Like thousands of others, at Mag North we're repeatedly captivated, amazed, inspired and (more than a little bit) moved - by our Scarborough-based chums at ARCADE - the charitable Creative Production organisation doing the most incredible stuff with communities across our patch - but the return of 'Grue' last winter at the refurbished Scarborough Library was without doubt one of our 'moments' of 2023.
Last year this utterly magical world, created by ARCADE, the people of Scarborough and local artist (and visionary) Steve Wintercroft, was accessed through a very special top-floor portal in the Vernon Road community space - and visitors immediately found themselves immersed in a larger-than-life world, with storytellers and artists, the most beautiful lighting effects and a soundscape that whisked you far away from a North Yorkshire December.
Eventually touching-down again after my extraordinary pre-Christmas experience - I found myself telling anyone who'd listen, that the astonishing recycled cardboard world of Grue needed to be seen by everyone across the North (and beyond) - and next February it's going to happen: Grue heads to Bradford as part of the city's UK City of Culture programme.
The project which has wowed for the last 3 years in Scarborough - and involved over 5000 residents through workshops and visits to the installation - is now quite-rightly about to get much greater exposure on a national/international stage.
This fantastical world is made real by a team of 11 visionary artists led by Steve Wintercroft, the Scarborough artist and founder of Wintercroft, an environmentally conscious design company specialising in helping people explore creativity through making.
Wintercroft’s iconic designs and visions are the 'go-to' for creatives involved in everyting from progressive conservation campaigns, films, theatre productions and TV - to music videos. Having created work with the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Bjork and Tracey Emin in the past, Steve and his team are at home with large-scale projects, but taking Grue's repurposed and recycled cardboard world to West Yorkshire is a big deal: "Bradford 2025 will be showcasing some of the best artists in the world and we are delighted to be a representative for the Yorkshire Coast. This is a fantastic opportunity for a project that has been locally grown and loved to be seen and appreciated on a larger, City of Culture platform."
Bradford will be only the fourth UK City of Culture and without doubt this celebration of the West Yorkshire community, its cultures and its people - is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime moment, with organisers describing 2025 as: 'a springboard to tomorrow, acting as a catalyst for regeneration and change. It’s 365 days to make history, celebrate our present – and dream up our future.'
While Grue will not be taking place in Scarborough in 2024, the team behind it remain committed to the local area and are hoping to run the project again in late 2025.
Rach Drew, Co-Artistic Director and CEO of ARCADE, said, "As a very tiny team, funding and capacity meant it simply wasn’t possible for us to run Grue twice in quick succession. We are already working really hard on fundraising to make sure Grue can come home for Christmas 2025"
Organisers are hoping local audiences will take the trip to Bradford to see Grue and experience some of the other work that has been commissioned as part of the City of Culture programme.
Grue will be open in Bingley from the 8 February - 23 February 2025. For more details and how to book tickets, please CLICK HERE
Header Image: Grue - Steve Wintercroft
