What are your favourite memories of Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival?

Since its conversion to a performance venue 150 years ago, Brighton Dome’s three stages have welcomed icons such as Patti Smith, Beyoncé, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix and played host to tea dances, wrestling matches, and graduation ceremonies.

The Brighton festival has also brought international artists and curators to the city.

Now Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival is appealing to members of the public to record and share their memories for the new heritage project ‘I Was There’.

Collected memorabilia will be archived for future generations and some stories will feature in an online exhibition and a public programme of tours and talks at Brighton Dome.

Kate Richardson, participatory interpretation manager at Brighton Dome, said: “We’d love to hear people’s unique recollections or from anyone who has a special connection to Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival – whether it was 50 years ago or more recently.

“We’re keen to speak to audience members recounting how they felt about seeing their favourite artist or witnessing a sporting event; performers and participants who took part in a show, as well as former employees who can tell us what it was like working behind the scenes.”

Support for the oral history project comes from The National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of its contribution towards the refurbishment of Brighton Dome’s Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre.

Sussex-based community arts and heritage organisation Strike a Light – Arts & Heritage will deliver the project; its volunteers will work to collate audio interviews from participants.

Project manager at Strike a Light, Nicola Benge, said: “Capturing individual experiences provides a valuable insight into the social history of the arts in Brighton & Hove.

“We’d like to record memories from a broad cross-section of communities and age groups to reflect how the arts and these historically important venues have had an impact on people’s lives.”

Information on the project, and how to take part, can be found at the Brighton Dome website.

Those interested in participating can email the project at [email protected]