So, noticing a spelling mistake on my main Art In Liverpool page (why didn't anyone tell me I had 'Strats' instead of 'Starts'?) , I ran the spellchecker in Dreamweaver.
Its top suggestion for artinliverpool was martini and for blog it suggested bog. So artinliverpool blog becomes martini bog. Also, Top suggestion for Homotopia was Homophobia. A Homophobia Festival? I hope not.

TRACEY EMIN AND SIR PETER BLAKE TO HEAD UP JURY FOR BRITAIN’S BIGGEST PAINTING COMPETITION
Call for entries to John Moores 24 exhibition of contemporary painting at the Walker Art Gallery

From 1 November 2005, artists can register for Britain’s biggest contemporary painting competition - the John Moores 24 exhibition of contemporary painting (16 September to 26 November 2006) With a jury featuring two of the biggest names in British art, next year’s exhibition looks set to be the most exciting show ever.

The often quirky and always unpredictable exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery - an integral part of Liverpool Biennial 2006 - is an open submission competition available to all UK-based artists working with paint.

Judges for the competition include conceptual artist Tracey Emin, artist Sir Peter Blake, former John Moores prizewinner Jason Brooks and curator of fine art at the Walker Art Gallery, Ann Bukantas. The fifth judge has yet to be announced

Sir Peter Blake was one of the leading figures in the development of British Pop art, incorporating imagery from modern culture into his work, including comic books, consumer goods and advertisements. Perhaps his most recognised work is the cover for The Beatles’s album, Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. He remains one of the most significant and influential painters in the UK.

Tracey Emin rose to fame with works such as My Bed (1998/99) and Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995 (1994) that explore episodes in her life. Emin was last in Liverpool to unveil Roman Standard (2005) her first ever public sculpture in the grounds of the Anglican Cathedral in February 2005.

Jason Brooks was a prizewinner in John Moores 20 (1997) and was also included in John Moores 21 (1999), the same year in which he won the NatWest Art Prize. In 2004 he was selected to show in John Moores 23 where his painting ‘Cortina’ was purchased by the Walker for its collection.

In addition to an outright first prize of £25,000 there will be four prizes of £2,500 each. Initial judging will be by slides - one painting per artist with up to two slides of that painting. This will lead to a short-list of up to 500 works which will then be called in for judging and from which the final selection will be made. The £1000 ‘visitors’ choice’ prize, which proved very popular and provoked great debate during the 2004 exhibition, makes a welcome return.

Julian Treuherz, keeper of art galleries, says: ‘Despite predictions that painting is no longer the medium of choice for today’s cutting edge artists, the John Moores prize exhibition, generously supported by the Moores family, continues to demonstrate that painting is still one of the liveliest and most creative options open to today’s artists.’

The deadline for artists to register is 17 February 2006 - registration forms can be obtained through www.thewalker.org.uk/johnmoores24 or from the Walker Art Gallery. Slides must be sent in by 1 March 2006. Winners will be announced at the opening of the exhibition which runs from 16 September to 26 November 2006.

Entries have to be original new or recent paintings within a set size, designed to hang on walls, by someone who lives, or is based, in the United Kingdom. Full conditions are in the entry pack. Littlewoods founder Sir John Moores, a keen painter, started the exhibition in 1957.

Diwali (Festival of Light) celebrations start tomorrow (November 1st) and the World Museum Liverpool will be hosting some free events.
Here's the customary picture of children getting in some practice and the info from the NML press office.

DIWALI CELEBRATIONS
Festival of Light at World Museum Liverpool

National Museums Liverpool is marking this year’s Hindu festival Diwali with fantastic free events for all the family in November.

Local children from schools across Merseyside are wowing crowds at World Museum Liverpool’s Treasure House Theatre on Saturday 12 November 2005 with special dance shows at 1330 and 1415 hours. The performances promise to be a fitting celebration for this year’s Festival of Light, combining different styles of movement, music and dress from various regions of India.

The dancers have been honing their moves in a programme of music and dance workshops, which are part of a Liverpool Culture Company project called Introducing India. The project aims to teach children about all aspects of Indian culture including the country’s religion, values and traditions.

Purvi Parikh, the workshop facilitator, says: “Dance is such an important part of Indian culture and it this a great way to make it accessible to everyone. The children have been working very hard to make this show a real celebration of Diwali.”

Visitors to the Weston Discovery Centre on Saturday 5 November and Sunday 6 November 2005 can join in celebrations with will have the opportunity to dress up in traditional Indonesian costumes and put on a performance of their own with Javanese puppets and Eastern masks.

Tickets are required for Treasure House Theatre shows. They can be collected free of charge from World Museum Liverpool information desk.

Nice piece in the todays Daily Post by Dave Charters about James W Carling.
Carling was a Liverpool artist who was born in Addison Street in 1857 and who died in 1887, buried in a pauper’s grave in Walton Park Cemetery. He spent some time in America where he produced some very good illustrations for Edgar Allen Poe’s poem ‘The Raven’ which will feature in the exhibition with accompanying literature at Editions Gallery. The small exhibition opens tomorrow, November 1st until the 7th.

