Published
Fri, Oct 15, 2021, 10:55
- The show is opening in December at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes.
A new exhibition celebrating iconic UK rave venue Sanctuary will open in Milton Keynes on December 4th.
Taking place at MK Gallery, Sanctuary: The Unlikely Home Of British Rave will tell the story of the all-night venue (AKA Sanctuary Music Arena) that ran in the city from 1991 until 2004. Hosting legendary parties like Fantazia, Helter Skelter and Hardcore Heaven, it's estimated that up to a million ravers visited from all over the country.
The date of the opening will mark 30 years, to the week, since the building was first used for a party—the legendary Dreamscape 1—before officially opening as a club the following year. The site is now home to a branch of IKEA.
Curated by journalist Emma Hope Allwood, who grew up around Milton Keynes, the archival exhibition will include original flyers, merchandise, footage and ephemeral rave artefacts.
"It wasn't until I became a journalist and came across the flyer for Dreamscape 1 that I learned of Sanctuary," she says. "For me, this project is about doing justice to the youth culture history of MK–a place which is too often unfairly maligned as a cultural void."
The exhibition is also accepting submissions from '90s ravers, who can send an email detailing their Sanctuary paraphernalia to [email protected]. On November 13th, the gallery will host an event from 2 PM through 5 PM during which rave artefacts can be scanned into the archives of the Museum Of Youth Culture. A screening of Jeremy Deller’s acid house documentary, Everybody in the Place: An Incomplete History of Britain 1984-1992, will follow.
Watch a teaser video for the exhibition.
Dreamscape flyer courtesy of Phatmedia.
Dreamscape flyer courtesy of Phatmedia.