By A special celebration year
For Jersey Arts Centre, every year is busy and vibrant, but the 2023 season is extra-special as it marks the Centre’s 40th anniversary. We caught up with Executive and Artistic Director Daniel Austin to find out why it’s such a great place to visit…
Oddsocks Productions will perform ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ this August at Coronation Park
Q: What’s makes Jersey a “must visit” arts and culture destination for visitors?
A: Jersey is a very friendly island, and the natural landscape and the coastline are quite enchanting. There are quite a number of people making work here and there is always a wonderful creative vibe at Jersey Arts Centre, and across the island, with much to experience and see.
The Jersey Arts Centre itself comprises the Benjamin Meaker theatre, the Berni Gallery, a number of craft rooms, and a restaurant and bar.
Q: Why is this such a special year for Jersey Arts Centre?
A: Jersey Arts Centre celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Our building on Phillips Street, St. Helier, was officially opened on 20 January 1983, but the seats in the Benjamin Meaker Theatre were not installed until 1987 and so everyone just sat on the concrete steps.
We celebrated with the ‘Festival 40 Weekend’ over our anniversary weekend in January, with 10 performance events, including Tim Crouch’s Truth’s A Dog Must to Kennel, which won a ‘Fringe First’ in Edinburgh last year. Tim returned to Jersey Arts Centre in May, with performances of I, Malvolio, and we are delighted that he is now our Honorary Patron for the next five years.
Q: What can visitors expect from your Spring-Summer programme?
A: There is always a diverse programme of performances, exhibitions, courses and workshops at Jersey Arts Centre. We coordinate a local and professional programme at Phillips Street with a wide and varied education and outreach offering across the island’s schools and care settings. Oddsocks Productions are with us twice a year in January and August and their Shakespeare performances at Coronation Park in the first two weeks of August are very popular.
In terms of residencies, we aim to programme one in each of our three seasons. In June, for instance, we have a company from Australia with us, developing a new piece of work, One Step at a Time Like This.
Jersey Arts Centre has hosted 40 residences since 2010 in various island spaces: St. James Church, the Assembly Room at St. Helier’s Town Hall, The Old Magistrate’s Court and the Benjamin Meaker Theatre. All our residences culminate in public performances for all to experience.
Q: And what are you most excited about for later in the year?
A: Our Autumn season is always jam-packed with professional and local companies and, together with Jersey Festival of Words in September and the Eisteddfod in November, it is a very busy time for us. December is always very exciting for us, and our Christmas production is such an adventure – both for us and our audiences. We had such an incredible time in Wonderland in 2022 and we look forward to announcing the 2023 production this June.
You can find out more, see our latest brochure and book tickets for all our events here.
Daniel Austin, Executive and Artistic Director, Jersey Arts Centre
Early years: “I was born in the UK at the Canadian Red Cross Hospital in Taplow and spent my youth in Langley, Berkshire. Being raised in the late ’60s and at school in the ’70s and ’80s was simple, exciting and a great deal of fun: anything and everything seemed possible. And our council estate was so full of community and care and adventure.”
Career: “I moved to Jersey in July 2001, when I was appointed Director at Jersey Arts Centre: I am the joint Executive and Artistic Director. Before the move, I was based in Reading, where I was directing, acting and teaching. I also studied in London, Cardiff and Reading. In the 1980s, I lived on a kibbutz in Israel, travelled across America on the Greyhound Bus, across India, Australia and parts of the African continent. You experience and learn such a lot when you travel.
Why I love Jersey: “For me, of course, it’s the work at Jersey Arts Centre. And that’s because the arts community in the island is very creative, imaginative and friendly. The natural environment, the heritage sites and the sea define so much of the beauty of the island too, and these aspects have all been inspirational to our work here. We have animated more than 15 sites during my time here.”
Why I love my job: “The variety and diversity of all the responsibilities at Jersey Arts Centre makes for a busy week. Meeting new artists, developing the residencies, the commissions, deciding what to programme and what to direct are massive highlights. In the process, we discover new ways of working, ideas and philosophies.”
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