The Observatory at 1 Old Haymarket is the home of Liverpool Vision, the Urban Regeneration Company. Obviously public and community art is a vital part of regeneration so Peter Rix their Community/Education Officer is busy with various projects the latest of which is now on show to the public.
Merseyside Play Action Council (MPAC) have organised the 'Storylines' project, supported by the Liverpool Culture Company. More than 120 children from five different youth and sports centres, aged from 5-15 years old, took part in the colourful drawings, with everything from buildings to nature and what they think culture in Liverpool is.

I called in on Friday when a few of the children were there along with MPAC organiser Eileen Wong who said
"The purpose of the project was to produce a visual image of how the children saw as "their" city, "their" cultural background and more specifically what makes Liverpool a special place for them. The children's idea of what the project was proved very different to the artist's and the young people used colour very early on, creating detailed drawings and lots of experimentation took place."

I admit I didn't know much about MPAC before but it looks like a really useful resource for artists and anyone working with children and young people. Take a look at their website www.merseyplay.com

So here are the stands displaying the 120 delightful pictures on sheets of perspex. I'm afraid I don't know how long they'll be there for, probably a few weeks. The five youth centres who took part were Norris Green Yth Centre, Speke Adventure Playground, The Greenhouse Project and Rice Lane City Farm and the Vernon Sangster sports centre.

Also in the Observatory you can see the 'Your City Centre' exhibition and the scale models of the plans for the Lime St Gateway development, the Kings Dock waterfront and Central Village (back of central station) developments. All very interesting. more info on their website www.liverpoolvision.co.uk

I went to Manchester today to catch the final day of the Manchester Art Show at the MICC GMEX. Nice to see such a lot of good quality work on display and most of the participating galleries and artists seemed pleased with the response from the public either through sales, commissions or positive feedback.
Spotted a few Liverpool artists there, Nick Sykes and Tim Ellis who are based at 50 Parr Street had their own stand and seemed to be doing good business.
Of course, its a commercial thing, the exhibitors pay between £600 and £3000+ for a stand, it costs £5 to get in and £4 for a catalog and the cafe does good trade. So some the the art is a bit High Street, 'chocolate box' or just plain boring. There was a very small Lowry on sale for £25,000. But I found a lot of the work interesting, enjoyable and certainly technically very accomplished.
Sculptures were relegated to the lobby area where there was more space for them and included pieces like this technological version of Rodin's The Kiss made entirely out of coloured cables. (I neglected to take the name of the artist)
We should have a Liverpool Art Show (or even an Art In Liverpool show). Anybody want to organise it?

Contact Rebecca if you can help

Hello, my name is Rebecca Taylor and I am currently in my 3rd year at Northumbria University, Newcastle studying Fine Art. I am originally from Liverpool, Old Swan.
In order to raise money for our degree show, we hold a fine art auction and ask people to donate art pieces for us to sell. We ask our fellow art students and also try to contact established artists in the hope that they too will help us.
I understand that you cannot disclose artists contact details, but I ask that maybe you could pass on this message to your current exhibiting artist, or past artists.
On behalf of the auction committee we kindly ask that perhaps artists could donate a piece of work or even a signed post card.
Thank you for your time
If you wish to contact me, 07795030335, or email. funkyplum666@hotmail.com

Well done to Open Eye.
Via liverpool08.com...

Prize Coup for Liverpool Photography Gallery
Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, is celebrating after two of its recent UK premiere exhibitions, have been short-listed for a major international photography prize.

The acclaimed photographers, Alec Soth and Yto Barrada, are two of a final four to have been short-listed for the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2006 for their exhibitions 'Sleeping by the Mississippi' and 'A Life Full of Holes - the Strait Project' respectively.
...
'Sleeping by the Mississippi', by Alec Soth, features large format colour photographs taken along the route of the Mississippi to Louisiana. 'A Life Full of Holes - The Strait Project', by Yto Barrada, highlights the issues of illegal immigration through images taken in Tangier, Morocco.

The award will be judged by a panel of international experts and announced during a special awards ceremony at The Photographers' Gallery, London on 22 March 2006.

An interesting story this.
Tommy McHugh was born in Liverpool. He worked as a builder, and had a history of violence and class A drug abuse. His only interest in drawing was in scrawling tattoos on his arms whilst serving time in prison.

Since suffering a stroke in 2001, Tommy has felt a need to create, and has experimented with painting, drawing, writing and sculpting, dealing with themes relating to his 'split-mind', which Tommy states has changed his personality.

Tommy's stroke was caused by two small bleeds in both sides of his brain known as subarachnoid haemorrhages. Surgeons repaired the bleeds using a clip and a coil. His stroke appeared to unlock his creative side. This phenomenon known as "sudden artistic output" is extremely rare.

The London based artist, Marion Kalmus ( www.marionkalmus.co.uk ) is currently writing a book about Tommy and is also exhibiting some of her photographic works here.

There has been a lot of media interest in Tommy's case with features in the national press and visits from TV companies. The work itself is interesting, as he's had no formal training its not the most technically accomplished work you'll see but there is so much imagination, energy and creativity. Several media are used including metallic christmas tape to good effect.

The highlight for me is the sandstone sculpture which is mounted on a turntable so you can spin it round to see the full effect. Pictured here is just a small detail. There are scores of figures of people and animals all interconnected covering the top and sides of this block of red sandstone, you can look at it for ages and keep finding more things in it. How does someone who has never sculpted before manage to create this?

