www.bulbroots.org: 2009

Leicester Comedy Festival Approaches

It's that time of year again, when we laugh until our sides split at Leicester Comedy Festival! The longest running festival in the UK will be on from 6th to 15th February, with headline acts including Andy Parsons, Count Arthur Strong, Barry Cryer, Ed Byrne, Ivan Brackenbury, Jimmy Carr, Josie Long, Mark Watson and Wil Hodgson to name a few!

There are events happening all over the city so click here to find out more!

How Ironic

As soon as we blog about Spring coming to Leicester this happens:

Always the way, isn't it.

Spring Comes to Leicester City

Even though it's only January, Spring has come to Leicester City in the form of the floral displays in the Centre. We can't wait for the hanging baskets to come out for the Summer, hopefully by then it won't be so bone chillingly cold!

The Curve is so Photogenic

It doesn't matter what angle you look at it from, the contrast between modern and traditional architecture is still fantastic.

The Street at Your Feet

Leicester Print Workshop and artist Bhajan Hunjan have collaborated to create artworks in sandblasted granite, embedded into the floorscape of the St. George's Cultural Quarter. These are situated at strategic entrances, on pathways leading to the new Performing Arts Centre, Curve, and have been designed with the assistance of Leicester's community.

Leicester based arts company Watch This Space have been working with Leicester City Council to create an Audio Trail that stretches across the City.

You can download the audio trail from here and wander around to your heart's content, looking out for the granite slabs on the floor. (That's my dotty boot print on the slab, I spotted after walking past!)

Leicester City Centre Regeneration is Complete!

After many months of watching the regeneration of Leicester City Centre unfold, we can finally say that it is mostly finished! There is still some work going on in other parts of the City, such as the Cultural Quarter, but the Centre itself seems done and dusted. See below for some shots, taken January 2009, a year after Geotag.

The Digital Media Centre Takes Shape

It has been fascinating to watch the Digital Media Centre grow over the past few weeks, and the pictures below show what it will look like, and what it looks like now.

We can't wait to explore the Centre when it's complete, and the possibilities for projects, shows, exhibitions, film screenings etc. are endless. This is a really exciting time for the Cultural Quarter, and for Bulb Roots as we become part of the redevelopment of Leicester City Centre.

Snow!

Although it didn't settle, looking around Leicester and seeing snow makes you feel all festive inside.... even if it is January.

LATEST ACTIVITY

We've been busy at Bulb Roots Recently!

We've been running our 'Local Network Fund' funded film and culture project called 'CAN CULTURE COUNT?' with a group of young people from our fine city - see below for more details...

Plus we've also been helping out our good friends over at ISHT with their 'GEOTAG' project which aims to chronicle the £3 Billion investment into the City.

Can Culture Count?
The Can Culture Count Film addresses the cultural regeneration in Leicester, with particular focus on the PAC (Performing Arts Centre) which has been named 'CURVE' and the recently announced Digital Media Centre.

The young people we worked with got hands-on with our cameras and developed skills in film production and interviewing - Finding out what opportunities the Cultural Quarter will create for everyone, but with a particular emphasis on what the developments mean for young people and how young people can get involved.

The resulting short film tackles the diverse perceptions of the regeneration across the city from local people and explores how young people can get involved in this massive regeneration of Leicester City Centre.

The film will be premiered at the LCB Depot, Rutland Street, Leicester on Thursday 31st January from 7.30pm. Admittance is free and food and drink will be supplied... Don't miss out!

The project was devised by Bulb Roots and has been delivered in association with ISHT and Pedestrian with young people from the City and from Riverside Business & Enterprise College. The project was funded by the Local Network Fund.

GEOTAG
The Geotag Project has been running over the last month with the aim of creating a visual record of the regeneration and transformation of Leicester City Centre.

The young people we worked with gained skills in digital photography - creating 360 degree panorama shots of key areas around the City Centre to create a permanent chronicle of the evolution of the city.

The photographs have been 'Geotagged' - Geographical data has been added to the electronic versions of the photographs in order to pinpoint the location so that future studies can show the changes.

The photography from the Geotag project is available on the website now and will be exhibited in the LCB Depot, Rutland Street, Leicester on Thursday 31st January from 7.30pm along with the premiere of the Can Culture Count film.

The project was devised by our friends at ISHT and has been delivered in association with Bulb Roots and Pedestrian with young people from the City & Riverside Business & Enterprise College. The project was funded by the Local Network Fund.