Phoenix Square Opening Event
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009
Venue: Phoenix
The Leicester City Council report on the opening of Phoenix Square:
Phoenix Square Opening Hailed as a Success
November 20, 2009
LEICESTER'S new film and digital media centre has been launched in a spectacular public event which saw almost 2,000 visitors through its doors.
Phoenix Square – the city's new £21.5m complex – opened on Thursday, November 19, with a day-long public opening event.
Visitors who had queued for a first glimpse inside the new centre were in for a treated to displays of sound, light, art, film and computer generation, proving that Leicester is leading the way for creative technology industries.
Phoenix Square is the result of a partnership project between Blueprint, Phoenix and Leicester City Council in collaboration with De Montfort University, and is an example of 21st century sustainable building design, coupled with leading-edge architectural quality.
Speaking at the launch, Leicester City Council leader, Cllr Ross Willmott, said: "Phoenix Square is the all-important third piece of the jigsaw. We now have a state-of-the-art film and digital media centre in the Cultural Quarter to complement Curve, our award-winning theatre, and the LCB Depot, which is home to dozens of creative businesses.
"Thanks to our partnership with Blueprint, and our collaboration with De Montfort University, Leicester now has a facility that can only enhance the city's reputation as a hub for cultural excellence and innovation."
Visitors got the chance to explore a virtual version of Roman Leicester, in an interactive project by De Montfort University, or experience a presentation by artists None of the Above which created 3-D images based on sounds gathered from around Leicester.
The event also showcased Professor Martin Rieser's giant outdoor Songlines projection, Dr Bret Battey's showcase of the DMU Cube, and Steve Gibson and Stefan Muller Arisona's Exploding Plastic and Inevitable Redux – a dramatic psychadelic digital moving art show – plus a live performance from Sancho Plan, which mixed music and moving visual art.
Developers Blueprint also commissioned a 3D art installation called 'Life in the Cultural Quarter' by former DMU student, Sally Rose Renner. Youngsters from Eyres Monsell and St Marks also starred in a spectacular outdoor light show by public art group Urban Canvas .
Blueprint development director Peter Connolly said: "The atmosphere for the launch was incredible. Phoenix Square is designed to be a vibrant, creative place, in the heart of Leicester's St George's district, and it looks like we've achieved that.
"The opening was the culmination of a lot of hard work and commitment by a large group of people across both the public and private sectors and I think the events of this week are testament to that."
Phoenix Square houses two dedicated 3D cinemas and visitors to the launch were able to view a series of showreels and trailers, giving them a taste of the films they will be able to experience from the published list of screenings for the next few months.
Professor Andrew Hugill, Director of the Institute of Creative Technologies, said: "The launch event has demonstrated the fantastic capabilities of Phoenix Square to present the leading-edge research of De Montfort University's Institute Of Creative Technologies to a wider public.
"With facilities such as the DMU Cube, the screen lounge, the micro-cinema, the large screens and production studios, and the managed workspaces, we are going to be able to connect our work to the digital culture in new and previously unimaginable ways."
Ted Cassidy MBE, Chair of Phoenix Square Film and Digital Media, added: "You could feel the excitement of everybody who visited this stunning building over the last few days and seeing the amazing facilities and activities we offer, which are new to Leicester, new to the region and in many ways new to the UK.
"We have a great staff team, an electrifying programme assisted by our creative relationship with De Montfort University and an ingenious building that any city would be proud of."
More information: http://www.phoenix.org.uk