Also on show are some works by Jamie Reid including a large bright work covering a whole wall and several pieces from Terry Kane, Georgie Connor, Rachel Duerden and Wendela Kazinski.
The exhibition at Eggspace is curated by Headspace and runs until November 2nd 2005

Via Merseyside ACME...

Date: Wednesday 2nd November 2005
Time: 6pm - 9pm (including buffet)
Venue: Philharmonic Hall, Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BP
Cost: £5

The Capital of Culture 2008 is set to be one of the most important years in the regeneration of Liverpool. Kris Donaldson, Marketing Director for Liverpool Culture Company will be discussing how The Culture Company plan to meet this well publicised marketing challenge along with answering questions from the audience.

Marketing 08 will bring together representatives from the creative industries sector, the Liverpool Culture Company and the Chartered Institute of Marketing; and will be your chance to hear how the Liverpool Culture Company plan to rise to 'the challenge' in the build up to 2008.

Refreshments and a buffet will be available in the relaxed surroundings of the Rodewald Suite in the Philharmonic Hall. There are limited places available. To reserve your place please contact Julie Rice julie.rice@liverpool.gov.uk at Merseyside ACME for a ticket.

I went to the private viewing of Sarah Lucas's Retrospective at Liverpool Tate last night and was a bit disappointed. I had to queue for ages for the privilege of buying a few overpriced drinks drinks. But also, I thought I would have enjoyed the exhibition more. I do like her work but maybe its more the ideas that she comes up with rather than seeing the thing itself which appeals to me.
You see, I hate meat, I hate fried eggs, I hate cigarettes and, of course, I hate Arsenal. So what does that leave? Oh yes, sex. Well I thought I really liked that but now I'm not so sure, her first solo exhibition was titled 'Penis nailed to a Board' so that gives you a clue to the sort of thing. I like that Lucas is challenging stereotypes, especially gender-based stereotypes and that she's provocative and confrontational but again, being a bit of a wimp, I prefer to see the images in the glossy magazines and read about them in books by Mathew Collings because close up those mattresses look really gross, stained as they are with juice from fruit and veg. Also the fried eggs have to be replaced with new ones by the Tate kitchen staff every so often as they go rotten.
There is a lot of anthropomorphising involved with her works (Here's an old joke. Don't anthropomorphise things, they don't like it!).
Obviously you have to go and see it. There's a lot packed into the top floor rooms. Although still referred to as a Young British Artist, she's in her 40s and been around a while to build up a good body of work. I just felt like I needed a shower afterwards.
Sarah Lucas at Tate Liverpool until January 15th 2006. Link

Freelance Artists Wanted All Artforms

Knowsley's Schools and Communities Arts Service is based within the Children's Service Directorate of Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council on Merseyside. We are looking to create a pool of artists who can deliver a range of creative learning projects over the next year.
As a service we deliver a wide range of creative learning opportunities and experiences for young people and school staff, mainly within a school environment both within the school day, and out of school hours. The work may involve working alongside school staff or on your own.

The fee for this work will vary depending on the activity
Daily rate from between £100 - £180
Hourly rate £18 - £25

If you are interested in applying then please send:-

An up to date CV
A letter of application outlining the range of skills within your art form that you can offer
Your experience of working with children within a school environment and informal learning environments
Any knowledge you have of the national curriculum,
Any teaching qualifications
Any other relevant experience or information that you think will be of interest.
A copy of a current enhanced CRB check (if you possess one)
A copy of your Public Liability Insurance (if you don't currently have this then your application may still be successful on the proviso that you have it in place prior to the commencement of your work in schools)

Could you also include an outline of your availability.( e.g. how many days per week you are available and which days. Also please include any other constraints on your availability (e.g. particular evenings)

We are specifically looking for artists for January for Schools Pilot project, if you are interested in this then please include

A brief outline of a possible 12 week primary module in your art form which can be delivered for an hour each week, which outlines the pupils activities, learning outcomes, skill development, how you would assess progress and resources necessary.

The deadline for applications is 21st November. Interviews will take place on 29th November
Please send this information to Natalie Aden

Education Development Centre, 219 Knowsley Lane, Knowsley L36 8HW
natalie.aden@knowsley.gov.uk
Tel: 0151 443 5733

Emma Bush Schools and Communities Art Service Manager

A new gallery in North Liverpool opened with a group show on Sunday. The Almiro is in Waterloo and is run by the McCarthy family. I haven't got to see the place yet but there was a review in the Daily Post yesterday.
Almiro website www.almirogallery.com (not working at present)

When I reviewed the !00% Cotton exhibition at the Maritime Museum I neglected to mention the exciting design a T shirt competition. I have already done mine which is obviously a winner.

The competition is split into two age categories:

16s and above
The winner of the 16+ category will win a SIGNED VIVIENNE WESTWOOD T-SHIRT from her Spring/Summer 2006 AR Gold Label Collection. The design was specially created for Liberty and Vivienne herself wore the design at the Milan MAN Catwalk Show in June 2005.

The signed Vivienne Westwood prize has been generously donated by the Liverpool store, Vivienne Westwood, 8 Mathew Street, Liverpool L2 6RE.

