Cube Microplex
Encyclopedia
The Cube Microplex is a cinema and event venue in central Bristol
, which operates as a non-profit volunteer-run cooperative
. Since opening in 1998 it has hosted artistic and cultural events including films and music performances as well as providing a focal point for the local artistic community. The building includes a 108-seat theatre/cinema as well as a bar serving local and ethical products.
The wooden theatre at the heart of the Cube was built by volunteers for an Amateur Dramatics group in the 1950s. The building served as an art centre in the 1970s and a Second Run Cinema in the 80s.
The Cube opened its doors in its present form in October 1998. The only working piece of equipment at that time was a 35 mm film
projector which is still in use. The team of four who started the Cube consisted of film maker/writer Jack Davies, screenwriter and film festival activist Julian Holman, and two stilt-walkers
: Kevin Dennis and Graeme Hogg.
Hogg (known as Hogge) and Dennis had been running an underground (as in mostly illegal and unlicenced) film screening event called Club Rombus for two years and this experience provided the foundation of what the Cube was to become. After acquiring a lease to the building, this small group managed to organise and recruit further volunteers.
In July 2001 the public entrance and the surrounding buildings were burnt to the ground. After extensive rebuilding work, the Cube re-opened in August 2002.
, art exhibitions, performance art
and guest speakers. The film screenings include general and limited release mainstream films, art-house, cult films and work by local film makers. It offers special film screenings for mothers and babies. Regular nights have included a movieoke
evening, in which audience members act out their chosen film scenes on stage as they are played on the big screen. Weekends often feature live music and performances. The building is also periodically hired to third parties to put on their own events. The Cube has played hosts to seasons and festivals, including the Venn Festival, Ladyfest
Bristol, Bristol Radical History Group, Ausform Platform of Performance and Independent Heroine festivals.
Its anti-corporate ethos led to projects such as Kate Rich
and Kayle Brandon's Cube Cola, based on an open source
cola recipe, and Feral Trade which supplies various products to its bar using only personal social networks, including fair trade
coffee from a farming cooperative in El Salvador
. It has its own in-house improvising orchestra, the Orchestra Cube.
The Cube volunteers have a history of setting up temporary cinemas in exotic locations, including a tin mine in Cornwall. In March 2010, a group travelled to the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake
to stage an open-air cinema showing mainstream and specially-created films to children.
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, which operates as a non-profit volunteer-run cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
. Since opening in 1998 it has hosted artistic and cultural events including films and music performances as well as providing a focal point for the local artistic community. The building includes a 108-seat theatre/cinema as well as a bar serving local and ethical products.
History
The Cube opened its doors in its present form in October 1998. The only working piece of equipment at that time was a 35 mm film
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
projector which is still in use. The team of four who started the Cube consisted of film maker/writer Jack Davies, screenwriter and film festival activist Julian Holman, and two stilt-walkers
Stilts
Stilts are poles, posts or pillars used to allow a person or structure to stand at a distance above the ground. Walking stilts are poles equipped with steps for the feet to stand on, or straps to attach them to the legs, for the purpose of walking while elevated above a normal height...
: Kevin Dennis and Graeme Hogg.
Hogg (known as Hogge) and Dennis had been running an underground (as in mostly illegal and unlicenced) film screening event called Club Rombus for two years and this experience provided the foundation of what the Cube was to become. After acquiring a lease to the building, this small group managed to organise and recruit further volunteers.
In July 2001 the public entrance and the surrounding buildings were burnt to the ground. After extensive rebuilding work, the Cube re-opened in August 2002.
Programme
The Cube's programme varies from night to night, including films, live music, burlesqueBurlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
, art exhibitions, performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
and guest speakers. The film screenings include general and limited release mainstream films, art-house, cult films and work by local film makers. It offers special film screenings for mothers and babies. Regular nights have included a movieoke
Movieoke
Movieoke is a form of entertainment in which an amateur actor or actors perform along with a muted DVD in order to give voice to the character in the film. The film is projected onto a screen behind the actor and onto an alternate monitor which provides subtitles and action cues...
evening, in which audience members act out their chosen film scenes on stage as they are played on the big screen. Weekends often feature live music and performances. The building is also periodically hired to third parties to put on their own events. The Cube has played hosts to seasons and festivals, including the Venn Festival, Ladyfest
Ladyfest
Ladyfest is a community-based, not-for-profit global music and arts festival for female artists that features bands, musical groups, performance artists, authors, spoken word and visual artists, films, lectures, art exhibitions and workshops; it is organized by volunteers. The first ever Ladyfest...
Bristol, Bristol Radical History Group, Ausform Platform of Performance and Independent Heroine festivals.
Its anti-corporate ethos led to projects such as Kate Rich
Kate Rich
Kate Rich is an Australian-born artist and trader.Her practice includes sound art, video art, social practice, hospitality, and sport art. Notable works include Feral Trade, a project to "initiate new forms of trade along social networks", and her work as co-founder of the Bureau of Inverse...
and Kayle Brandon's Cube Cola, based on an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
cola recipe, and Feral Trade which supplies various products to its bar using only personal social networks, including fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
coffee from a farming cooperative in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
. It has its own in-house improvising orchestra, the Orchestra Cube.
The Cube volunteers have a history of setting up temporary cinemas in exotic locations, including a tin mine in Cornwall. In March 2010, a group travelled to the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
to stage an open-air cinema showing mainstream and specially-created films to children.
Further reading
- Saul Albert (2003) "Who Will Be Transformed? Community Art and Excellence"