Features

Larry Watson - Arts Centre Manager

House of the Rising Sun

From a circus-skills class to salsa dancing, the Rising Sun Arts Centre has always been renowned for its creative variety, but for over a month this was put on hold when it was closed for a refurbishment.

Twelve thousand pounds later, and with a lot of hard work, the Rising Sun Arts Centre finally reopened on Saturday 18 February.

Forty volunteers worked on the refurbishment, varnishing floors, painting walls, scraping glue and reinvigorating the building's artistic vibe.

The facelift isn’t the Rising Sun's only new shining feature, the centre has also broadened its programme of events. New events include a spoken word night, digital film makers club and folk cabaret experimental music.

Larry Watson, who has been the centre’s manager for seven years explained: “We’ve given the place a lick of paint, we’re going to install an accessible toilet but that’s not going to be ready until mid March. We’ve worked on the floors in the bar area, which entailed exposing the original tiles."

He went on to explain how during the refurbishment, developers began to show curiosity in the site. Owner ,Felix Brunnel, was determined to keep the building as an arts facility, and so resisted the increased interest in the building.

The Rising Sun Arts Centre.

Ironically, the listed building, which was constructed in 1877, served as a temperance house. With the bar visible from the moment of entry, alcohol abstention would be far harder these days.

Since it opened, over 15 years ago, the Arts Centre has supported various groups and events. Remix-Reading, which is run by Tom Chance, is just one of the projects which uses the centre. It encourages artists to share, and create remixes of each other’s work. The first session will kick off on Saturday 4 March, artists will be able to experiment with computers in an open media lab.

Chan Charnley, a musical collaborator who used the centre in its early days, described the new look interior, as “a lot cleaner.” One of his early memories of the venue was when a stray cat sneaked behind a piano, before being sick on his guitar - moments before his performance was due to begin.

The centre's first gig, following the new lick of paint, will be Club Velocity’s third Birthday on Friday 31 March. The Heartwear Process along with The 45 Rebellion, Fell City Girl and DJ Dreadnought will be testing the Victorian building’s foundations.