15s and under
For those aged 15 and under, there’s a magnificent 205 piece art set. It contains 72 jumbo pastels, 32 marker pens, 2 paint brushes, 68 colouring pencils, 22 tube water colours, 4 pencils and more, all in a reusable wooden carrying case. The ideal prize for the budding artist or designer

The competition is being judged by Oscar Pinto-Hervia, Director of Hervia Ltd and Head Buyer for the Vivienne Westwood stores in Manchester and Liverpool, and Pauline Rushton, Curator of Costume and Textiles at National Museums Liverpool.

The competition will close on Friday 21 April 2006 so you have plenty of time.
Full details and entry form here.

I spotted this on Ivan Pope's Blog. They really are urinals made out of buckets, they're in a restaurant in Brighton.
They should have had them in Liverpool Tate during the Paul McCarthy exhibition.

I braved the awful weather this evening to bring you a film review no less. Sadly not many other people made it to this first in a series of four Avant-garde film nights at the Cornerstone building, Hope University.
These are old 16mm films so I suppose it was inevitable there would be some technical problems, the show started a bit late and then finished early as the final 30 minute film, Castle II by Malcolm Le Grice could not be show (problems with the spooling apparently).
So the films we did see were:
1. GUY SHERWIN
AT THE ACADEMY
UK, 1974, B&W, 5 mins.

2. MALCOLM LE GRICE
THRESHOLD
UK, 1972, colour, 10 mins.

3. JOHN LATHAM
SPEAK
UK, 1968-69, colour, 11 mins.

4. JEFF KEEN
MARVO MOVIE
UK, 1967, colour, 5 mins.

5. MICHAEL MAZIERE
LES BAIGNEURS
UK & France, 1986, colour, 6 mins.
& 6. SWIMMER
UK & France, 1987, colour, 7 mins.

They're not called Avant-garde for nothing, its a far cry from the standard cinema experience, They challenge your patience and your eyes - lots of strobing.

The series is supported by the Cornerstone gallery and Hope University and is curated by James Harding and Edda Markus. They said:
This screening will introduce some of the films which have helped to define British avant-garde cinema. The 7 films, although varying in style and approaches, utilise and challenge the material of cinema
itself. At times intensely beautiful, as with Michael Maziere's filmic reaction to the paintings of Cezanne, at other times politically charged, as in Malcolm Le Grice's 'Castle II'

I enjoyed John Latham's 'Speak' though it was a long 11 minutes. They probably look a bit dated now, certainly lo-tech but remember some of these were made when we thought lava lamps and soap bubbles were cutting edge.

Hope to see more people there for the next one in December, its Free and there was free wine and crisps afterwards too!

Sandra Blow is 80 years old this year, she was born in London in 1925, Sandra's innovative approach to painting during the 1950's insured her position as one of the leaders of the post war British abstract movement. Sandra studied at St. Martin's (1941-6) and then the Royal Academy School's, before leaving for Italy where she distilled her own form of reductive abstract expressionism, preoccupied with space, matter and movement.
She has been involved in many major exhibitions worldwide. Quality and collectible stuff.
Sandra Blow - Prints and Collages at Editions until mid November 2005.

Editions are also selling hand-made chocolates at the moment yum-yum.

Dave Bixter's Dyingfrog arts network is another good way of publicising your arts events so....

November's newsletter is out a week today (that's Tuesday Nov 1st)
If you would like to publicise an event or would like to make a contribution to the newsletter, please
email newsletter@dyingfrog.co.uk
before 5pm on Friday 28th October.

Regards,
Dave Bixter

Director, dyingfrog arts network

Web: www.dyingfrog.co.uk

Now here is a rare event indeed. A public art exhibition at John Moores University School of Art & Design.

'Ours For Keeps' - Red Dot Exhibitions present a solo show of the abstract expressionist paintings of Liverpool-based artist Sue Milburn. Liverpool John Moores University, School of Art & Design, 68 Hope Street. 1 November - 18 November. Opening times: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. Private View: Friday 4 November 6pm - 8 pm. Please bring your own bottle!
Further details: contact Sue 0790 500 5286 www.red-dotexhibitions.co.uk

The Tate's 'Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era' closed last month but good to see its gone on tour. It opens in Frankfurt on November 2nd. then onto Vienna next May.

PULL A CRACKER!
Christmas singles event at Lady Lever Art Gallery

This Christmas National Museums Liverpool is hosting another Single in the City event at the Lady Lever Art Gallery on Friday 2 December 2005 from 7- 10pm.

This is the fifth of NML’s singles evenings. The events are extremely popular, attracting people from Merseyside, Cheshire, Wirral and Greater Manchester.

The Lady Lever Art Gallery is a remarkable place with a romantic history - named in memory of the Lord Leverhulme’s wife. The elegant surroundings of this beautiful Edwardian gallery make it an ideal venue to meet new people.

The evening’s entertainment includes:
* Private tours of the gallery, featuring famous Pre-Raphaelite paintings, fantastic ceramic pieces, stunning Roman and Greek sculpture and rare examples of Wedgewood pottery

* Festive fun and ice-breaker games - including 'Find your Match', 'Christmas Cracker', a team quiz and more! Prizes will be awarded for the most spectacular team effort

* Unique gifts for Christmas will be available in the gallery’s shop.

