From National Museums Liverpool...
World Museum Liverpool reaches another landmark
World Museum Liverpool broke all records for visitors during the February half-term holiday last week.
In the seven-day period from Monday 20 February to Sunday 26 February 2006 there was a stunning total of 36,000 visitors – more than three times the average weekly figure.
And nearly 33,000 (77 per cent) of the visitors went to the new eye for Colour exhibition at the museum in the same period.
The previous record numbers of visitors were 24,000 each in the weeks of the May Day bank holiday and October half term holiday after World Museum Liverpool opened.
World Museum Liverpool (formerly Liverpool Museum) opened in April 2005 after a £35 million renovation scheme which doubled its size and brought thousands of objects out of store to fill new galleries.
eye for Colour looks at the amazing world of colour. Visitors enjoy astonishing experiences linked to ever-changing domains of colour where light and shade combine to create startling forms. There are also many hands-on activities. The exhibition runs until 27 August 2006.

This might look like a bit of a crime scene at the moment as well but its just that I was at the Walker this morning before they had even finished hanging the pictures on the wall.
'Partners in Crime' is just the two paintings hanging side by side – Cézanne’s The Murder and Sickert’s Jack the Ripper’s Bedroom. The common theme for these two rather sinister paintings is murder.

Cezanne is often referred to as the father of modern art and is credited with influencing such artists as Picasso and Matisse. The Murder was painted in 1867 and is an early, dark example of Paul Cezanne’s work. A novel by Zola, in which the heroine murders her husband, may have inspired the choice of subject. In the painting, the murderer is lifting his hand ready to give the final blow, while his accomplice uses all his strength to hold the victim down.

Walter Sickert’s interpretation of Jack the Rippers Bedroom (1906) is a shadowy, macabre piece, with a bed just distinguishable beneath the filtered half-light coming through the blinded window. The colours used are muted and the onlooker is left with more questions than answers. Some believe that Sickert was Jack the Ripper.

The Cezanne is from the Walker's collection and the Sickert from Manchester Art Gallery as this is one of a series of collaborations between the two galleries under the title of Partners in Art.
They are in the Impressionists room until May 31st 2006

Operations Events Technician
£18K (Pro Rata)
Permanent, Part Time (32 Hours Per Week)

Based in Liverpool, European Capital of Culture 2008, FACT is dedicated to the support, development and presentation of artists’ work in film, video and new media.

FACT is now looking for an Operations Events Technician to work within the Operations Team to be responsible for the technical support of all events and hires within the FACT Centre (other than Exhibition Programme events).

For more information or to request an application pack please contact:
Sheindal Cohen or Becs Ward, FACT, 88 Wood Street, Liverpool. L1 4DQ
Email: recruitment@fact.co.uk.
Tel: 0151 707 4444

Application deadline is 5PM on Friday 10 MARCH 2006.
Applications cannot be accepted after this time.

Interviews to be held week beginning 13 MARCH 2006.

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.

I'm really interested in this project and will be following closely and posting any news on this blog. NOISE (www.noisefestival.com) is a national online showcase of creative talent for people aged 25 and under. Although its national, it was set up in the North West mainly by Arts Council NW and NWDA.
It was launched last Thursday at Tate Liverpool where as well as speeches from people such as Culture Minister James Purnell and Mark Eley (of Eley Kishimoto – one of the UK’s top fashion designers) we watched Killa Kel (the Human beatbox) and Angel (X Factor finalist) perform an excellent short set.

The Curators also include Peter Saville, Wayne Hemingway, Anthony Wilson, Daniel Brown and the prominent artist Stella Vine who I was pleased to chat to at the launch. She's really excited about the whole thing and looking forward to looking at every one of the artists submissions.

From the website.....

WHAT IS NOISE?
Are you 25 and under and want to get into the creative industries? Would you like to see your work on television, radio, online and in print? Plus an opportunity to have your work reviewed by some of the UK’s most renowned creatives and potential international collaborators.

NOISE is an arts and media festival for all young people (age 25 and under). From now until 31st May 2006 you can submit your work for the Noise media showcase in October 2006.

1. Register. We need some basic information on our artists <-- YOU!
2. Submit. This is where - and how - you POST YOUR ART to us. The team and top creative jury will select the best work and showcase it across the media in October 2006.
3. Modify. Why don’t you make something HAPPEN on our website now? Go to our flashsite and use the tool bar, you can submit your version of our start page and if we like it we’ll go live with it.
4. Blog. . If you have a blog already let us know about it. If not go to our Blog page and make your own MSN Space now. www.noisefestival.com/blog

Some very nice paintings at Editions Gallery in Cook St. by Val and Doug Robinson until March 9th 2006.
Both have quite distinctive styles using lots of earth colours, Val's work is mostly figurative compositions in oils. She has painted professionally since graduating from Liverpool Art School.
Doug is a retired architect and paints imagined landscapes inspired by prehistoric features.
These are recent works and are very popular, I noticed quite a few being bought on the opening night.

