombing on 24th November 1940, 75 years prior to the arrival of Sanctum. A Grade II listed building and a Scheduled Monument in the care of English Heritage, Temple Church is not usually open to the public, so this is a rare chance to step inside the building. www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/temple-church/history/

SITUATIONSSituations are award winning public art producers based in Bristol. Founded in 2002, Situations opens up the potential for artists to make extraordinary ideas happen in unusual and unexpected places, inspiring audiences and participants to explore new horizons. Situations were appointed as the producers of the Magna Carta public art programme at Runnymede on the basis of their track record in the commissioning and promotion of outstanding public art projects. Previous projects have included One Day Sculpture, New Zealand (2008), Heather and Ivan Morison, Black Cloud (2009), Alex Hartley, Nowhereisland (2012), Michael Sailstorfer, Folkestone Digs (2014) and Katie Paterson, Future Library, Oslo (2014-2114). Situations is an Arts Council England National Portfolio organisation and is generously supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the University of the West of England, Bristol. www.situations.org.uk

ENGLISH HERITAGE English Heritage cares for over 400 historic monuments, buildings and sites – from world famous prehistoric sites to grand medieval castles, from Roman forts on the edges of empire to Cold War bunkers. Through these, they bring the story of England to life for over 10 million visitors each year. They are a registered charity no. 1140351 and a registered company no. 07447221. www.english-heritage.org.uk

MAYKMAYK is a theatre producing organisation based in Bristol. Led by Kate Yedigaroff and Matthew Austin and established in 2011, MAYK produces the internationally recognised theatre festival Mayfest which takes place in venues and sites across Bristol each May. MAYK also works with artists and companies to produce and tour extraordinary performance, and is currently working with Still House/Dan Canham, Sleepdogs, Sam Halmarack, Jo Bannon and Firebird Theatre. MAYK is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and a Bristol City Council Key Arts Provider. www.mayk.org.uk ART WEEKENDER – BRISTOL & BATHArt Weekender − Bristol & Bath is a three-day celebration of the visual arts across the two cities, taking place from Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November. Now in its second year, the Art Weekender is produced by Situations in partnership with over 50 arts venues, artist-led groups and arts producers. www.artweekender.com/

BRISTOL 2015 EUROPEAN GREEN CAPITALSix projects have been funded through an Exceptional Award from Arts Council England to support Bristol’s year as European Green Capital. The Bristol 2015 arts and culture programme is managed by Bristol Culture Development Partnership (BDCP). www.bristol2015.co.ukPHAIDON

Sanctum coincides with publication of the first monograph on Gates. Theaster Gates (Carol Becker, Lisa Yun Lee and Achim Borchardt-Hume) is published by Phaidon on 2 November (£29.95). Pre-order at www.phaidon.com/theastergates.