Tickets to the event cost just £8 and include a drink and light refreshments. Places are limited so please book in advance. For more information or to book your place call Kathy McKeon on 0151 478 4616 or email events@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

Just a reminder to let you know that there are only limited places left for Cardboard Citizens' Professional Training Courses in Theatre of the Oppressed techniques, led by Augusto Boal and Adrian Jackson.

Book now to avoid disappointment!

Courses run from November 2005 - March 2006 and include:

* Forum Theatre Week in Liverpool led by Adrian Jackson - 28 November-2 December 2005
For further information and booking forms see www.cardboardcitizens.org.uk

There's always nice artwork on the walls of the Quarter cafe in Falkner St. and most of it is for sale. They have recently swapped out the excellent and popular Elaine Preece Stanley for new works by Roy McCarthy. They are completely abstract works using mostly shades of red. Roy says of his work..

"A lot of my work goes through many incarnations before I arrive at what I'm looking for - most get scratched out and painted over again ten or twenty times before they are finished. Usually a little piece from each layer creeps through, adding to the texture and the feeling that this is something that has some history. I make the paintings using household paint, tile grout, hammerite, car paints, floor varnish and anything else I can get my hands on"
You can see more of Roy's work at the recently opened Almiro Gallery in Waterloo.

Also on show are some mixed media on canvas works by Nicole Bartos which are nice lighter shades. Then there's Andrew Dawson's photographs in the back room which have been there a while.

Oh Gawd, is it half-term already! That means all my quiet places will be packed out with children. Great!

WALK THE PLANK
* Floating arts organisation presents dramatic guided walk
* Half term fun for all ages

STATUES are the inspiration for a new event by Walk The Plank arts organisation.

Based on the UK's only touring theatre ship, the company has stopped off in Liverpool's Albert Dock to lead a walk with unusual theatrical happenings called Beauty and the Beast, using the gargoyles and monuments of the city.

They event will take place this half term on Wednesday 26th October at 6pm and 8pm, having teamed up with students from Liverpool Community College to deliver the exciting project. Even Carmen Miranda will make a
spooky appearance.

Artists Eilidh Bryan and Rowan Watts have also been commissioned to work alongside students from the college to create two large lantern sculptures, one for Beauty and the other The Beast, which will make their first appearance on this guided walk.

The original idea for the project came from an article, Capital of Sculpture, and it forms part of the Around the City in 80 Days programme, funded by the Liverpool Culture Company and Urban Cultural Programme, working together for European Capital of Culture 2008.

The Beauty and the Beast walk has been created by Green Badge guides Sandy MacMillan and Marie Rolfe especially for the occasion, with help from theatrical devisor Tony Cairns.

The walk costs £1.00 and 50p for concessions and begins at the ship, moored in Albert Dock. Tickets are available in advance from Walk the Plank on 0161 736 8964. Please wear appropriate clothing for the weather
conditions.

Also, on the 26th October the ship's crew welcomes visitors on board this unique venue for a special half term open day from 12pm-3pm. During the day people will have the opportunity to take a tour of the ship and see
what Walk the Plank has to offer to its commercial clients.

For more information on Walk the Plank, please visit www.walktheplank.co.uk

Here are some pictures of the recent Berlin Art Show which featured several Liverpool artists which I listed in an earlier post thanks mainly to Adam Nankervis and Jill Rock of Museum MAN. And here is Jill's report of the event...

Dear Adam - this is an open letter of my thoughts on the Kunstsalon as co-curator - a piece of insider text.

As I understand it you were first asked to take Museumman to the Kunstsalon last spring and it was some time in the Summer when you asked if I would co-curate. Having taken part in setting up Museumman in Falkner St. Liverpool for the Biennial in Autumn 2004, assembling 'A Room Of Her Own' there at that time, and then seen the move to Rodney St.setting up the continuation of GOOD MORNING HERR SCHWITTERS, GUTEN ABEND MR RUSKIN, renamed as 'KATHEDRAL OF EROTIC MISERY' there was no hesitation in my mind, but we were both insanely busy during the Summer months so although I had taken on board the concept behind Blueprints and felt at home with the idea and readily agreed, the idea was fairly loose in my mind when we set out from Liverpool with the works in our suitcases to Easyjet it over the water.

There was an excitement when we first went to the Arena where Edmund Piper was overseeing the final stages of setting up that huge ex-industrial site into discreet areas for organisations , groups and galleristes showing artists from all over the world. It was also at that point that the complexity of the philosophy behind Museuman hit me for what we had to do was to somehow create a sense of that particular intimacy which is Museumman hallmark within this space, a polemic which excluded no-one but recognised the role of art as tantamount in the human condition. That large white three-sided open square hit us in the eyes with all the associations of previous 'Art Fairs". so that although the Berlin Kunstsalon was art based rather than market based as the parallel Berliner Art Forum was, the format remained.

Your first move was the decision to get the space painted red so ensued a wild taxi ride searching for red paint . You, Robbie Kravitz and myself watched the transition from white to what turned out to be pink with alternating enthusiasm and trepidation, but then we had to go for it, so on scarcely dry paint we hung the huge Apples and Pears piece, featuring yourself and David enacting what could be seen as a Blueprint for a War from David Medala's show in London in 6 Easy Steps at the ICA earlier in September. Do you remember our surprise to find that what had dominated a wall in the ICA now filled barely half of a wall such was the size of the space. At the entrance to the space we hung George Lund's riotous painting telling the story of our journey as monkey. cat, hen and fawn from Liverpool to Berlin. In the meantime Marc Patzold, Peter Schnaake, LorettaFahrenholz, and Klaus Kempner from Leipzig had arrived to create an architectural space within Museumman, strictly on the intuitive level we responded to each other, creating Gothic spires within the ambiance of a warehouse with the blueprints forming the background for the artists own work.

