Councillor suggests Arts Festival for Rochdale

Councillor Wera Hobhouse

Councillor Wera Hobhouse, the Chairwoman of Rochdale Township is exploring the idea of a Community Arts Festival in the town next summer.

The idea is part of a long standing attempt to attract more people to Rochdale Town Centre.

Councillor Hobhouse, an artist herself, studied painting and exhibited for 25 years; she also co-ran a gallery in Liverpool and is passionate about art.

Councillor Hobhouse explained her reasons for the proposed project: “There are a number of regeneration projects in the pipeline but some of them will take years to happen on the ground. In the meantime I want to see people coming into Rochdale because there are some fun things to see or experience in the town centre.

“At the same time the borough has a lot of fabulous talent, community arts and theatre groups and some great musical talent. We do not celebrate them enough. An Arts/Music festival could provide a wonderful stage for their work.”

Councillor Hobhouse continued: “We also have Touchstones, a fantastic venue for exhibitions, but we also have a lot of empty shops which we might be able to use just for a limited time to provide exhibition space.”

It must be noted that funding is an issue for the event, Councillor Hobhouse hopes to find a sponsor for the event.

Councillor Hobhouse is also interested in ideas for the name of the festival.