Wigan Casino’s 50th anniversary year celebrations have begun with an exciting programme of exhibitions, performances and events.
An outdoor exhibition on Standishgate will feature images from Francesco Mellina, a Liverpool-based photographer commissioned by NME to document the last all-nighter at Wigan Casino in September 1981; eight years after the club first opened its doors.
A new exhibition ’50 Years on The Soul Stays Strong’, explores the impact Wigan Casino had on those who knew it and the continued legacy on a new generation of young people.
Featuring work by acclaimed artists including Dean Chalkley, alongside newly commissioned work by students from Wigan & Leigh College, the exhibition brings together different perspectives unified by a love of music.
A 50th anniversary commemorative badge has been developed by We Are Willow and will go on sale at the Museum of Wigan Life on the 21 September.
Residents will also have the opportunity to get involved as artist William Titley will be collecting favourite Northern Soul 7” records and the memories they hold for people, building these into a piece of work entitled ‘time machine’, with a special immersive experience featuring the 50 songs collected on 23 September to mark the anniversary of the iconic club opening.
A new play by writer Jim Cartwight, directed by Nick Bagnall will re-create the atmosphere of Wigan Casino, for a special one night performance on the 21 October to bring the programme to a close.
The 50th anniversary coincides with the borough’s ‘New heritage’ theme in its cultural manifesto, the Fire Within.
The Museum of Wigan Life will also display one of the world’s rarest and most talked about Northern Soul records, Frank Wilson’s Do I Love You, during the anniversary programme.
