Arts and Culture

This FAQ shows how the Forum project has been engineered with the arts and events in mind. For more information on Arts and Culture at the University of Exeter please take a look at the Arts and Culture Strategy pages.

Can’t find what you want, please feel free to contact the Forum project team with any questions. 

How will the arts and culture programmes benefit the University and the City of Exeter? 

With pop concerts at the Lemon Grove, symphonies in the Great Hall, cutting edge new drama at the Northcott Theatre, movies at Campus Cinema in Devonshire House, and a rich set of creative writing events on campus, Exeter is already a dynamic place to be for contemporary arts and culture. The Forum will offer new opportunities for performance, art, film and literature for student societies and major events. By the time the Forum opens, the University of Exeter will have a dynamic programme for arts and culture in place to make sure everyone knows what is happening on campus and when. This is part of a new Arts and Culture Strategy designed to develop Exeter as a cultural hub for the South West of England, home to both international artists such as Alexander Beleschenko, as well as campus artists such as the student jazz band.

Are performance spaces being provided for both student and external productions?

The Forum will provide a mix of both formal and informal performance spaces, from the 400-seat auditorium, to the open-air Piazza and the pedestrianised street connecting the Library and Student Services Centre. The Piazza is adjacent to the Great Hall, the Exeter home of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the Northcott Theatre, the region’s premier performance venue for dance, drama, music and comedy. Spaces throughout the Forum will provide new opportunities for student and public arts and culture events in Exeter. The Forum will also have it’s own version of the Fourth Plinth in the Piazza outside the University Reception. Whether it is hosting temporary art commissions or serving as a student soap box during guild elections, the Forum Plinth will quickly develop a life of it’s own for performance and art on campus.

From classical music in the Auditorium, to student busking in the Street, from Shakespeare in the Piazza to poetry on the plinth, the Forum will be at the centre of performance on Streatham Campus.

What art can I expect to see in the Forum?

Barbara Hepworth’s much loved sculpture, Figure, which used to reside in the Northcott Theatre, will be sited in the new University reception for the enjoyment of all visitors to the campus.

An architectural glass art work by internationally renowned artist Alexander Beleschenko will form the artistic centre-piece of the Forum Building. With it’s stunning design, Beleschenko’s installation will not only be inspiring for regular users of the campus but also make the Forum a destination for visitors to the region with interests in art and architecture.

Alexander Beleshenko, who now lives in Swansea, started his career in Devon and he took the role of ‘artist-in-school’ at Vincent Thompson School (now St Luke’s Science and Sports College) and Ottery St Mary School. As his reputation grew, he would create sample panels in his Exeter workshop and show them to galleries in London. His impressive portfolio now includes a floor piece for the Welsh Assembly Building, sculptures at the Met Office in Exeter and a glass and steel bridge for Millennium Place in Coventry. He created a glass screen for the British Embassy in Moscow and has completed commissions in Germany, Austria and the US.

Turning felled trees to walking sticks.

Felled wood from trees and bushes from the area round the library and the former retail unit is being turned into beautiful walking sticks by a skilled craftsman. The wood is a mix of cotoneaster, birch, dogwood, elm, griselinia, viburnum and Portuguese laurel. Dartmoor-based craftsman Dick Leitch is producing 33 walking sticks for sale on behalf of the Forum Project. The wood must mature before it is turned and the sticks will be ready by Spring/Summer 2011. Each will have a carved animal head and will be unique. Dick is a member of University of Exeter staff.

Making Art from Lime

A felled lime tree that originally stood by the Main Library, on the corner of Stocker Road, is being turned into a tree seat sculpture by tree surgeon and artist Nigel Ross. Many will be familiar with the popular wooden seat created by Nigel in front of the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital in Exeter. Nigel will decide what the seat will look like once he is working directly with the wood. The seat will be carved in situ on campus and publicised for viewings during the work by staff and students. For more about Nigel Ross see his website.

Crafted wooden bowls to celebrate the Forum.

The wood carver Dave Regester has been commissioned through Devon Guild of Arts & Crafts to turn wood from felled trees on campus into beautiful crafted bowls for sale on behalf of the Forum Project. The wood is a mixture of poplar, hawthorn and acers, from trees that stood between the Northcott Theatre and Northcote House, in front of the Library and from the botanical wood besides the Queen’s Building. The sale of the bowls will be publicised in due course.

Will there be the opportunity to display Student art work?

Plans are developing for student art work to be displayed in the refurbished Main Library within the Forum. Working with the Students Guild a themed photography competition will be run with a strong theme, eg. International Exeter. We look forward to livening up the Library space with the best of entries.