Covid-19 Archives - Blackpool Social Club

03 May

Blackpool’s Galleon Bar Threatened With Closure

David Simper0 CommentsLocal News, Music & Gigscoronavirus, Covid-19, Cultural Recovery fund, live music, Music, Music Venues, Venues

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] A town centre bar that has established itself as a community asset in supporting local musicians and charities is at risk following the Arts Council England's (ACE) refusal of its application to the Cultural Recovery Fund. Reliant on live music performance and its late licence, the venue has struggled under recurrent lockdowns since March 2020 and the 10pm curfew that was imposed. Now it is reaching the end of its resources.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Musician and owner Stephen Pierre has officially complained to the Arts Council after he was told the Galleon didn’t meet the cultural significance criteria of the funding bid. Cultural…

19 Feb

Do the Seitan Hustle

Jill Reidy0 CommentsFood and Drink, Local NewsCovid-19, fleetwood, food, takeaway, vegan

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] ".....most of us grew up eating meat, and just because we decided to change our way of eating for the welfare of animals, the environment, our health or whatever, it doesn’t mean we don’t miss the taste. It’s a tough sacrifice. " Tony Sun [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When I volunteered to look into this venture for Blackpool Social Club, I must admit I wasn’t quite sure what the takeaway was all about. The first thing I did was look at the Seitan Hustle website. The food looked delicious but I still didn’t know exactly what Seitan was. So I googled, and it…

21 Jan

Grundy Art Gallery unveils its 110th anniversary events calendar

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsVisual Arts & ExhibitionsArt, Blackpool, Covid-19, drawing, Exhibition, online, painting, photography, The Grundy Art Gallery

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Back in 1911, local brothers and artists John and Cuthbert Grundy put their hands in their wallets and made a substantial financial gift and a donation of over 30 paintings to establish the Grundy Art Gallery for the people of Blackpool. 2021 marks the 110th Anniversary of the gallery opening its doors and this milestone will be celebrated through a programme of special exhibitions and events. During construction, Blackpool’s coat of arms, which is emblazoned with the word ‘Progress’, was embedded into the brickwork above Grundy Art Gallery’s front door. Guided by this motto, the gallery continues to honour…

19 Jan

Call from the sea: Blackpool to gain new sculpture in Spring 2021

Stephanie Cottle0 CommentsLocal News, Visual Arts & ExhibitionsArt, artist, Blackpool, Covid-19, Place

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] As we reach the third week of 2021, aside from the governments promises to quickly deliver vaccinations across the UK, the good news stories remain as elusive as they were throughout 2020. In these testing times it’s difficult to visualise the positive changes that are occurring within the murky waters of this pandemic. This is especially apparent as we plunge ever deeper into winter. Despite the seasons astounding beauty, cold weather has gripped tightly, restricting our movement further still. Now, the dense morning sea fogs often hide the coast from us completely. They veil what glistened, free from litter…

24 Oct

Brief Encounters: An Interview with Daniel Astbury

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsVisual Arts & ExhibitionsArt, artist, Blackpool, collab, Collaboration, community, coronavirus, Covid-19, design, graphic design, poster

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] After moving back from Myanmar at the start of the COVID crisis, Daniel Astbury found life in the UK strange. D: I came home, and this project came out of arriving back. I have a good friend of mine, Buzz Bury, and it’s very rare that we are in Blackpool at the same time. He told me that Left Coast have a project. I’d only been back a week or two, and it was already strange, as the UK was only just going into lockdown. I remember going through London and being at Euston station, and there being 7…

10 Oct

Winter Gardens receives lifeline grant from government’s Cultural Recovery Fund

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsHeritage, Local Newscoronavirus, covid, Covid-19, Cultural Recovery fund, funding, heritage, Winter Gardens

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Almost 450 heritage organisations in England, including Winter Gardens Blackpool have been awarded cash from the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage. Grants of up to £1 million will deliver a lifeline for the heritage sector in England with further support to follow and larger grants for capital projects awarded through the Heritage Stimulus Fund This is the first major round of funding from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund. The Winter Gardens Blackpool is one of 445 heritage organisations across the country set to receive a lifesaving financial boost from the government thanks to…

10 Sep

PIVOT: Development for mid-career North West artists

Catherine Mugonyi0 CommentsOpportunitiesArt, artist, bursary, callout, Covid-19, development, funding, Visual, visual arts

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Bluecoat and Castlefield Gallery are delighted to announce PIVOT: an 18 month development programme for mid-career artists living and working in North West England. PIVOT is a new artist development scheme delivered in partnership by Bluecoat, Liverpool and Castlefield Gallery, Manchester. Both organisations share the vision that the North West of England is a place where artists are able to live and work whilst experiencing national and international success. Five mid-career contemporary visual artists will be awarded a £5000 bursary and given access to a programme that supports their practice over an 18 month period. PIVOT recognises that existing…

01 Sep

Ready to Party? – it’s the Virtual Illuminations switch-on

David Simper0 CommentsMusic & GigsBlackpool, Covid-19, heroes, illuminations, lights, show, stars, switch-on, virtual

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Blackpool illuminations switch-on - it’s the resort’s biggest party of the year – and for once, everyone is invited! The traditional Illuminations Switch-On concert usually takes place in a packed seafront arena with an audience of almost 20,000 people fortunate enough to secure a ticket. However, COVID restrictions mean no live 2020 event, the first break in more than 70 years. Instead VisitBlackpool is getting ready to stage its first ever virtual Switch-On. The hour-long streamed Blackpool illuminations switch-on concert, in association with MTV, starts at 8.30pm on the night of Friday 4 September. It is freely accessible and…

30 Jun

The World has a Reboot – My Life in Lockdown with Jill Reidy

Jill Reidy1 CommentColumns & Opinioncoronavirus, Covid-19, lockdown

It was at the end of a relaxing week in Spain when the word Coronavirus began to creep into conversations. We’d been listening to the news and following this unknown virus’s march through China, Italy and Spain. Like many people, I hadn’t taken it very seriously. It was something that was going on in the world that didn’t affect me, would soon be over, and I didn’t really need to think about it. The day before we flew home it was announced that the virus had hit the region we were staying in. It still seemed like something that had…