#arts

Rev Al Hathaway and I are so excited about this one. 

"Set the gear shift to the high gear of your soul" and learn about Ian Kennedy, a man who was recently in his glory as he watched his favorite band Phish play in the new Merriweather Post Pavillion too a crazed crowd of music lovers.  A lover of all things arts and culture as the Director of the Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commision he gets to play a lot of roles as he leads the team charged with more Arts and Culture for all Marylanders.

Ian walks us through the process of getting the improvements to Merriweather approved and funded, not as easy as you might think given the fact that nearly everyone that goes to Merriweather comes out with a smile on their face.  I know last week at the Phish concerts that was certainly the case.

Let's pile on the glory for a man who has fought hard for the Arts, Culture and Musical enrichment for Marylanders that come from all over for the opportunity to enjoy the amazing amenities that Downtown Columbia has to offer.

Thanks Ian for all you are doing, your work is so important...Let it shine let it shine!

April 2021 – Art Attack

With Banksy making public art the talk of the town, we decided to meet up a stone’s throw away in Forbury Gardens to talk about art in Reading with Dr Naomi Lebens, Curator of the University of Reading Art Collections (collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collections), and Pavlo Keresty from Open Hand Open Space and their new 571 Oxford Road Gallery (ohos.org.uk). We cover Reading’s history as a place of “art” and the forthcoming “Rubens to Sickert: The Study of Drawing” at Reading Museum, the importance of public artworks and getting more people involved in making art in Reading. All while surrounded by the sound of children playing after the latest relaxation of lockdown regulations. 

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

This month, we’re talking about the history and heritage of the Oxford Road with three artists who are helping to bring it to life as part of the new High Street Heritage Action Zones project (reading.gov.uk/hshaz). Look forward to specially-commissioned audio histories, a unique portrait and a collection of recipes.

The Whats On Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media: Podcasts & Social Media Curation

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

This month, we’re joined by local poet and author Claire Dyer (clairedyer.com) and local DJ Tim aka DJ Dubious (facebook.com/dj.dubious) to give us a bit more of a personal approach of how individual artistes are performing during the pandemic, from getting that audience reaction to giving people something to look forward to.  

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

This month, we were 'live' on location at the preview night of the Reading Twilight Trail in Forbury Gardens and the Abbey Ruins. As well as doing our best to describe this fantastic experience, we also caught up with some of the people who made the event a reality, and some of the other VIP guests who were in attendance. 

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

This month we're joined by Liz from Dance Reading (dancereading.com), Danny from Readifolk (readifolk.org.uk) and Steph from Progress Theatre (progresstheatre.co.uk). Together we talk about the challenges and successes of going from stage to screen, from trying out new ways of being creative, to recreating the same sense of community found at live events. This episode was recorded at the start of the second national lockdown.

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

Following the massively successful (and fun) "Reading World Cup of Arts, Culture & Heritage" that was run on Twitter last month, we invited the "final four" onto the podcast this month to talk about their success in the tournament, the support of the community and a pair of VERY tense semi-finals. So join Stephen from the Sainsbury Singers (sainsburysingers.org.uk), Josie from Reading School of Dance (readingschoolofdance.com) and Joe from Reading Abbey Quarter (readingabbeyquarter.org.uk), plus a special appearance from John of South Street (whatsonreading.com/venues/south-street). Replica kits are optional.

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

This month, we caught up with Toby from RABBLE Theatre (https://rabbletheatre.com/), Mel from Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra (https://www.aldworthphilharmonic.org.uk/) and Alex from Mad Monkey Improv (https://whatsonreading.com/venues/mad-monkey-improv) to talk about what they’ve been doing during the pandemic and the way they’ve had to re-plan for the future – including radio plays, professional camera set-ups and online orchestral workshops. 

