Art is ‘live and well’ in Nottingham

Director of Nottingham’s NOW Festival, Mark Dey, talks about the changes that have taken place since he took up his post in 2001.
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For decades, Nottingham has had a thriving experimental arts scene. It was here that the National Review of Live Art was born in the early eighties, emerging from the Midland Group of Artists, who were founded in the 1930s. When the Midland Group was declared bankrupt in 1987, the founder of the National Review of Live Art, Nikki Millican, revived the event at London’s Riverside Studios and then in Glasgow, where it still hails today as one of the most important events on the live art calendar in the UK.

But the art scene in Nottingham continues to flourish in its wake. The NOW Festival, inaugurated in 1989, has progressed from presenting live art, to a interdisciplinary event showcasing performance and dance as well as live art.

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Michelle Draper
About the Author
Michelle lived and worked in Rome and London as a freelance feature writer for two and a half years before returning to Australia to take up the position of Head Writer for Arts Hub UK. She was inspired by thousands of years of history and art in Rome, and by London's pubs. Michelle holds a BA in Journalism from RMIT University, and also writes for Arts Hub Australia.