A new name is about to enter Cheshire’s arts world.
Slant is the new promotional brand for the county’s dynamic programme of cultural events and brings together a host of partners including Cheshire West and Chester Council, Storyhouse and Marketing Cheshire.
Slant aims to highlight Cheshire’s offer of an alternative way for people to engage with culture.
The consortium of partners has developed a three-year programme supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
The programme presents unique events in unexpected locations, breaking out of traditional theatres and galleries into innovative spaces and out into the Cheshire countryside.
It will focus on increasing the profile of the county’s arts and culture offer with new audiences, and on strengthening links with the tourism industry.
The objective is to manage the delivery of activity already within the region, by publicising it, unifying arts organisations and encouraging the growth of the sector.
Director of tourism for Marketing Cheshire Rachel McQueen said: “Slant is a huge positive for the region. It will increase visitor numbers, diversify those visitors and ultimately increase income for the region through culture and tourism businesses.
“Cheshire’s visitor economy is already worth nearly £3 billion, and our cultural venues and events play a key role.
“This year has seen the launch of the country’s largest arts project in Storyhouse, Chester’s brand new theatre, cinema and library. There are world class events and festivals – where we are breaking ground in terms of digital cultural experiences with Shift, combining arts with science at Bluedot, or embracing the magical countryside with Just So festival. Slant will bring these exciting and innovative events to the forefront of the cultural scene and introduce Cheshire as a major player in this sector.”
The Slant programme headliners for 2017 include: Storyhouse, Shift Digital, ARK at Chester Cathedral, Blue Dot Festival, Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Moonlight Flicks, Trust New Art, The Lost Carnival, Clonter Opera, Just So festival, Spare Parts at Crewe Traction festival, Warrington Contemporary Arts festival, the Enchantment of Chester Zoo and the Lead Artists programme.
There is also a wider group of cultural partners involved from across the sub region.
The 2018 and 2019 programmes will be finalised nearer the time.
