Panel Discussion: Neil Donoghue, Ceri Hand and Dr. Ian Scott accompanied by Gordon Dalton & S Mark Gubb

24 January 2008 / 18:00 - 20:00

More on the speakers:

Neil Donoghue was a child of the 70’s and grew up under the spell of Evel Knievel the showman, but more importantly, Evel Knievel – The Action Toy. 12 years ago, Neil went up into his parents loft and retrieved his original 1976 Stunt Cycle and Evel doll. Starting out by performing low key stunts to mark the occasion of his girl friend’s birthday and to entertain the party crowd, these events have become more elaborate year on year resulting in such stunts as ‘Evel Knievel Vs Betty Spaghetti In The Kerplunk Witch Trial Burn Off’ and ‘Evel Knievel vs Dora The Explorer In Pop-Up Pirate Helium Balloon Adventure’.

Ceri Hand has over sixteen years experience in the field of contemporary art. Key recent posts, such as Director of Metal Liverpool, Director of Exhibitions, FACT (where she was contributing curator to the Liverpool Biennial in 2004 and 2006) and Deputy Director of Grizedale Arts, demonstrate her commitment to delivering challenging contemporary arts to diverse audiences.

Dr. Ian Scott is Lecturer in American Studies at the University of Manchester. He is author of two books on film (American Politics in Hollywood Film for EUP and In Capra’s Shadow for Kentucky) and numerous articles on aspects of American cinematic history and representation. He specialises in particular on visual reflections and identity related to California and the west, and has recently published work on, amongst other subjects, the films Chinatown and Collateral. He is currently writing a book on British writers and directors in Hollywood. He is a native Mancunian now exiled in Stockport.