Rising Sun Exhibition – City of Women (1992)

God only knows why I was placed on this earth to be a feminist.

But I am…. So here goes……

Back in 1992 at the Rising Sun Arts Centre I created a drawing of a city inside a women…..plus an installation project……..well all hell let loose…. and the subsequent 3 press cuttings that accompany this blog were written. Looking back now some 25 years later I realise just how misunderstood my passion for feminism was – so wishing to put some wrongs to right I will attempt to express the aim of such a project together with why these ideas are still important today.

As artists…. we try to express ourselves with ink, clay, words and so much more. All I was trying to express with city of women is that there is a world within a woman… a world where women believe they have the right to draw their own red lines and claim their own safe spaces.

Bella Opacic (2016)

My memories: the first five years

There was a freshness to the Rising Sun Arts Centre back in 1991. It was a place where I was given the opportunity to express my creative ideas amongst a community of artists, writers, poets and musicians. I was able to share my love of art, feminism, the avant-garde and independent cinema. Together we created a gallery and community studio. A place where artist where able to support one another and work collaboratively. The centre was full of new and innovative ideas and wonderful social evenings (veggie dining). A place where people could share stories and laughter and develop a sense of community which still sits at the heart of the original mission statement. Congratulations to 25 years of the Rising Sun, here’s hoping for another 25 years!

Bella Opacic

Revival of the Rising Sun

Thought we’d share a clipping from 1991 with you today…

 

‘Tell someone you live in Reading, and they will feel sorry for you. It is a town synonymous with dullness and apathy. Yet we love Reading. There’s so much going on, so much creative energy, so many cleaver local poets and musicians. All that was needed was a focus’ – Simon Chatterton

Have you got any photos or clippings from the 90s tucked away? Share them with us – risingsunartscentre@outlook.com

We will be updated our gallery page with everything we can collect together to show the centre’s history – check it out and follow us to receive updates!

 

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to our new blog! We’ve created this blog to help us delve into the centre’s history and piece together the very collaborative and community story of a building.

This year we celebrate our 25th year as one of Reading’s leading arts venues. Squatted by artists and community activists in 1991, the run down and disused building was transformed into a community arts space, aiming to be accessible to all and bring great arts to the town.

We want to recognise all those that have contributed to the centre’s ongoing success and celebrate the vision and work of the original group as well as connect the centre and building to the wider history of Reading. Whether you were there in the beginning, joined somewhere in the middle, organised events, attended events or indeed performed then we would love to hear from you, see your old photos, flyers, posters, notes etc and invite you to celebrate with us at events throughout 2016.

Take a look at the rest of our blog and if you have something you would like to add then please email risingsunartscentre@outlook.com