The New Digital Artwork Celebrating UK's First Park
A new ‘immersive’ digital artwork is coming to Salford’s Peel Park — giving visitors a unique view back to the past. The artwork, called The Storm Cone, has been created by Laura Daly with music from Lucy Pankhurst. It reveals the park’s historic bandstand, and the importance the structure had.
The history of the bandstand in Peel Park is especially important, as it was the first public park to open in the UK funded entirely ‘by people’s subscription’. That was back in 1846, with the Royal Museum and Library, the country’s first free public lending library, opening at its entrance four years later. That building is now the Salford Museum and Art Gallery, and provides a gorgeous backdrop for The Storm Cone. By using an app, visitors can witness an outline of the bandstand where it once stood — and also hear music how it would have sounded at the time. “The app leads you to a ghost bandstand, where ghost musicians have set up their music stands,” Nicholas Blincoe, award-winning novelist, film-maker and historian, said. “I continued walking around and around, lost in time. Perhaps it is wrong to call it a ghost symphony.” The Storm Cone is experienced in the park setting, through a free app and using headphones. Initially, it immerses the visitor in the 360? sound of a band performing as a full ensemble in the park. Moving amongst the absent bandsmen, the audience will hear the detail of every instrument, before following the departed musicians into eight spatial sound works, where the solo musical phrases merge into new environments. The music is a newly commissioned composition by Lucy Pankhurst.
Tags : The New Digital Artwork Celebrating UK's First Park The Storm Cone Nicholas Blincoe award-winning novelist film-maker and historia