For me the decisive moment was when we opened up the Blueprints you had found in the disused factory in Liverpool to fix them on to the walls in giant pillar formation echoing their origin as plans for industrial installations. The gift was the unlikely combination of the bright pink walls and the beautifully faded blues and creamy yellows of these huge plan sheets which sat as if made, within this Berlinisch factory space. I found unexpected correspondences started to emerge. The Blueprints began naturally to form the structure for the paper works that artists from all over the world had sent to you in Liverpool, making a fascinating dialogue between their own personal take on the idea of a Blueprint and the technical drawings which assumed an aesthetic within the context of Museumman Berlin Kunstsalon. Tony Knox's moths, between and on and under the formality, reminding us of our mortality as they interwove within the space.

A further dialogue was made when you made the decision to reserve a space without the Blueprints for the larger organic works by Robbie Kravitz, Deborah Wargon, Gaynor Sweeney and Dominic Eggarman. Gary Sollars huge painting 'Dogs' from Tate Liverpool was to add the erotic. Exquisitely painted, the myth of the crisis of human as hermaphrodite. What was emerging was that essential polemic between the artist, the industrial space, the concept of art fairs, and the disposition of the public who too often feel alienated. Subtle, understated, fun, Museumman was eating away at prejudices, as the very moth on the walls , not to mention the full size reproduction of Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' placed with pride as in living rooms throughout the world. On the morning of the opening we brought in the bed surrounded by all the things which make up the sense of the personal. You and Mona set it up as in Museumman with all the affection of the truly lived in home, in collision with the stereotyped glass and chrome of the universal gallery style; the bed was to become the centre for informal meetings and exchanges throughout the week. And people just kept coming. Artists came bringing work to add to Museumman. George Lund aka funky chicken and Calum F Kerr performed tirelessly within the Kunstsalon itself. A magnificent choir came to sing for us, you, David , and Mona performed ' Pythagorean Conversations In Post Einstenian SpaceTime Continuum'
on Sunday, David then planning a Music Salon for the final closing evening in which we all performed with well wishers-----the floor space becoming the final resting place for a magnificent collage of the phatasmograghy of idiosyncratic pieces of our performances, as the people around joined in the final finale.

W e made many new friends, explored the basis for future collaborations, remade many old acquaintances creating goodwill within the context of the art space which denied no-one the right to take part,

Thank you to Edmund Piper for instigating the Kunstsalon, the aFoundation, the staff, particularly Linda, Ulli, and Julia, and the artists who made it all possible. Maybe the opening of this polemic left its mark in the minds of the thousands who visited us opening avenues of correspondences usually left closed.

best wishes, good rest, much love
your co -curator
Jill

Too late, they have already drawn up the shortlist.
Of the 5 artists on the list guess how many don't live in London.

The Observer headline 'The new art elite: young, gifted, female ' should read
'The new art elite: young, gifted, female - and London-based'

Judges of the inaugural MaxMara art prize for women have shortlisted five young female artists who stand to win a six-month residency in Italy worth several thousand pounds. They are the painter Anj Smith, photographer Anne Hardy, watercolourist Donna Huddleston, sculptor Rachel Kneebone and film-maker Margaret Salmon....

Link to Observer

UPDATE: F lemare comments that they are not all London-based, it was an Observer error. Apologies for that, I did try to double check by searching for details from other news sources and have just tried again now but can't find much. Even the Whitechapel gallery which is organising it hasn't updated their website with the shortlist.

I took a break from galleries and computers yesterday, put my feet up and read a book. Something I have not done for quite a while. I didn't want anything too long or heavy so this 86 page novella by artist and poet Alice Lenkiewicz was ideal. I read half in the morning while sipping coffee in the Quarter cafe and the rest whilst half-listening to the football news in the afternoon.
According to the synopsis 'The novella explores a brief lapse in the life of Maxine, a bored housewife living in the 1950s. Realising that her life is uninteresting and lacking in meaning she strives to travel back in time where she encounters the muses and artists from famous ancient masterpieces.'
I found it a bit difficult at first as its not very linear at all but I soon got used to it. The book is split into Incidents rather than Chapters and we meet a different poet (A-F) and are introduced to an artist or painting from the past in each incident. Alice has also drawn an illustration to go with each title and short poems are used to break up the narrative.
In the present day (or at least 1950s onwards) story various issues relating to the role of women in marriage are examined, Maxine has to have her husband's dinner on the table when he gets home and she meekly follows his advice about what she should do with her life, etc. Meanwhile she travels back in time to have adventures that make her reassess her life and what it is she really wants.
The book finishes with a fictional interview with both Maxine and the author where they explain what the book is all about which is an unusual device I haven't seen before. Better than those pages of notes you get with the old classics.
I enjoyed it, it satisfied my need to have a relaxing escape into a short story with the added bonus that now I want to find out more about some of the artists and painters featured. So now I'm going to Google 'Artemisia Gentileschi Judith and her Maidservant'.
You can order the book from Amazon or the publishers Bluechrome or Blackwells.