Multi Media Designers required:

Collective Encounters is a north Liverpool based theatre company, dedicated to using theatre as a tool for social change. Growing out of last years Living Place Project, in 2006 Collective Encounters will be delivering
(dis)
connected a project exploring disengagement, disenfranchisement and democracy. The programme will have two stands: a participative training project and a professional site-specific production.

We are looking to work with multi media designers across both strands of this project. If you have proven skills in multi media design, integrating multi media and live performance are interested in theatre in found spaces and in making politically informed work please send a CV and/or example of your work to -

Sarah Thornton, Artistic Director, Collective Encounters
84 Allington Street, Liverpool L17 7AF
Or for more information e mail:sarah@collective-encounters.org.uk

 
This actually opened on February 18th, in time for the half-term holiday but I didn't have time to write about it.
I have already been round 3 times and really enjoyed it.
Its aimed at the 7-12 age group which seems to about the right level for me!
Its at the World Museum until August 26th, you might have to queue for a while to get a go on the popular Art Machine which (virtually) shoots colors onto a spinning screen, you then save the image and email it to yourself (or someone else). When you receive the image you can then use the makemymegastore site to print it onto various items such cards, T shirts etc.

Favourite Colour
Also online you can choose your favourite colour and have it projected in the exhibition and on the website
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/exhibitions/colour/selectfavourite.aspx

Eye For Colour
The rainbow revealed at World Museum Liverpool
The amazing world of colour, from dark sombre hues to dazzling psychedelic spectrums, is spotlighted in Eye for Colour at the World Museum Liverpool from 18 February to 27 August 2006.

Visitors enjoy astonishing experiences linked to ever-changing domains of colour where light and shade combine to create startling forms. This is where science meets art in more ways than one. This is a rainbow universe where the senses are stimulated to incredible degrees, where colour takes on an ever-increasing importance.

Eye for Colour explains and explores what colour is all about – its origins, how the natural world exploits its benefits, how artists use colour and its cultural significance in the world around us.

Hands-on experiences and interactives involve visitors and invite them to explore, play and be creative with colour. A giant swivelling human eyeball dominates its surroundings with a camera in the retina. Visitors can see how the eye works and make the model move about.
etc. See the NML website

Straying well off-topic this morning, I though this was interesting at the end of half-term week when there seems to be very few people at their office desks. Hopefully I'll get a flood of responses on Monday to the emails I've sent this week to people stuck at home looking after their schoolkids.

From the WorkSmart website

Over five million people at work in the UK regularly do unpaid overtime, giving their employers £23 billion of free work every year. If you're one, why not take some time to reflect on how well (or badly) you're balancing your life?

Take a proper lunchbreak, not just a sandwich at your desk, and leave on time, to enjoy your own time on Friday evening. You deserve it! This is one day in the year for your boss to appreciate your efforts, and for you to appreciate yourself. Here's how to do it:....

From liverpool08....

Multi-million arts boost in culture city
Liverpool is planning a £12m boost to arts and cultural organisations so they can plan for the European Capital of Culture year in 2008.

The Liverpool Culture Company has proposed a radical new funding package, including a recommendation that arts grants change from an annual to a three-year cycle.

A report outlining grant funding for 27 organisations, highlighted as key to underpinning the delivery of the artistic programme and Capital of Culture calendar, is to go to the city council's Executive Board on Friday 3 March.

If approved, Liverpool will award grants of £3.6m in 06-07, £3.69m in 07-08 and £3.77m in 08-09.

Over the three years, the Culture Company has also set aside a further £1.2m for arts organisations and community groups to pay for projects that compliment the themed years programme - i.e. Performance in 2006 and Heritage in 2007.

The new package would mark a four-fold annual increase in arts grants since 2000-01, the year the city decided to bid for the 08 crown, when less than £1m was awarded.

On top of grants, the Liverpool Culture Company has also budgeted to invest £16.2m in events and arts in 2008 alone.

The report outlines that the main objective of the new grants package is to 'maintain, enhance and grow the cultural infrastructure of the city'.

The three-year strategy has the backing of the Arts Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, both of which recently pledged a total of £10m to the city's 08 plans.

Cllr Warren Bradley, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said: "The Liverpool Culture Company cannot deliver the artistic programme for European Capital of Culture 2008 on its own. The city's arts sector has an important role to play in delivering activity up to and including 2008. This funding enables them to plan ahead and help deliver an outstanding cultural programme.''

As well as funding through grants, the Liverpool Culture Company will also develop partnerships with existing organisations, including collaborations, co-productions, and commissions to deliver the 08 programme.

