IT IS a bid to boost our City of Culture 2017 effort. Culture vultures are being encouraged to sign up to be part of the future of Southampton’s arts and cultural developments.

The arts are thriving in the city, with exciting developments on the way, including the prospect of a stunning new arts complex for Southampton and a joint bid for City of Culture status with neighbouring Portsmouth.

CultureSouthampton Friends is a new scheme, launching here today in the Daily Echo.

It aims to support the completion of the city’s new arts complex, scheduled to open in 2015-16.

With two performance spaces, a dance studio and education spaces, a new city centre home for the John Hansard Gallery, University of Southampton, and for City Eye, the flagship facility will be a creative hub in Guildhall Square that makes Southampton a premier cultural destination.

CultureSouthampton is also fully behind the bid to join forces with Portsmouth to become UK City of Culture 2017.

Chairman Stephen Boyce said: “The Southampton Cultural Development Trust (CultureSouthampton) is a key driver in the city’s plans for cultural regeneration, to bring inspiration, opportunity and economic benefits for residents, visitors and business, and establish the city as a major cultural destination.

Priority “Our priority is to raise funds to complete the new arts complex, with its art, performance, education and film spaces – the final piece in the Cultural Quarter jigsaw.

“We believe that Southampton can be a great cultural city. We hope you will join us in helping make this happen.”

The scheme is designed to help you to support the arts in Southampton and keep in touch with new developments. Members will enjoy special offers and exclusive events at some of Southampton’s favourite venues, including John Hansard Gallery, Mayflower and Nuffield theatres, SeaCity Museum, Solent Showcase, Tudor House and Gardens, Turner Sims and City College.

They will be treated to special discounts from other arts providers, including CityEye and will be kept up to date on the new arts complex as it develops.

For just £15 a year, CultureSouthampton Friends receive a range of benefits and discounts.

What’s more, by becoming a Friend you will be showing your support of new arts and cultural initiatives in Southampton.

On these pages you can see some of the enticing benefits on offer in each venue’s details. Plus there’s the opportunity to attend an exclusive CultureSouthampton Friends annual event.

Find out more and sign up at culturesouthampton.org.uk

JOHN HANSARD GALLERY

One of Britain’s leading public galleries of contemporary art, the John Hansard Gallery supports, develops and presents work by outstanding artists from across the world.

Established in 1979, it’s a place to visit for extraordinary experiences, where you can see and think about the world differently.

The gallery is part of the University of Southampton, based on the Highfield site, and the development of the Cultural Quarter’s arts complex will give it a stunning new home in the heart of the city.

Benefits for CultureSouthampton Friends include: invites to all John Hansard Gallery private views; exclusive exhibition tours with curators and artists; 15 per cent discount in the John Hansard Gallery bookshop.

THE MAYFLOWER THEATRE

The largest theatre in the south, Southampton’s Mayflower presents spectacular large-scale touring musicals, many direct from the West End, as well as opera, ballet, drama and comedy. The independent charitable trust continues to preserve the Grade II listed theatre, at the same time as modernising to meet audience and performer expectations, to cope with the demands of ever bigger touring productions. It’s a winning formula, bringing the biggest and best in live entertainment to Southampton audiences, as seen in the programme for May alone, which includes 9-5 The Musical, High Society, The Rocky Horror Show and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

Benefits for CultureSouthampton Friends include: behind-the-scenes tours, meet the cast opportunities and special offers.

TUDOR HOUSE AND GARDEN

Southampton’s most important historic building, Tudor House provides a rich insight into the lives of people in Southampton over the last 800 years.

Recently refurbished and made more accessible thanks to major Heritage Lottery Fund and Southampton City Council support, award-winning Tudor House is home to many of Southampton’s arts and heritage collections, a treasure trove of fascinating objects and artefacts. A busy programme of events and exhibitions brings these objects to life for visitors of all ages.

Benefits for CultureSouthampton Friends include: exclusive Friends event, ten per cent discount in shop and cafe.