A new £15,000 prize for painting for artists & student artists with a unique selection process has been launched in the UK.
The Celeste Painting Prize wishes to encourage excellence in painting in its widest possible sense from the traditional to works that push the boundaries of painting and is open to anyone living and working in the UK and UK citizens living and working abroad at the time of the submission.

Avoiding the time honoured jury panels of the great & the good, the prize has asked a new generation of curators from the Curatorial Programme at the Goldsmiths College to short list the artists.

From the shortlist, 60 finalists will be selected to be exhibit in London and following the week long exhibition, the finalists will then vote for who they consider to be the best artist.

An accompanying 200 page catalogue illustrating the work not only the finalists but also of the short listed artists will be published at the same time as the exhibition, with critical texts, it is intended to be a survey of current painting practise in the UK.

The deadline for submissions is the 31st January 2006 and the exhibition & announcement of the winners will take place in London in May 2006.

Further information can be gained from www.celesteartprize.co.uk

Sara Pearce
Celeste Art Prize
28 Vestry Road
London SE5 8NX

T: + 44207 701 6679
E: info@celesteartprize.co.uk

'I am Neko - This is Hypersoma' at Unit 14, 36 Seel St. Neko (= 'cat' in Japanese) isn't his real name, its his handle or tag or whatever that he has used since graduating a few years ago. This is Neko's studio that he has decided to turn into an artwork for about a month. Pink and yellow are obviously his favourite colours at the moment, Soma is the drug that features in Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World'. It has a mellowing influence but Neko's Hypersoma seemingly has a much more chaotic effect.

You will know by now that as a rule I like things neat and tidy but as a one-off work of art I'm quite happy with this. There is a lot going on and there is just enough room for one or two people to enter the room where you feel like you are inside the work. Chairs, tables and ladders are taped together at odd angles and heights, there's a projector and monitors showing various graphics and very loud music to heighten the senses as well. Hundreds of drawings and printed illustrations are hanging from floor to ceiling and covering the corridor leading to the studio.
Always nice to see an artist putting on a show in their own studio, definitely worth a visit. Make an appointment by emailing Neko at egerton@blueyonder.co.uk or phone 07788 806 112

Just a reminder that the China Live performance art tour is in Liverpool tomorrow Saturday Oct 22nd. at 4 different venues. It says booking is essential but its free and you can attend all or part of the programme.
Its sounds really interesting but I may miss it partly because I need a rest but also because I get nervous when words like 'visceral' and 'using his own blood' are used !
Full details of the programme here
Link to the liveartuk webpage

Digital Curator: Big Screen Liverpool
Part time, 22.5 hours (3 days) per week
Freelance, Fixed term, 9 month contract
Fee: £8100

This is a newly created post with the opportunity for further growth and with an exploratory grant from Arts Council England, the Big Screen Liverpool wishes to invite applications for freelance Digital Curator to be hosted initially by FACT: the Foundation for Art & Creative Technology.

Reporting to a management committee made up of leading arts organisations and the BBC, you will work closely alongside the BBC Screen Manager and will develop a rolling programme of artistic film & video content with both a local and international flavour. The chosen candidate will develop partnerships with arts organisations and the local community, encouraging an open submissions policy, and supporting the use of the screen for local film and video makers together with the use of the screen by both FACT and the Liverpool Biennial as a satellite gallery space.

The successful applicant will also be required to explore funding sources to ensure the continuation of this position, working with a diverse, multi-agency team and contributing toward what we hope will be a successful model for a world-first project of this type.

For more information please contact:
Sheindal Cohen or Rebecca Ward
Email: recruitment@fact.co.uk
Tel: 0151 707 4444
Website: www.fact.co.uk

Deadline for applications: 5 pm, Monday 7 November 2005
Interviews in Liverpool: Monday 14 November 2005

We welcome applications from any individual regardless of ethnic origin, gender, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation or age. All applications will be considered on merit.

Pick up a canvas with your coffee Oct 19 2005

MANY diners are leaving restaurants and bars with a full stomach and a new painting.
By Laura Davis, Daily Post

MOST diners expect to leave a restaurant with a lighter wallet and a fuller stomach. These days, however, as is fitting for a designated capital of culture, they might find themselves with an original painting under one arm, as Liverpool restaurant and bar owners catch on to the French custom of selling art works from their walls....

And

Portrait of Merseyside - past and present Oct 18 2005

A BRILLIANT artist plans to capture the spirit and character of Merseyside in 100 portraits of today's people and an epic canvas of our past.
By David Charters, Daily Post

THE artist himself has a modest manner and his voice is as soft as a cat on a carpet, but within him there swells enough talent to hang the walls of grand galleries with the faces of people who have in some way illuminated his life.

When he is finished, there will be 100 of these faces, all from Merseyside.

And they will be Tony Brown's own hall of fame to be formally unveiled in 2007 when Liverpool celebrates the 800th anniversary of its Royal Charter being granted by King John....

And

A cultural challenge Oct 20 2005

LAURA Davis meets the woman determined to make sure Capital of Culture year offers something for everyone

WHEN Liverpool's Capital of Culture bid team unveiled its slogan as "The World in One City", among the applause and nods of approval there were a few raised eyebrows.

