Issue 87 / April 2018

York Helmet, courtesy of York Museums (Photograph by Anthony Chappel-Ross)
ARTS CENTRAL
In the latest in her series that focuses on the role our region’s arts centres play
in our communities, Julia Johnson looks at how THE ATKINSON is maintaining a
longheld tradition of arts participation in Southport.
History is having something of a moment on
Merseyside. The Terracotta Warriors at the World
Museum might be in the spotlight, but there’s a very
different civilisation taking over a short distance up the
coast. For the next few months, THE ATKINSON in Southport will
be hosting Vikings: Rediscover The Legend, a major exhibition
created with the British Museum and Yorkshire Museum that
challenges our preconceptions of how the Nordic invaders
lived and affected the country we live in more than a thousand
years ago. With Merseyside’s significant roots in Norse heritage
(which lives on in place names from Aintree to West Kirby) it’s a
perfect fit. It’s also no surprise that some of the artefacts going
on display will have North West connections – pieces from the
Cuerdale Hoard, found next to the River Ribble in Preston, appear
alongside more famous finds from the Vale Of York.
Their reputation may have been increasingly rehabilitated in
recent years from raping, pillaging aggressors to settling farmers,
but the imagery and legends of the Vikings still captures the
imagination. Throughout the exhibition The Atkinson will be
working to help people uncover more about the Viking heritage
all around Southport. “We know there were settlements nearby
like Formby and Crosby,” says The Atkinson Museum’s Principal
Director Stephen Whittle, “but there were also villages that
have since been washed away by the sea like Ravenmeols and
Argarmeols. This will be the first chance for people to see Viking
artefacts discovered right here and to gain an understanding of
the full extent of Viking culture in the region.” As we live through
a time where British politics works towards increased separation
from our neighbours, Merseyside is playing host to an exhibition
which will be encouraging its audience to consider their place in a
local, national and global heritage.
Visitors to the exhibition will undoubtedly also enjoy
discovering the rest of what The Atkinson has to offer. Its sheer
diversity is something to admire: surely few arts centres in the
country can boast of being home to a gallery, permanent museum
collection, theatre, café, library and bakery, not to mention space
for local artists to exhibit their work. Naturally the programme is
as diverse as the space, catering to all ages and interests. Works
by Andy Warhol and Ancient Egyptian artefacts have sat side by
side, while the theatre has played host to the likes of Dr Feelgood
and Ed Byrne.
From the outside, surveying its grand stone façade and
tower, you’d think of The Atkinson as being a cornerstone of
Southport’s history as a Victorian seaside resort, and you’d be
right. For the success of the major resorts required not only the
pleasures of the pier, but an appeal to aesthetic sensibilities
which could culture the mind – and, of course, provide an
attraction for when the rain set in. So, the original Atkinson Art
“Creating a new arts
centre doesn’t seem to
be high on the agenda,
but the success of The
Atkinson suggests
that it should be”
Gallery and Library opened in 1878, thanks to a bequest from
successful merchant and Southport resident William Atkinson.
But when the adjoining Cambridge Hall was restored from
dramatic decline in the 1970s – a building which, as an arts
school for 300 students, has its own history of developing the
arts – the buildings were combined to make one single Southport
Arts Centre. After another three years of refurbishment the
current incarnation of The Atkinson opened its doors in 2013.
The story of The Atkinson, then, surely contains a moral for
any town or city. The great vacant buildings of Liverpool either
tend to be turned into student flats and luxury hotels, or are left
to degrade in the limbo of planning. Creating a new arts centre
doesn’t seem to be high on the agenda, but the success of The
Atkinson suggests that it should be. Becoming an established
major venue within five years of reopening says something not
only of the ambition of the team behind The Atkinson, but also
of the public appetite for cultural activities to be within reach.
As traditional retail-unit economy slows down, The Atkinson
provides people with a reason to visit Southport even in the
depths of winter, and plenty to entertain audiences. It’s a venue
whose emphasis is on making audiences feel in touch with
the building, particularly the youngest visitors. Throughout the
venue there are spaces to interest and entertain children of all
ages, allowing them to feel from an early age that this is a place
‘for them’ without sacrificing the rigour of the exhibitions. In the
corridors, an ‘object of the month’ from the museum collection
brings you closer to the stories that even the simplest objects
have to tell about a place and time in history.
The Atkinson’s creative patron, Henry Normal, agrees that it’s
truly a space for everyone. “I can’t believe anyone couldn’t find
something of interest at The Atkinson on any given month. If they
had beds I’d want to sleep there as well.” Normal has enjoyed
success as a scriptwriter and producer – as Executive Producer of
Baby Cow Productions he’s had a hand in everything from Alan
Partridge to The Mighty Boosh. But it’s Normal’s career as a poet
that brought him to The Atkinson for a performance. Poetry isn’t
always the most popular or understood art form, but Normal is
very comfortable with its place in the modern arts scene. “There
are as many types of poetry as there are poets. If we think of
music we would see James Blunt very different from, say, Mozart
or Motörhead. My poetry is very much about my everyday life
in this modern day which is much like most other people’s lives.
It’s about communicating my view of that world, hopefully with
a little insight and a few laughs. Perhaps a little bit nearer James
Blunt than Motörhead these days.”
When asked to become a patron of The Atkinson it seemed
a natural fit for both parties. They not only share a love for
and belief in the arts, but a desire, as Audience Development
Manager Vicki Rutland puts it, “to do more and provide a safe
space for all the community.”
“I think it was the poetry about my autistic son, Johnny, that
struck a chord,” Normal says about being invited on board. “They
[The Atkinson] were just about to open a new café called A Great
Little Place, now run by Autism Initiatives.” More than just a café,
it’s a place where organisations meet to put autistic people and
their families in touch with information and training. His personal
experiences with the condition have made Normal understand
the importance of this spread of information. “A lot of what is
available to find out about autism is quite dry and academic
and I think it’s important to remember the human aspect here
and the many families involved.” His new book A Normal Family
is intended “to let other parents know about all the things I
asked when I was first told about Johnny’s condition,” and The
Atkinson’s A Great Little Place is part of the same mission of
positive outreach.
As well as serving as an ambassador of the centre’s
community-focused programme, Normal is looking forward
to Vikings: Rediscover The Legend as much as any of us.
“The Vikings are very much part of our heritage, but generally
have been miscast. I’m hoping this new exhibition will help us
understand the true nature of Vikings in Britain. They loved a bit
of poetry so they couldn’t have been all bad.” !
Words: Julia Johnson / messylines.com
theatkinson.co.uk
Vikings: Rediscover The Legend runs between 31st March and
7th July.
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