The What's On Reading podcast is presented by Damien Passmore, editor of WhatsOnReading.com

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

Highclere castle is the birth place of a world renowned classical music festival. The Newbury Spring Festival was founded by the current Lady Carnarvon's late mother-in-law Jeanie in 1979. As well as attracting some of the greatest musicians from around the world the festival gives a chance to the very best young musical stars. In normal years the castle  acts as one of the festival's many local venues. In this week's podcast Lady Carnarvon welcomes festival director Mark Eynon.

You can find out more about the festival here:
 https://www.newburyspringfestival.org.uk/

You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/

New episodes are published on the first day of every month.

As lockdown continues, we speak to three guests who’ve had to get creative and learn new skills in order to continue to BE creative and TEACH new skills! We’re joined by Rachel from StrikeUp Theatre (https://www.strikeuptheatre.co.uk/), Dawn from Berkshire Maestros (https://www.berkshiremaestros.org.uk/) and Catherine from the Centre for Heritage and Family History (https://berksfhs.org/) who talk about the new – and, indeed, older – methods they’ve adopted to reach their communities. The podcast is presented by WhatsOnReading.com editor Damien Passmore and produced by Atlantic Garden Media (email: info@atlanticgardenmedia.com)

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

As lockdown continues, Reading's arts, culture and heritage community have learned to find ways to virtually connect with their audiences and ensure that they keep doing what they do so well.

We are joined – virtually – by:

Jenn from Reading Swing Jam (readingswingjam.wordpress.com/)
Dave from The Free Radicals Improv (www.freeradicalsimprov.co.uk)
Simon from Reading Libraries (www.reading.gov.uk/libraries) 

They tell us about the challenges - and successes - of doing things digitally.

 Don't forget you can find a frequently updated list of online events and activities at whatsonreading.com/online-events-and-creative-activities

We'll be back in June - feel free to get in touch and tell us about how your group is coping in these challenging times. 

The What's on Reading podcast is presented by Damien Passmore and produced by Atlantic Garden Media (info@atlanticgardenmedia)

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

Join us for a very different edition of the What’s On Reading podcast as we talk about how Reading’s arts and cultural organisations are coping with the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak.

We’re joined by three guests who have been impacted in different ways – Dave Maul talks about having to move the Are You Listening? Festival (https://areyoulistening.org.uk/) from its prime April slot; South Street (https://whatsonreading.com/venues/south-street) artistic director John Luther talks about how to re-schedule an entire season - and the other ways he’s helping the community right now; and Rhodders from the Stand & Deliver Comedy Club talks about how he’s taken his shows online via their YouTube channel (https://tinyurl.com/S-Dvid) to keep us all laughing through lockdown.

 And don’t forget #TheShowMustGoOnline – you can see all the virtual events and workshops happening across Reading at https://whatsonreading.com/online-events-and-creative-activities

 The What's on Reading podcast is presented by Damien Passmore and produced by Atlantic Garden Media info@atlanticgardenmedia 

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

This month we took the podcast on the road!

We were put up by the fine folks at the Purple Turtle (purpleturtlebar.com), where we were also joined by Reading Film Theatre (readingfilmtheatre.co.uk) and Basildon Park (nationaltrust.org.uk/basildon-park). 

Why? Because the three wonderful Reading institutions are all celebrating big birthdays this year – 30, 50 and 125 years respectively! 

So join us for our big birthday bash and learn a little about this history of these great places – and the birthday celebrations they have in store this year!

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

It’s January, the time so many of us think about trying something new.

So we invited three guests from arts organisations in Reading that welcome newcomers to get involved in singing, art, dance and much more – Nikita from the Rising Sun Arts Centre (www.risingsunartscentre.org, Carole from Reading Guild of Artists (www.rga-artists.org.uk), and Juliette from School of the Arts (www.sota.uk.com) and the Reading Community Choir.

With a wealth of classes, activities and volunteering opportunities, hopefully we can inspire you to try something new.

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com

The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media - if you'd be interested in a podcast for your business or charity please contact us at info@atlanticgardenmedia.com