For although the city is unarguably ethnically diverse - with Europe's longest-standing Chinese community and the UK's oldest black community - this is a fact that is often easy to forget.
Liverpool's black community is invisible even though we are the longest established in the country," says Kim Johnson, who took on the role in August. "I spent a long time working in Manchester and you see lots of different communities there when you walk through the city centre. It's not the same here but it's improving slowly....

I was a bit lazy and dashed off to view this exhibition at World Museum Liverpool (2nd floor) without reading up on what it was all about. But no worries there's a nice A4 information pack to take as I enter.
"This exhibit opposes any prophetic pedagogy that knows everything before it happens..." Oh dear, several paragraphs full of more high-brow buzzwords later and I'm none the wiser. Lots of words, saying nothing, Ah! this must be a 'teachers pack', they're used to dealing with this stuff.

Fortunately the NML press office are experienced interpreters too so I refer to their press release...

"A new exhibition at World Museum Liverpool demonstrates the ground-breaking techniques used in the pre-school educational centres of excellence in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia, Italy.
100 Languages of Children opens Monday 17 October to 13 November 2005 and features artwork produced by the Reggio children. World Museum Liverpool is the last place to house the exhibition in Britain.
The schools were established more than 40 years ago and central to their approach is the interests of the child, with teachers observing and supporting the 100 ways in which children communicate and express their ideas.
Young children are encouraged to explore their environment and express themselves through all of their natural languages, including words, movement, drawing, painting, building, sculpture, shadow play, collage, dramatic play and music. The exhibition contains examples of these forms of creativity and the unique methods used to inspire them."

That's more like it and, to be fair, most of the literature in the pack is good and interesting as is the exhibition. If you are at all interested in the education of young children you should go and see this before its tour of Britain ends here on November 13th. Its a large room packed with examples of the output from the children's projects. I just love the cute angels like this one and the mural is cool too.

Hey, I found a traffic light graveyard by St Lukes Church the other day. How sad they are with their feet buried in barrels of concrete.
Ah, But wasn't it great to see the Christmas decorations up over Bold St. on Monday morning? I'm definitely going to feel much more festive now and for the next ten weeks !

There are two Yorkshire artists showing at the Academy at the moment. Graham Jenkinson, from Huddersfield, has exhibited here before. He makes sculptures out of reclaimed metal, old boilers, tools, pipes, bolts etc often to quite amusing effect. He normally uses the original shapes of the objects and avoids cutting them up which gives the pieces extra interest I think. Its quite clear for instance that the petals of the large flower are made from old horseshoes. The titles are amusing too, the piece pictured here is 'Cock a Tool', there's a large 'Scrap Dragon' and a small sculpture of the Beatles called Fabricated 4. They're inexpensive, ranging from £20 to £200.
Graham Lowe from North Yorkshire worked as a commercial photographer and photography lecturer for many years and now concentrates on his own work and runs his Montage Galleries in that area. There are several black and white prints which all look very good to me, very professional I suppose. Yes, 'atmospheric' is an over-used word but these really are. There's a great one of Lindisfarne which looks really spooky and almost 3D. Also great shots of Dunnator Castle and the usual lakes and mountain scenes with stormy skies.
Graham uses only traditional 'wet' darkroon hand-printing methods. I'm not so keen on the composite prints though, like the one pictured here. There are a few of these, its an interesting idea and some work better than others, I like the panoramic one of Langdale, but for some reason he's surrounded them with bits of red and black typewritten text and other bits and pieces. I find that too distracting and untidy. Also reasonably priced for what are high-quality prints.
'Chasing Skies and Fractured Landscapes' photography by Graham Lowe
and
'The Final Rust Resurrection' metal reclamation by Graham Jenkinson
at Liverpool Academy of Art until October 28th 2005.

The latest exhibition in the living room/gallery space of museumMAN is 'reformat:product' by Simon Bendi. There are several mixed media works using paint, wire, beads and other found objects similar to the one pictured here which is called 'east coast hip hop'. A lot of the work is influenced by black American music and informed by Simon's studies of the politics of production.
There is a triptych of self-portraits 'Me, Myself, I' with the paint laid on thick and spikey and 3 video pieces which as usual failed to grab my attention.
At MuseumMAN until end October2005

After taking pictures of Ben Johnson this morning it was a short walk to the Tate to see the new exhibition which opened on Saturday. The whole of the 2nd floor houses 'Inverting the Map - Latin American Art from the Tate Collection'.

Quoting Gerardo Mosquera "Some writers prefer to speak of 'art from Latin America' instead of 'Latin American art'... To stop being 'Latin American art' means to distance oneself from a simplified notion of art in Latin America and to highlight the extraordinary variety of symbolic production of the continent"
I don't think there's a worse sound on this planet than a barking dog but that's what greets you as you reach the entrance to the exhibition. Its a video by Francis Alys called 'El Gringo' of horrible dogs in the street confronting the camera and therefore the viewer. I move on swiftly.

Seems to be a lot of political stuff here, a large group of small beds in the middle of the room has maps of Europe printed on them. Guillermo Kuitca is emphasising economic and social divisions apparently.

Pictured here i