Cap & Dove, a unique mobile arts centre, hits the streets of Greater Manchester this summer, featuring a door handle that’s a nose, cast from the face of a radical author, a rainbow doorway that’s also a gutter to disperse Manchester showers and an onboard theatre.
Taking in all ten districts of the region, the arts centre on wheels is the work of artist, Joshua Sofaer, who was commissioned to create the innovative, moving venue to mark the
200th anniversary of Peterloo.
Made possible by the support of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) as
part of the Great Place programme, Cap & Dove is led by local people and organisations in
each of Greater Manchester’s ten districts with exhibitions, performances and activities
hopping aboard and taking place around Cap & Dove at each location.
The mobile arts centre has been lovingly designed to incorporate physical references to the region’s industrial past and social history and highlights themes of freedom of speech, democracy and protest. The one-of-a-kind structure even incorporates a shop and will provide moments of excitement, learning and reflection to visitors throughout the summer.
Cap and Dove is based on the platform of an election cart, used widely on campaign trails in the early 19 th Century. Everything from the paintwork, based on Regency-period textile
samples and the river system that powered the region’s industrial boom, to bespoke wallpaper celebrating the first NHS patient, refers to Greater Manchester’s rich and radical
history.
The striking, solid brass nose door handle is cast from the Middleton Cemetery memorial to the author, Samuel Bamford who, being an advocate of public defiance, led Rochdale’s people to protest at Peterloo. A decorative, tiled floor, using natural dyes including red cabbage and onion skins, is inspired by techniques of traditional Salford tile- makers of the Victorian era.
Cap & Dove refers to both the ‘cap of liberty’ and the ‘dove of peace’, two symbols of
protest. Sofaer also chose the title with reference to the hat industry of Stockport as well as the ‘cap’ finials that topped the banner poles carried by Peterloo protesters as they gathered on Mon 16 August 1819. The protest ended in the deaths of 18 people as cavalry
charged the peaceful gathering calling for improved voting rights.
Twelve artists and creators have and will be involved in bringing events in and around Cap
& Dove to life, including artists commissioned by local organisers, but also the talented
Manchester-based designer, Tim Denton, who realised the artist’s vision by hand-building
the diminutive arts centre from wood. Interior design features also include custom-printed curtains, produced design by student, Zaynah Arif, chosen from 25 ideas submitted by students from the Textiles & Surface Design degree course at the University of Bolton.
By making creative storytelling mobile, Cap & Dove, commissioned by Greater Manchester Arts with the support of Greater Manchester Combined Authorities (GMCA), is expected
to reach thousands of people in the heart of their own communities. Cap & Dove’s first tour
was postponed in spring 2020, but can now hit the road to inspire, inform and entertain.
The list of current tour dates, with more to be added are as follows:
Wigan – Sat 7th August
Rochdale- Sat 14th August
Trafford – Sat 21st August
Bury – Sat 4th September
Bolton – Sun 5th September
Oldham – Sat 11th September
Stockport – Sun 19th September
Tameside – Sat 25th September
Manchester – Sat 2nd October
Salford – TBC
A further date in Salford is yet to be announced. For up-to-date, local listings and locations
click here.
