Art is full of surprises, it’s one of the things I love about it. I know Jon Pountain as an excellent painter, especially his paintings of local scenes using pastels. So when we went to the opening of his show last week I didn’t expect to be entering Vermeer’s sitting room!

Not exactly as in Vermeer’s day but certainly influenced by his paintings with the mirror, candelabra style ceiling lamp and tiled floor which is actually painted onto the floorboards.

He has also installed a room with wooden panelled walls which we couldn’t get into to appreciate fully as it was being used as the stage for the band The Elfin Spurs who were playing later. A third room has been created as a photographic studio, there are piles of photographs of the installation in its various stages.

It’s a 2 week exhibition with a closing show on Friday 26 March (18-21.00) and is evolving during that time as the artists is in residence adding more pictures etc.

I love the way people can interact with the work, wander around the rooms, flick through the photographs and sketch books, talk to the artist as if you’ve been invited into his home.

I hope to call in again before it finishes to see how much it has changed, I suggest you do too.

‘The Sitting Room’
14 – 27 March 2010
Closing night: Friday 26 March 18.00 – 21.00
‘The Sitting Room’ is an art installation piece by Jon Pountain. New work will be made during the exhibition so the space will be continually evolving.

Venue:
Casa De Brujas
Address: 82 – 84 Duke Street, Liverpool (Old Arena House)
Opening hours: 11.00 – 17.00 daily

I enjoyed the exhibition of political comic artworks ‘Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption’ at the Contemporary Urban Centre. The artists show great drawing skill along with some interesting narrative.

Also picked up a copy of the book which accompanies the touring show at a bargain £3. (You can buy it online for £4.99)

Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption
16 – 28 March 2010 at CUC
Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption comes to Liverpool with an exhibition of political comic work to coincide with the release of their new comic book anthology. The Exhibition will take a retrospective look at how comics have been employed throughout history to debate and highlight political issues and will include content from previously unseen archives as well as highlights from the Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption Comic.

A selection of the world’s most compelling graphic novelists and comic artists have collaborated with Ctrl.Alt.Shift, to create a limited edition comic book Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption which features original work from leading comic artists, satirists and creative figures from around the world including USA, South Africa, India, Sweden, Serbia and the UK.

Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption will engage and challenge the issues of social injustice in a bid to politicise a new generation of activists through the medium of popular comic culture. Artists involved include Dave McKean, Peter Kuper, Lee O’Connor, Pat Mills, V V Brown, Dan Goldman, Aleksandar Zograf, Bryan Talbot, Asia Alfasi, Dylan Horrocksand Marcus Bleasdale. The Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption Comic Book is available while stocks last.
The Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption Comic Book: www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk/product/comic-book

No dates I’m afraid. Contact LCAD for further information

www.lcad.org.uk

pauline@lcad.org.uk

“Using Art to Help Save Lives”

A little known fact is that it is international World Water Day on 22nd March this year; and to both financially support and raise awareness for this important date, the art website, Artybuzz.com, is running a special fundraising initiative involving the sale of art.

The Liverpool based website has put together a special selection of water themed art, design and photography, and is going to donate all profits from the sale of these items to the registered charity Water Aid. The water artworks are all available for purchase as prints, canvases, t shirts and more, meaning you can get a beautiful piece of art as well as donating to a good cause at the same time.

World Water Day is an internationally recognised day that was created in 1992 at the UN Conference on Environment and Development. The day aims to raise awareness of the lack of clean water that is still a problem in much of the world, and seeks to generate support for the many water relief charities that are trying to help get clean water to those most in need.

Richard Wilde, the founder of Artybuzz.com said “the lack of clean water is clearly a great problem in the world, and I wanted to do my bit, and give others the opportunity to help support this cause as well by providing these art gifts as a tool in which people could effectively make a donation and get something back themselves”.

