Year of the Rat Collective
Year of the Rat Collective are a company of four graduates from University Centre St Helens driven to make work that is bold, political, and experimental.
The group formed the company after working together on a couple of group projects throughout university, deciding to continue using their individual strengths and ideas as a collaborative team.
The group explain, 'it's very rare to find people who have the same passion and drive to make art, so once we found each other we knew it was something that would take our practice to the next level.'
Alexis Maxwell
Performer, activist and firm believer that stories can be told in any medium. Alexis graduated from University Centre St. Helens in 2020 with high hopes for what the world might one day be. Alexis had work commissioned for Heart of Glass, With for About 2020, Dadafest, ConnectME: digital residency and had the opportunity to sit on the artist panel for Create Networking Day.
Collaborating with visual artists-activists Rawan ALMahrouqi and Hana Madness to highlight shared experiences across boarders. Using a blend of spoken word, sound and illustration, Alexis explores her lived experiences of sexuality, mental health and racial injustice.
Oliver Ford
Oliver's work focuses on the use of symbolism and telling visual stories exploring subjects such as mental health, extastentialism, and what it is like to live in the world today.
A live artist as well as a creator, some performance art pieces aim to tackle subjects such as the use of drugs, focusing on telling stories that don’t want to be heard.
Bradley Roach
Bradley is a post-graduate with a first-class honours in Theatre and Performance, his performances tackle themes of existentialism, while challenging audience perception of contemporary society.
Beth Mountain
Beth, a theatre maker, and live artist who graduated from University Centre St Helens in 2020, explores themes around disabilities, self-harm, depression and anxiety. Beth’s work has been commissioned by the Heart of Glass, hAb Word of Warning and Arts in Libraries St Helens, with the most notable work (and personal favourite), Pancakes with Vinegar. This explores the world of invisible disabilities, primarily focusing on Dementia.