A review of grant processes carried out by the Community Foundation Merseyside recommended the group of Regularly-Funded Organisations be broadened.

The proposed 27 organisations are:

Africa Oyé
Ariel Trust
Arts in Regeneration
Unity Theatre
Biennial Festival
Bluecoat Arts Centre
Brouhaha
FACT
Homotopia
Hope Street
Lantern Festival
Liverpool Irish Festival
Liverpool Centre for Arts Development
Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival
Liverpool Comedy Trust
Liverpool Theatres Trust
Merseyside Dance Initiative
Milapfest
Mzone
NWDAF and DaDaFest
Open Eye Gallery
Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra
Positive Impact
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society
Tate Liverpool
Walk the Plank
Writing On The Wall
Jason Harborow, Chief Operating Officer of the Liverpool Culture Company, said: "These organisations underline the outstanding cultural strength and quality of Liverpool and why we were chosen to represent the UK in 2008. They are central to delivering key aspects of the artistic programme. By providing certainty that their funding is in place leading up to and including 2008, they will be better able to plan delivery in these years.''

The project grants have been devised so that arts organisations can bid for a maximum of £15,000 and a maximum of £5,000 for community groups to allow for participation and creative links to the themed years. This will be distributed via an annual application process based on criteria which will include deliverability, impact and quality.

If approved by the Executive Board, the Liverpool Culture Company will launch the annual projects grants round in the summer.

Professor Drummond Bone, Chairman of the Liverpool Culture Company, said: "A strong and sustainable cultural sector is vital if we are to deliver the best-ever European Capital of Culture in 2008. This new package underlines our commitment to provide arts organisations and the people of Liverpool opportunities to showcase their talent on a global stage.''

CALLING ALL ARTISTS!!

AN ART AUCTION IS BEING HELD IN JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY BUILDING, MYRTLE STREET
ON 14TH MARCH

THE WORK WILL BE EXHIBITED FROM THE 13TH MARCH UNTIL THE 15TH MARCH

WE ARE ASKING ARTISTS TO DONATE ANY PIECE OF WORK, ANY SCALE TO BE AUCTIONED IN AID OF THE 3RD YEAR DEGREE SHOW

ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARDS THE FUNDRAISERS

WE ARE CURRENTLY HAVING SOME PROBLEMS WITH THE SPOTLIGHT E.MAIL ADDRESS SO COULD ALL E.MAILS BE SENT TO earthboundraven@lycos.co.uk

 
There's lots of naked women in Patricks! Well, pictures of them anyway, the colourful oil on canvas paintings with white background by Sue Lucine and drawings in ink or charcoal by Jazamin Sinclair.

So why is it called 'Sport'? The shows here are curated by Helen Bryson and her website tells us that
"Sport and Art share a common ground of risk and thrills"
Which sounds about right, so why am I about the only person I know who loves art and football and cricket and computers?
The private viewing last week was enlivened by some sporting thrills as the gymnast Ashtone Johnstone did her stuff followed by the Breakdancers Annga and his Crew. There was risk involved here too, not only for the performers but the audience as its only a small dance-floor. Very entertaining.
The exhibition continues until March 6th 2006.

Looking forward to this...

Multicultural art exhibition asks: “How does it feel to be… Going Native?”

2 - 24 March 2006, Arena Gallery, 82 - 84 Duke Street, Liverpool, L1 5AA

A new exhibition of groundbreaking multicultural art opens in Liverpool on 2 March.

‘Going Native’ addresses Liverpool’s 2008 Capital of Culture slogan, ‘The World in One City’, providing a unique insight into the cultural experiences and outlooks of artists living and working in Liverpool.

The exhibition will unveil five brand new commissions, alongside existing works, by Liverpool-based artists from diverse communities, backgrounds and disciplines. Artists from China, England, India, Jamaica, Palestine, Somalia, Tibet and Trinidad are all included.

Their common theme is an investigation of Liverpool’s cultural identity, addressing the key question: “How does it feel to be always Going Native?”

To complement the artwork, an exciting program of live performances will be staged in the gallery space:

8 March at 7:30pm: The Gonzo Show inc. Nonni Jackson Twist (cabaret), Ayo Ogolo and The Fiction Crew (poetics), Mana Bozho (North American Drum Troop)

12 March at 7:00pm: John Smith and The Wooden Ducks, Blue Lantern (New Welsh Folk), Amro Bilal (Arabic Instrumentals), Oscar (Latin Folk), 1up (Nintendo Power Pop)

17 March at 7:30pm: The HIVE Collective (Electronica), plus Hope University Film Showcase

24 March at 7:30pm: Translation Karaoke, other bands TBC

Going Native’s curators are Tomas Harold and Nathan Jones of the Mercy organisation. Mercy is a print, events and exhibitions based arts organisation that specialises in providing platforms for local artists on a national level.

