One of the largest venues in this years Made in Roath festival was 28 the Parade. This former Edwardian family home, very kindly lent to us for the week by Cardiff council, played a key role in the happenings and events this year hosting the launch celebration, the Made in Roath Open as well as exhibitions such as “Ain’tnozooinRoath, Pillow multimedia exhibition, Nonarchym Sensors and Sensibility and “remember always to imagine you know me”.
The history of 28 the Parade is worth mentioning. Built by an Edwardian shipping magnet as his home with the unusual feature of a dome like tower on the roof which contained a telescope so that he could watch his ships coming and going from Cardiff docks. At the turn of the century Cardiff docks was actually busier than New York with ships leaving bound for every port in the world. You can still see the owners family crests on the upper parts of 28 the Parade. After the shipping magnate had died and Cardiff dock was in decline, the property was given to the local education board where it become an adult learning centre. Until quite recently it operated as a language school.
Currently uninhabited and up for sale 28 the Parade briefly came to life again, becoming a centre for the arts, a home to creativity and entertainment and a place to enjoy and think before going forward into the next chapter of its life.
On the opening Sunday we saw a fantastic musical celebration taking place,with lights being projected onto the back of the building in one of the most technology advanced things MiR has ever done. We watched as blues and purples rolled over the 120 year old stone work, creating pattens and shapes interplaying with the Edwardian stone work. Below this a fantastic mixture of musicians played, entertaining the crowd who were gathered on the grass in the cool October air.
On the opening Sunday we saw a fantastic musical celebration taking place,with lights being projected onto the back of the building in one of the most technology advanced things MiR has ever done. We watched as blues and purples rolled over the 120 year old stone work, creating pattens and shapes interplaying with the Edwardian stone work. Below this a fantastic mixture of musicians played, entertaining the crowd who were gathered on the grass in the cool October air.
Later on in the week 28 the Parade played host to the MiR open. This open exhibition of work was a great success and generated a lot of interest with people voting for their favourite work. Meanwhile below in the basement an interesting series of rooms led visitors into another world of work with Sensors and Sensibility. Opposite the Open we had Nonarchy and as you ventured outside Pillow multimedia exhibition was located in the back building.
28 the Parade was a fantastic venue which served the festival well leaving everyone who visited with fond memories. I doubt I will ever pass the building again without remember the week it was host to so much art. Whatever the future holds for 28 the Parade, be it offices, flats or just a hollow shell containing only memories it will always have been, for a brief point in its history, a gallery.
28 the Parade was a fantastic venue which served the festival well leaving everyone who visited with fond memories. I doubt I will ever pass the building again without remember the week it was host to so much art. Whatever the future holds for 28 the Parade, be it offices, flats or just a hollow shell containing only memories it will always have been, for a brief point in its history, a gallery.