TURNER SIMS CONCERT HALL

Turner Sims is acknowledged as being one of the finest music venues in Britain, its intimate auditorium and outstanding acoustics combining to create a magical atmosphere for performers and audiences alike. Turner Sims plays host to some of the most established artists and musicians from around the world, as well as providing a rehearsal and performance space for many local groups. It works with local schools and communities, providing many education and outreach opportunities. It hosts 60 concert series every season, from a variety of performers; classical, jazz, folk and world music; enjoyed by around 50,000 people every year. This spring sees more celebrations of Benjamin Britten’s centenary, as well as music by Bach and Beethoven, alongside jazz from exponents old and new, and folk and world music stars from Portugual (fado singer Ana Moura), Africa (desert blues band Etran Finatawa) and the UK (award-winning trio Lau).

Benefits for CultureSouthampton Friends include: opportunities to meet performers; behind the scenes tours; special events; special offers

NUFFIELD THEATRE

The Nuffield is a producing and commissioning theatre, making award-winning and nationally acclaimed productions that tour nationally and internationally. The Nuffield aims to entertain and inspire our audiences and nurture and develop talent, whether emerging theatre professionals or local people, young and old, who want to learn new skills.

There are many ways to get involved, ranging from youth theatre and drama clubs, to a course for would-be playwrights, and theatre workshops. As well as drama, the Nuffield programme includes poetry and puppets, standup and solo performance. Productions in May include: The Misanthrope; new work such as Smallholding (artistic director Patrick Sandford’s final show after quarter of a century) and Neighbors; The 39 Steps; performances by comedian Lucy Porter, and Canadian stand-up group The Lumberjacks, featuring Stewart Francis.

Benefits for CultureSouthampton Friends include: special events; behind-the-scenes tours; discounts on specific performances; some discounts at the cafe/bar.

SEACITY MUSEUM

SeaCity Museum has just celebrated its first birthday, having opened in April 2012 to mark the centenary of Titanic setting sail from Southampton.

Created in the iconic buildings that used to house the magistrates’ court, together with a stunning new extension, the award-winning museum has exceeded all projections and draws visitors from across communities and all over the world to its compelling displays. Interactive exhibits, archive material and recordings, and fascinating exhibitions and events, tell the city’s key heritage stories, as a gateway to the world, and of course, Southampton’s Titanic story.

Benefits to CultureSouthampton Friends include: exclusive Friends event; ten per cent discount in shop and cafe.

SOLENT SHOWCASE

Solent Showcase is Southampton Solent University’s exhibition space situated on Guildhall Square, in the heart of the Cultural Quarter. Opened in November 2011, the gallery features contemporary visual art that engages with the whole community, and highlights the creativity of the University, the expansion of its art courses and the work of students and graduates, past and present.

Previous exhibitions have featured large scale light art installations, contemporary video, and vinyl record covers. From May 3, Solent is showing 7 Billionth Citizen: A Global Video Project – the reflections of eight artists from Africa, South America, Japan and the UK on what it is to be one individual in a vastpopulation.

Benefits for CultureSouthampton Friends include: invitations to private views; special talks and tours by curators and artists, advance notice of workshops and special events, discount on catalogue purchases.

CITY EYE

City Eye is a film and video organisation dedicated to inspiring the next generation of film-makers through promotion and production of film by providing skills development and advice for film-makers of all ages and levels of experience. These range from work with community groups to summer holiday film workshops. City Eye runs the annual autumn Southampton Film Week, established in 2008, now grown to include the Youth Film Festival. City Eye will relocate into the new arts complex, giving it a more visible and accessible city centre presence and platform and significantly expand on the work and the support to developing filmmakers.

Benefits for CultureSouthampton Friends include: updates and information.

CITY COLLEGE

In the top five per cent of colleges in the country for success rates, City College is a truly creative hub for the city, with new £34m facilities and creative courses for students, the community and business. The Hub has been purpose-built with a 240-seat theatre fitted to professional standards; media suites equipped to industry standards; TV and radio studios that can be used to record programmes to industry quality as well as the commercially run Aspire Restaurant, bar and Kudos hair and beauty salons.

Upcoming public performances at The Hub theatre include Rule Britannia (May), and Crazy for You, and The History Boys (June).

Benefits for CultureSouthampton Friends include: special ticket offers and events.