Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) is Going Global in spring 2020 (February to May), with a season of work which brings together the best of international performance and UK artists telling global stories. At a time of national introspection, Battersea Arts Centre reaches outwards, creating connections between the UK and the world.
Going Global is Tarek Iskander’s inaugural season as Artistic Director and CEO of Battersea Arts Centre and features bold new approaches to digital storytelling, uncompromising work wrestling with today’s most urgent issues, and platforms for young people to showcase their creativity and activism. Every ticket for auditorium seats on every show across the season is available for £10 until the end of October 2019, booking is open now for Battersea Arts Centre Friends and Members, with booking open to all from Monday 21 October.
Battersea Arts Centre remains a hub for everyone’s creativity. The Agency, BAC’s flagship co-creation project supporting young people’s social entrepreneurship, will hold a weekend-long national conference on making change during Homegrown Festival, a 10 day celebration of big ideas from young voices. The Co-Creating Change network will also expand, supporting organisations around the country to shift power into the hands of the communities they serve.
This spring also sees the official opening of a new community garden in the heart of Wandsworth, the thirteenth and final heritage installation around Battersea Arts Centre’s building, which visitors can explore via a map or on free trails. Designed by award-winning architects Haworth Tompkins, the garden will transform the road which runs alongside Battersea Arts Centre’s building into a new public space to be enjoyed by all – featuring planters for use by community groups, artist commissions and increased seating for people to enjoy the greener space.
Further afield, the Touretteshero and Battersea Arts Centre production of Not I by Samuel Beckett will tour in North America in early 2020, followed by further UK dates in spring. The revolutionary production is the first to be performed by someone with Tourettes Syndrome and is presented in a uniquely relaxed fashion. Battersea Arts Centre continues working with Touretteshero towards becoming a Relaxed Venue – a new initiative that builds on the principles of relaxed performances. Over 98% of all announced performances in the Going Global season are relaxed, which at BAC means there is a relaxed attitude to noise and movement in the auditorium, a designated ‘chill-out space’ is provided for guests who may need time away from the performance, and ear defenders are available for those with sensory sensitivities.
