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An art exhibition and immersive theatre performance will be the first events of the town centre Cultural Quarter pop-up programme.

The programme will support local artists and aims to increase footfall, test out and unlock new spaces including vacant and underused locations and deliver activities for a vibrant town centre, helping new business growth in the cultural and creative industries.

These pop-up events will be used to steer the development of feasibility studies and delivery plans, which will culminate in a Cultural Quarter Masterplan for the town centre by March 2026.

The first event is The Manufactured Body Exhibition, the first formal exhibition of Ifield-based artist Alison Dollery. It will be held in the Ancient Priors building (formerly Ask) in the High Street from Friday 17 to Sunday 19 March, in conjunction with WORDfest ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾.

The provocative, visceral and discursive Manufactured Body Project concerns the artist's lived experience of extreme weight loss. The themes address current topics on body image, disorders, objectification, posthumanism, alienation and transformation of our 21st century bodies. Alison will be present on-site to discuss the research, involving participation from the audience.

Entry is free. .

The second event sees Half Time Orange return with its immersive theatre performance of A Night’s Watch – Tales of ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾. It takes place in the Ancient Priors building in the High Street on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 March at 4.30pm, 5.30pm, 6.30pm and 8pm, in conjunction with WORDfest ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾.

A Night’s Watch – Tales of ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ is a trip through time and a chance to experience ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ through the ages. Led by the ghost of an old nightwatchman, meet characters from ºÚÁÏÍøվ’s past and hear their stories as you journey through the High Street’s oldest buildings.

Half-Time Orange – recently appointed an Associate Artist of The Hawth – is a brand-new theatre company dedicated to producing innovative and exciting work bringing local communities and their histories to the stage.

Entry is free. .

These events follow the recent appointment of Paul Ackerley as Producer of the pop-up programme.

The Cultural Quarter programme is one of 10 Towns Fund projects in ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾. .