Introduction:
ARA is Latin for 'altar' or 'sanctuary', and is part of The
Altær.
ARA aims to be an 'altærnative to the alternative'-
a club-like event, yet not actually your typical club!
It's held in Sacred Trinity, a 17th century church
near to Manchester city centre.
This provides a unique space for dancing
& watching films in 'The Chapel',
visiting 'Pandora's Box' to buy & sell gothic goodies in 'The Tower',
checking out what's going on up above in 'The
Belfry',
chatting with friends, or reading about the scene in 'The Fishbowl'.
The whole evening is sonically draped in a range of music
including:
goth, metal, alternative eighties, EBM & punk- and the odd bit
of weirdness!
Occasionally there are also live events including:
bands, poetry readings, art exhibitions and performance.
If you have any more ideas or would like to participate in some way,
please email your details to DJ Krow.
Starting at 9pm and ending at 2am every fourth Friday of the month, entry is
£5.
Bring your own alcohol- please drink responsibly! Soft drinks and snacks are
provided for free.
Dress code is anything not mainstream: goth, metal, cyber, costume, period, etc.
We hope to provide a safe haven for you to be yourself, express yourself and enjoy yourself.
In order to do this we have to ask that you to follow
a few basic House Rules.
We do our best to be friendly and will even try to play music requests
if appropriate :-)
Background:
People often ask why ARA started and how it's able to take place in a church.
The idea came from Kolyn and Dudie Amor (aka DJ Krow and Kountess Krow)
& Matthew and Yvonne Carson (aka DJ Raven and Lady Raven).
(Matthew and Yvonne recently decided to retire from Ara
duties and are sadly missed).
The 'Magnificent Four' realised they all shared a love of
Goth and God,
and so decided to do something about it- and thus ARA was born.
One place of common ground between
Goths & God-lovers is prejudice.
Sadly what happened recently to Sophie
Lancaster shows it's still an issue.
An underlying principle of ARA has always been to try
to provide a
safe space-
somewhere people feel able to express themselves, regardless of belief or lifestyle.
There was also a desire to offer something beyond the usual club night out.
The dreams and ideas were there- the next step was to find a place to hold it
in...
First Steps:
With this
as a starting point, a venue needed to be found.
Kolyn, a full-time freelance artist, was already renting a space within Sacred
Trinity.
He decided to ask the vicar about hosting some kind of gothic
event in the church.
The vicar was happy for something to serve a community not usually engaged
with the church.
Sacred Trinity is still a working church with a small but very loyal congregation.
They have been gracious enough to let the beautiful historic building to be
used for this event.
Thanks go out to them for their kindness, understanding and ongoing
support.
This is why people are asked to respect the space and everything in it, hence
the House Rules.
Starting in January 2003, ARA was originally going to be every two months.
This proved too long a wait for the faithful few, so a monthly slot was settled
upon instead.
Several quiet months ensued as ARA experimented with different set-ups and mixtures of
music.
Friends & contacts were invited to see what was happening and give constructive
feedback.
Developments:
Rather than go mad on promotion, ARA's founders chose
to let it develop gradually through word of mouth.
This allowed the time & space to get to know people better, creating a more intimate atmosphere.
Since the beginning of 2004, things have gone from strength to strength with numbers
increasing gradually.
It therefore seemed sensible to formalise things a little, so a membership scheme
was introduced.
(It is felt that this has now run its course and has been retracted to simplify
issues on the door).
Also, the entry price had remained the same for a long time but sadly costs
rise and this has had to be addressed.
Movies, books and art have always been integral to the night.
These were elements to try to set Ara apart from regular clubs,
offering people a more varied and creative experience.
ARA rarely looks or sounds the same- that's part of its unique character.
All the money goes towards paying for the night, getting new equipment,
and keeping CD/mp3 collections as up to date as possible- not an easy task!
Some music may be played that will not not be heard in other venues.
This may not always fill the dance floor,
but you might just discover something new that you like...
To balance this, the DJs will try to play requests when appropriate.
Sanctimonia:
Once Ara had found its identity and loyal following, the Krows and the Ravens embarked on something new.As they were all so busy on an Ara evening, they decided to open the doors for a more informal, chilled out space.
And thus the idea of 'Miniatuara' was conceived ('Miniature' and 'Ara' combined - seemed clever wordplay at the time!)
It was a chance for a much smaller group of goths (a 'groth'? - more wordplay!) to hang out & get to know each other better.
After many months of chit-chat, silliness, musical experimentation, and cosiness,
it was felt it was time to move on.
Whilst trying to hold on to the intimacy of 'Miniatuara' yet giving more of an
'Ara' flavour, Sanctimonia came into being.
Films are shown in 'The Tower' with the opportunity to hear the soundtrack (not
possible at 'Ara' due to sonic conflictions!)
The usual mix of tunes are played in 'The Belfry', with new DJ's testing
their skills over a unique view of Sacred Trinity's 'Chapel'.
Entry is £4, 9pm till 2am & bring your own refreshments.
A chilled gothic
sanctuary for the anointed ones.
Feel free, able and proud to be yourself.
