Chelsea Theatre makes live art commitment

Published Tuesday 8 August 2006 at 12:05 by Nuala Calvi

Chelsea Theatre has announced it will become the first London venue committed to live art, after winning arts council backing for a project to develop new work in the field.

Sacred, a two-part season starting in September, will pair six emerging artists up with major international performers, including the renowned Chicago ensemble Goat Island and acclaimed body-piercing performance artist Ron Athey, to create innovative new shows.

Artistic director Francis Alexander said the venue hoped to address the lack of opportunities to present live art and promote understanding of the art form.

“This is a new departure for us in terms of artistic policy - we’ve been developing it over the course of the last 18 months and we now feel this is where our heart lies and where the most exciting artists are,” he said.

“People say opportunities in London to present live art are quite limited at the moment and we are attempting to address that balance.”