Up until 23rd March, 100% of the profits from the sale of the selection of water gifts Artybuzz has compiled will go to Water Aid. The selection of gifts can be found and purchased on the Artybuzz website at www.artybuzz.com/water-art-gifts.php. Any artists, designers or photographers who would like their own work to be sold for this good cause can also add their work to Artybuzz.com and it can be added to the selection.

“Invited artist Tania Bruguera will be coming to Liverpool on her first research visit for the International exhibition.  The talk will be an opportunity for Bruguera to discuss her artistic practice in an informal setting, sharing her thoughts on the theme of Touched and introducing her project for the International exhibition – Catedra Arte de Conducta. We hope to be confirming a new date for this in the near future.”

August 2010 // Square Chapel, Halifax, UK // FREE ENTRY

Fundada Artists’ Film Festival is a contemporary film and video event run by artists intending to showcase the best in contemporary screen-based art from across the globe. Fundada believes that art should be fun and inclusive yet conceptually strong and critically engaged. The film festival will be comprised of selected screen-based submissions from an international open call and curated by Alice Bradshaw and Nancy Porter; collaborating artists who previously co-directed and co-curated respectively at Temporary Art Space in Halifax in 2009. Fundada is an artist-run not-for-profit organisation.

FAFF2010 is part of Halifax Festival 2010: 14th – 22nd August 2010 http://www.halifaxfestival.co.uk/

Open Call for Submissions – Deadline: 31st May 2010

WHAT: Open call for screen-based art; film, video, animation. No thematic criteria. No limit on number of submissions per artist.

WHO: Anyone can submit to FAFF2010; all nationalities, all career levels including students

DURATION: no limit

FORMAT: Films should be supplied in digital format only: avi, mpg or mov
A film still (jpg at 300dpi) is also required.

LANGUAGE / SUBTITLES: Films with non-English dialogue do not have to have English subtitles but it is recommended.

COST: No submission or participation fee. Postage for postal submissions is payable by the applicant. Postal submission cannot be returned. Please note that only FAFF2010 is only able to notify successful applicants.

POSTAL SUBMISSIONS: DOWNLOAD FORM (PDF): http://bit.ly/FAFF2010

POSTAL ADDRESS: (Non-EU submissions: No commercial value, for cultural purposes)
FAFF2010, Halifax Festival 2010, Square Chapel, 10 Square Road, Halifax, HX1 1QG, UK

DEADLINE (Receiving date not postmark date): 31st May 2010

http://fundadaartistsfilmfestival.blogspot.com/

The lingering frosts of winter are still in the air but the Walker Art Gallery is bringing a burst of South American sunshine to our lives with a day of free carnival festivities from music, performance and colourful art workshops on Saturday 20 March 2010.

Events

Drop-in sessions, no ticket required.

Tropical Inc.
11 – 4pm
Join the team from Tropical Inc. and some of their beautiful Macaws and Amazon Parrots. Come and see the birds up close and find out more about their natural habitats, what they like to eat and lots more.

Capoeira
12.30, 1.30 and 2.30pm
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines elements of dance, play and ritualistic fighting. Developed by African slaves as a method of resistance in their fight for freedom, Capoeira is unlike any other martial art and is best seen to be believed.

Music by a.P.A.t.T
2 – 4pm
a.P.A.t.T are a Liverpool based musical collective whose exciting genre-mashing performances are proving hugely popular with audiences.  To celebrate carnival day why not join them on a ‘parade’ around the gallery collecting more and more musicians as they go!

Workshops:
Drop-in sessions, no ticket required. Suitable for 5yrs years up

Atlantic Fire
11- 4pm
The carnival activities are inspired by the exhibition Aubrey Williams: Atlantic Fire. Williams was particularly interested in the cultures of the ancient indigenous people of Central and South America.  Explore the colours and patterns from these ancient cultures and create your own masterpiece in this fun workshop.

