Chapter Arts Centre (often just referred to as Chapter) is an

arts centre An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for ...

in Canton,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, opened in 1971.

Description

Chapter hosts films,

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

and live music, and includes a free art gallery,

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

and

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

s. There are also over 60 work spaces, used for an eclectic range of purposes including Chapter's own training courses. Twenty percent of the centre's income comes from the film theatres. It shows mainstream

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

films as well as a considerable array of foreign and

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

s on a regular basis. The centre receives a major annual grant from the

Arts Council for Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts ...

Spaces

*Gallery spaces *Two film theatres (capacities: 188 and 57) *Two theatres (capacities: 96 and 60 seated, also standing) *Two bars (ground floor has normal opening hours; upstairs is open for specific events) *Café *Shop *Several spaces for hire (varying sizes) *Many spaces for ongoing art production, resident artists, etc.

History

Chapter was founded by Welsh artists,

Christine Kinsey Christine Kinsey (born October 1942) is a Welsh painter, now based in Pembrokeshire. She was the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Chapter Workshops and Centre of the Arts, Cardiff, now called the Chapter Arts Centre. Biography Kinsey was bo ...

and Bryan Jones with journalist Mike Flood and opened in 1971.A Brief History of Chapter
, Chapter Arts Centre website. Retrieved 2011-11-15. The building was previously a school, Canton High School, and was built in 1905.Rory Olcayt
''Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, by Ash Sakula Architects''
The Architects' Journal, 11 March 2010. Retrieved 2011-11-15.

21st century

In the 2000s Chapter underwent a £3.8 million redevelopment, designed by architects

Ash Sakula Architects Ash Sakula Architects is a small architecture practice based in London, founded in 1996.As ...

, who were appointed in 2006. The practice prioritised remodelling of the public areas on the ground floor, while adding a storey-high 'light box' above the main entrance as an 'artistic billboard'. The centre remained open through the redevelopment and the new Chapter opened in November 2009. The building won a

R.I.B.A. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

Wales Award in 2010. The new open-plan design was described as user friendly with many great details. Following the Centre's refurbishment in 2009, the number of visitors doubled to 800,000 per year, making it the second most popular attraction in Cardiff.Cathy Owen (11 April 2014
"Chapter Arts Centre unveils plans for £6m expansion"
''WalesOnline''. Retrieved 2014-04-14. As of March 2014 Chapter installed 60 photovoltaic

solar panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...

to their roof providing up to 15KW of electricity. In the autumn of 2014 Chapter became a venue for the international

Artes Mundi Artes Mundi (Latin: ''arts of the world'') is an international arts organisation based in Cardiff. Established in 2002, it is committed to supporting international contemporary visual artists whose work engages with social reality and lived experien ...

exhibition and art prize, which expanded for the first time beyond the

National Museum Cardiff National Museum Cardiff ( cy, Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd) is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Entry is kept free by a grant from the Welsh G ...

. In December 2015 Chapter renamed the main Theatre and Stiwdio spaces as Theatr Seligman Theatre and Stiwdio Seligman, following a significant donation from local benefactor David Seligman.

References

External links