Music legends Morrissey and Johnny Marr have given their approval to a project that will see ‘real’ Smiths reflect on life in Salford to the sound of the band’s iconic music.
30 Days of The Smiths, by the sound artist Oberman Knocks, will form part of The Lowry’s new Week 53 festival (28 April – 8 May 2016), which seeks to highlight peoples’ place in the world: be that geographical, digital or as part of the international community.
Knocks’ audio soundscape – to Panic, This Charming Man and What Difference Does It Make – will feature interviews with Salfordians with the surname Smith by the poet and chancellor of the University of Salford, Jackie Kay.
The work will premiere on Thursday 28 April in the Week 53 festival hub, a pop-up bar and performance space that will be known as The Dock.
Built in The Lowry scene dock – the backstage area between the arts venue’s Lyric and Quays theatres – The Dock will itself be a highlight of the Festival and feature an installation by (David Shearing line here.)
Week 53 represents a major commissioning project for The Lowry – bringing together contemporary dance, visual arts, music and theatre in interactive installations, exhibitions and performances.
It will feature more than 200 international artists and 63 performances and exhibitions across the eleven days. These include,Syzygy, a major solo exhibition by the British artist Katie Paterson, including two new works alongside a selection of her career highlights.
Last Resort, a new play by 2MagpiesTheatre about torture practices using music in Guantanamo Bay, a participatory project called 100% Salford by Rimini Protokoll which will bring real faces to the statistical make-up of Salford and a digital light installation by the German innovator, Robert Henke, called Parallel that will hover directly above The Lowry’s Lyric theatre auditorium for a period of three months.
Julia Fawcett OBE, chief executive The Lowry, said: “Week 53 is an exciting new addition to our year-round programme of world class performance and visual arts. It marks a new chapter for the organisation, as we open-up areas of the building normally off-limits to the public as platforms for performances, discussions and general audience interaction; highlighting the fact that art can take shape and be presented virtually anywhere.
“30 Days of the Smiths is a flagship element of Week 53 and exactly the sort of thing The Lowry does best – bringing together the arts and the community the surround us. Oberman Knocks and Jackie Kay are leading figures in their respective fields and we are incredibly proud to be collaborating with them on this project – which of course wouldn’t have been possible without Morrissey and Johnny Marr’s approval, for which we are very grateful.”