Quick Draw Macaw
11- 4pm
Be inspired by Aubrey Williams’ ‘Bird Series’ of paintings and have a go at drawing Guyanese birds from National Museums Liverpool’s collections.

Masquerade
11- 4pm
Costumes and masks form a central part of carnival celebrations. So let’s get into the carnival spirit and make a beautiful feathered mask.

Going off with a BANG!
11 – 4pm
Join us in Big Art and set our carnival celebrations off with a bang by making your own firework picture to take away.

Exhibition
Aubrey Williams: Atlantic Fire runs until 11 April 2010. The exhibition comprises of 14 paintings that demonstrate the strength of Williams’ work and the coherence and consistency of his approach to painting which are alive with colour.

A defining part of Williams’ work, was his interest in the ancient indigenous cultures of Central and South America which enabled him to assert an authentic Caribbean identity within a modern mainstream art world. As he put it:

“The act of painting, the act of daring to make art, the Arawak had a word for it and they called it Timehri. Now, Timehri to the Arawak means the mark of the hand of man…That is the word for art for me.”

Lemn (pictured) is a playwright, performer and broadcaster and his one person autobiographical show Why I Don’t Hate White People offers a whirlwind tour of being the child of an unlikely liaison between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Wigan Social Services.

Growing up in rural Lancashire, he didn’t know a black person until he was eighteen and spent most of his adult life searching for his family. He will navigate a journey of mental gymnastics and laughter to discover why he doesn’t hate white people.

The show has been nationally lauded with the Guardian dubbing it ‘magnificent’ and awarding it 5/5.

Also appearing is dub poet and author of the Liverpool Experience Levi Tafari.

Taking place from 2.00-10.30pm, the event, begins with a screening of seminal 1970s reggae film, The Harder They Come, complete with legendary soundtrack by Jimmy Cliff and others. This is followed with a networking session by and for Liverpool’s diverse communities, exploring the legacy of diverse arts in the city since the 1980s, including presentations and films.

Spoken word, music and carnival come together for the final event of the day, Liverpool Liming, which is given a party atmosphere thanks to music from DJs/MCs Blacktronica and III Audio. The event includes performances by wordsmiths; Tafari, John Agard and Charlie Dark.

Guest Literature programmer at the Bluecoat, Melanie Abrahams said: “I’m delighted to be curating these Black Atlantic events at the Bluecoat. They offer a peek of the summer to come through a scintillating theatre show by Lemn Sissay, a meeting of artists and creative organisations in a networking session, a screening of classic The Harder They Come with one of the hottest film soundtracks, and a special liming event which encourages people to go with the flow, meet, drink, dance and play!
“It will be a real celebration of how literature – both the written and spoken word – can collide with music and performance to produce something that is fresh, highly participative, sunny and joyful.  It is also an opportunity to showcase some of the best Liverpool-based artists of Caribbean, Europe and African origin to the Bluecoat and show the best that the city has to offer.”

The full line up for Liverpool Liming is, Levi Tafari, John Agard, Sense of Sound, Grace Nichols, Curtis Watt, Beni, Charlie Dark. Hosted by John Agard and Melanie Abrahams.  Music by Ill Audio and Blacktronica. Liverpool Liming is a Tilt creation, presented by the Bluecoat.

Day tickets have now sold out, however tickets for individual events are still available:

The Harder They Come screening
Networking Event
Lemn Sissay: Why I Don’t Hate White People
Liverpool Liming

Self-taught artist, Michael Treanor, has become a very accomplished watercolourist and his work is appearing in more and more places. He has quite a few in the Freshwater Gallery at the Albert Dock and he was there demonstrating his skills at the launch event last week.

Freshwater is near the Tate and has been there for a couple of years, originally trading under a different name before going independent last year and this is the first of a series of regular exhibitions featuring local artists.

As well as a variety of original works, they sell prints, cards and other arts and crafts items.

http://www.michaeltreanorwatercolours.co.uk/

http://www.thefreshwatergallery.com/