The University of Cumbria is marking a special milestone this year with a number of events.
Arts@60 celebrates six decades of arts education from the university’s Brampton Road campus in Carlisle and the significant contribution the arts makes to Cumbria’s creative and cultural industries.
Arts@60 is a social history project led by Karen Jones, who has worked at the campus for 27 years and is development manager for the university’s Institute of Education, Arts and Society.
Deeply involved in cultural and arts networks across the North, Karen has been researching the history of the site and arts education in Carlisle working with partners and connections to develop her knowledge and source materials.
She said: “The social history of what has always been known fondly as the art college has been a personal interest for several years.
“The progression of the course programmes, the development of the buildings and, most importantly, the stories of the many students and staff that have passed through its doors have all made an impact on the city and the future of arts education as it continues today.”
The programme includes:
- Four seasonal lectures exploring different phases, places and aspects of arts education in the city.
- Pre-bookable campus tours for former students, hosted by the University of Cumbria Alumni Association immediately before each lecture.
- A website celebrating the campus, curriculum and project developments, including a gallery of past prospectuses, is being created by graphic design alumnus and current MA student Vincent Walden.
- A limited-edition print run of a specially commissioned campus scene by 2013 Illustration alumnus Yvette Earl.
Speaker programme
Carlisle’s First Learning Centre & Stanwix
- Stephen White, free, Wednesday October 18, Lecture Theatre 2, 5.30pm-7pm
With no university in Carlisle, Tullie House filled that gap, providing a range of educational facilities as well as containing a library and museum. When the university came, Tullie House buildings became the campus until the 1950s when the Carlisle School of Art relocated to the Homeacres building on Brampton Road.
Stephen White was archive historian at Carlisle Library until his retirement. Stephen continues to do talks on Carlisle’s history for a range of community groups.
Launch event for A Literary Walking Tour of Carlisle (A Countrystride Guidebook)
- Tickets £8, to include light refreshments
- Friday October 27, Vallum Gallery, 6.30pm-8.30pm
A Literary Walking Tour of Carlisle is the third literary walking guidebook to be written by the University of Cumbria’s associate professor of English literature, Dr Penny Bradshaw.
Penny is theme lead for cultural landscapes within the university’s centre for national parks and protected areas and her main area of research expertise relates to literary representations of place.
The Carlisle Literary Walking Tour details the city’s long history of literary associations through a half-day walk, accompanied by words from the many celebrated poets and novelists who visited the town, including the Wordsworths, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, Hugh Walpole, and Melvyn Bragg.
The evening will include a brief introduction to Carlisle’s literary history from the author and some readings from the book, followed by a book signing.
You mean the Art College Don’t You?
- Karen Jones, free, Wednesday November 1, lecture theatre 2, 5.30pm-7pm
In October 1963 the main building on the Brampton Road campus opened. This talk will look back on six decades of life on campus, the developments, the buildings and, most of all, the people. There will be an opportunity for people to share their own memories and contribute to a website that will celebrate arts education and the wealth of creative talent that emerged from the ‘art college’.
Karen Jones is the development manager in the Institute of Education, Arts & Society. Based at the Brampton Road campus, she has a keen interest in the social history of the campus.
Over the bridge – Stanwix & Rickerby Park
- Stephen White, free
- Wednesday 15 November 2023, lecture Theatre 2, 5.30pm-7pm
Romans, Reivers to public park: a walk through 2,000 years of history.
Stephen White was the Local History specialist at Carlisle Library until his retirement. Stephen continues to do talks on Carlisle’s history for a range of community groups.
Further details, including bookings for the Arts@60 speaker programme events and associated alumni campus tours, are available at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/stanwixtheatre
