Formal Opening Celebration for the Delius Arts & Cultural Centre
The Delius Arts & Cultural Centre was formally opened by the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Cllr John Godward, on Friday 16th October. This was music to the ears of all those who had laboured so hard to make this day happen.
The opening celebrations were introduced by Acting Chair of the Delius Board, the Reverend Chris Howson. Distinguished guests included Martin Williams from the Delius Trust and Delius biographer and President of the Delius Society, Dr Lionel Carley, who said "On behalf of the Delius Society and Trust I offer our warmest congratulations on reaching this auspicious day. Members of the Delius family arrived in Bradford in the 1850s and were to make a distinctive mark on the city's cultural history.The boy Frederick was originally part of this congregation before he went on to become a great composer. He lived in Paris in 1926 where he was a close friend of Edvard Munch and Paul Gaugin. He entertained Munch at his flat in Paris when Munch was struggling and couldn't afford to eat. Delius married Jelka, a German painter of many gifts, and one of their early guests was Rodin. His portrait was painted by artists including Munch, Augustus John and William Nicholson. A man who moved in such circles would have appreciated what is happening here in Bradford today. "
Declaring the venue open, the Lord Mayor spoke of first seeing the German Church's distinctive building as a small boy and later learning of its historical significance. He expressed delight that this 'architectural gem' would be seen and used by so many more people due to this exciting artistic collaboration.
Clare Lamkin, Manager of the Yorkshire Craft Centre and Arts Events Manager for Bradford College, who had been a key player, acknowledged everyone's efforts. "I am really pleased to see the accumulation of months of work coming together for the Delius Centre’s official opening. Lots of people have been involved including the Delius Board members, the German congregation, colleagues at Bradford College ,with funding coming from Legi, Wren and Fabric. The whole project has been a challenge for everyone involved and so many people have given their professional support for free. The team has included very dedicated people but special mention has to go to Claudia Powell, David Mcgonigal, Chris Howson, Brigitte McCartney ,Julia and Damien O Keeffe, Peter Steward , Brian Kendrick and my own team at the Yorkshire Craft Centre.
I should like to thank all those artists who responded to the invitation to submit work for the inaugural exhibition. I am really pleas
ed that Christian McGrath sold his photographs immediately, and even more pleased that a Delius Board member purchased them! A final thank you to students from Performing Arts at Bradford College and Darren Dutson-Bromley for providing such wonderful entertainment.
I shall still be doing some work with the Delius Centre and in the short term I shall help facilitate the needs of the Bradford Square Mile project which will mean that an international artist from China will be based at the centre for a residency."
The affection and goodwill felt by everyone who had been involved was perhaps best revealed by Robert Owen, who had spent sixteen weeks working on the centre's roof in freezing conditions. He suffered a serious accident, falling from a roof on his next professional job, but accepted the invitation to attend the opening while still in hospital.
Bradford College Performing Arts students prepared a special entertainment to mark the opening. Damien O'Keeffe explained, "The piece is the students’ response to the word ‘Peace’ and incorporates two of Frederick Delius’ compositions. The students went on the Bradford Peace Trail as inspiration and have used some images from statues around Bradford in the final performance."
You can see images of Peace and the performance by Darren Dutson- Bromley here:
Opening Performance Highlights
You can see images from the Opening here: