I’ve always found Derby’s Market Place something of a strange phenomenon. It should be the hub of the city’s activity, the absolute core of the Derby’s thriving existence. It certainly has the potential to reach such heights, but seems to have been let down over the years by a few ill-advised choices.
It’s an easy target I know, but 13 years after its inception, isn’t it about time Derby’s ‘Market Place Water Feature’ soaked its last screaming, shouting (and often eventually tearful) child? Not only does the thing generate a particularly unappealing racket, but also has the habit of dispersing the most pungent of sewage smells that does nothing to endear me to it. Last winter’s Central Park-esque ice-rink wasn’t the greatest of successes either and turned the square in to, well, something of a mess to be honest.
However, the recent emergence of Derby’s ‘Big Screen’ has been a huge success and if you’ve taken a stroll through the Market Place over the past few months, you'll have struggled not to notice the radiant colours of the achingly contemporary QUAD building that's slowly but surely taking shape.
It's super-cool gritstone cladding and deliberately fragmented exterior shows off the ultimate in perspexed perfection. The poor 70s-styled Assembly Rooms doesn’t know what’s hit it.The question did cross my mind; should I really be talking (or typing) in such glowing terms about something that isn't even officially open yet? Well, my conclusive view was that if QUAD can deliver on half of its admirably ambitious promises, our media-hungry senses are in for one hell of a good time. I don't know about you - unless you’ve left a comment that is - but I’m pretty damn excited about the prospect of having a cutting-edge independent cinema, café bar and media gallery all under one (solar panelled) roof.
As you might expect, QUAD online is looking just as sharp as its beautifully-styled tactile existence and, well, kind of does all the hard work for me. Need I ask any more of you than to dedicate ten minutes of your time to familiarise yourself with QUAD and get suitably excited about the latest addition to Derby’s creative revolution?If you feel duly inspired and would like to get involved in the run-up to QUAD’s official opening, check out 'The17' and see if you can shoe-horn yourself in to one of the project's random categories. I'm still deciding on whether to apply as a Fortune Teller, Irish Step Dancer or Hot Air Balloonist.
QUAD's official opening date will be announced shortly. Watch this space.
2 comments:
Quad looks Quool!
At last something to take on the oh-so desirable new-media mecca known as The Broadway just a few miles down the A52.
But, is it just me, or do your alarm bells ring too at the sight of the Google ads at the side of this page? Our cutting edge arts centre, a haven for all that represents the avant garde and left-field in Derby, is inviting teams to its annual "Golf Day" at Breadsall Priory...has Shane Meadows even got a Pringle sweater?
Word up ‘Anon’. Thanks for posting. It's good to have you on board.
Well, if it offers you any solace, your alarm bells aren’t ringing in isolation. Oh, and I should point out that it’s not even the Google Ads that are championing QUAD’s second (yes, second...already!) annual Golf Day, but the feed from their very own blog.
I guess it’s QUAD’s way of facing up to the commercial reality of it all - rallying local businesses in an effort to further support and enhance their artistic crusade (although how The Co-operative Bank fits in to the picture, I’m not quite sure).
As for Mr. Meadows, the fact that his latest feature was co-produced by London’s darling agency Mother as a campaign for Eurostar – which subsequently walked away with the ‘best film’ accolade at the Edinburgh and Berlin film festivals – hopefully goes to show that, when delivered with unerring passion and minimal compromise, creativity and commerciality can comfortably go hand-in-hand.
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