Juliette Binoche, Cate Blanchett and Luc Bondy, Toni Morrison, Rokia Traoré and Peter Sellars, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and Sir Simon Rattle, Simon McBurney, Nico Muhly, and a major new Bauhaus exhibition head up the unmissable arts projects presented by the Barbican throughout 2012 - its 30th birthday year.
An engine room of creativity, the Barbican brings together a dazzling array of international and local collaborations throughout the year when the eyes of the world will be on London for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The world-class events, revealed today, puts the Barbican at the heart of the London 2012 Festival – a UK-wide festival which will bring leading artists from all over the world together in the summer of 2012. With a programme spanning theatre, art, architecture, design, film, music, opera and dance, combined with innovative Creative Learning projects, the Centre continues to present the best in and outside its walls.
Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Managing Director of the Barbican said: “In 2012 London welcomes the world for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Barbican will be at the forefront of that international moment with an extraordinary range of great cultural experiences for all. Next year we are offering an unparalleled range of arts with our partners and International Associates, leading to special events mounted as part of the London 2012 Festival. There will be something for everyone in our ambitious programme in the Barbican and beyond. Our core funding from the City of London, enhanced by support from Arts Council England, LOCOG and the Barbican’s community of supporters, will enable us to complement the excitement of the Games.”
Louise Jeffreys, Director of Programming, said: “Our major exhibition on the Bauhaus is a perfect demonstration of our ambitions at the Barbican: the Bauhaus pioneered new models of collaborative working between artists and artforms - challenging the way the arts were viewed in society and generating a radical new creative community. The Barbican reflects the principles of the Bauhaus - a unique urban complex integrating arts, living and learning on one campus. We continue to push forward this pioneering spirit. In 2012 stars of stage and screen will rub shoulders with first-timers, international artists will meet local young people and the traditional will meet the new. The Barbican offers the world in an arts centre, right at the heart of what London will offer the world in 2012.”
The headline projects, running from the beginning of the year to September are as follows: (full chronological listings and credit information are in Notes to Editors).
Bauhaus: Art as Life - the biggest Bauhaus exhibition in the UK for 40 years explores the world’s most famous cross-disciplinary modern art school, featuring the work of those artists and designers at its centre, from Walter Gropius and Paul Klee to Marcel Breuer, Anni Albers and Mies van der Rohe
International stage and screen artists - Juliette Binoche stars in Mademoiselle Julie and Cate Blanchett in Gross und Klein, a Sydney Theatre Company production; Robert Wilson and Philip Glass’ Einstein on the Beach premieres in the UK; an unprecedented Pina Bausch season celebrates the work of the iconic choreographer and the Centre presents a major new work from Complicite directed by Simon McBurney – all five Barbican co-commissions
Major music projects - the Barbican presents the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in residence, featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, including a UK premiere with Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra; and new work Desdemona created by Toni Morrison, Peter Sellars and Rokia Traoré. These projects headline the finale of the Barbican’s London 2012 Festival activity – with many events taking place in East London venues and spaces, and more artists to be announced
International-local collaborations - a new Curve commission from artist Simon Dybbroe Møller with musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra; cult hit theatre performance group You Me Bum Bum Train return with new work; Unleashed presents young East London talent working with Boy Blue Entertainment and guest artist Hofesh Shechter; Guildhall School Opera present Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; a whole range of emerging and inspirational music making is explored in the series New York Sounds which features new commissions from Nico Muhly and Owen Pallett; plus a tour of UK from Africa Express in their most ambitious project to date
Residencies and reinterpretations - in addition to the return of Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in the summer, two first-time International Associate residencies take place during 2012: the New York Philharmonic featuring Lang Lang, Joyce DiDonato and Thomas Adès, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam with Mariss Jansons, Bernard Haitink and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. These residencies create new ways of working; the groundbreaking Kronos Quartet showcase reinterpretations of existing repertoire and new work; and, re-imagining the past, Yukio Ninagawa takes on Shakespeare’s Cymbeline.
To see the 2012 schedule visit: www.barbican.org.uk