Private view is Thursday 2nd March, from 6-10pm: the organisers, artists and media will all be present!

'Instrumental Art' at the Liverpool Academy of Arts ends on Friday February 24th.
The theme is Musical Instruments and the focus is on a still life of the instruments rather than people or music. The works and artists are too many to list here, there are also several real instruments on display, perhaps too many, I think they distracted me a bit from the art.

Good to see the Happy Birthday Miffy exhibition will be at Manchester Art Gallery in April.

Happy Birthday Miffy! is a family focused exhibition celebrating Miffy's 50th anniversary and the work of her creator, Dick Bruna. Created by Seven Stories, the Centre for Children's Books, the exhibition leads visitors on a colourful journey through the world of this classic storybook character and her friends. Artworks from Dick Bruna's archive will be on display for the first time in the UK, with prints, letters, photos and memorabilia alongside hands-on activities for young children.
Sat 15 Apr - Sun 03 Sep 2006
Tue - Sun: 10:00 - 17:00
LINK

SPACE, LIFE AND URBAN FABRIC, SHANGHAI AND LIVERPOOL
At Bluecoat Arts Centres 'Out of The Blue' space,
53 - 51 Paradise Street
Friday 24th February (8am - 5pm)
Saturday 25th February (8am - 5pm)
Sunday 26th February (1:30am - 10am)
Free Event

e-space lab and Bluecoat Arts Centre
Invite artists, architects and all social explorers in mapping the urban, domestic and social fabric, in Liverpool and Shanghai simultaneously.

In this event e-space lab continue with their experimental work in a trans-national art project linking artists in the twinned cities of Liverpool and Shanghai.

The project will be exploring everyday life in these different places in real time, using the internet to exchange video files, and send and receive images from mobile phones. The programme of the event will be spread over three 8 hour sessions during the period of the experiment so that we can see how life compares in space and time during the day, evening and through the night.

The themes that emerge will inevitably engage with the fact that people in both places are living with the fallout of ongoing change. There will be open discussions scheduled for times when artists and audience can look at how the project explores contemporary urban and social fabric, whilst conversations can take place with people visible in the other space in the other city, made possible by live streaming video. As the e-space artists move through these cities and describe, record and engage with these urban realities, a mosaic of layered images will appear as the uploaded files are exchanged on the net, and reflecting, perhaps, the possibility of inhabiting a new type of space - a connected and virtual meta-city e-space.

All are welcome to drop in, view the work and meet the artists.
For more information contact Ema Quinn 0151 709 5297
or email ema@bluecoatartscentre.com

If I visit London soon I will have to go and see this exhibition of Brazilian culture from 1960s onwards at the Barbican. It includes Assume Vivid Astro Focus which was at Liverpool Tate last summer.
Report by Adrian Searle in the Guardian...

"Snatches of electronica drift from Assume Vivid Astro Focus's mind-mangling disco/screening booth on the mezzanine. The languid plaint of Caetano Veloso, singing Alegria, Alegria (Joy, Joy) during a 1967 music festival - at a defining moment in Brazilian popular culture - vies with the weekend dads with their kids in tow, as they play in Oiticica's installations."

New media art is a global phenomenon: a rapidly changing and dynamic field of creative practice which crosses
conventional categories and disciplinary boundaries, challenging our assumptions about art.
•• How do curators engage with new media art?
•• What makes a good curator of new media art?
•• What can we learn from the pioneers of this field?
•• What common ground exists with other disciplines?
•• What does the future hold for curating new media art?
These and other issues will be explored at
Art—Place—Technology
www.art-place-technology.org
International Symposium on Curating New Media Art
Liverpool School of Art & Design and FACT Centre, Liverpool
30 March—1 April 2006
Fees
£65—Early Booking (before 17/03/06)
£100—Last Minute Booking (after 17/03/06)
£50—Concessions (proof of status required).

Full details on the website

 
Monday to Thursday this week - Join artist Mike Badger and create your own artwork inspired by the exhibition 'Conrad Shawcross: The Steady States'.
Suitable for families
11am, 12pm, 2pm, 3pm, Walker Art Gallery

This is very popular and I could see why, these little robot things are great fun. Mike Badger is a sculptor and musician whose work I have seen in various places on Merseyside.
I want one but I'm too old :(

Moving stories told by young people have been immortalised in recycled glass tiles.

Fifteen young people from Kingsley Community School aged 9 -11 years old have created the recycled glass tiles at Energywise with support from the Liverpool Culture Company. The finished tiles have been put together in a mosaic by arts organisation Itchy Feet and will be unveiled in front of some of the mini artists.

The project lasted about six weeks and children were involved first hand in the production of the glass tiles.

Christine Hammond and Julie Smith from The Include Consultancy, oversaw the whole project. Christine said: "We discussed whether the young people felt safe now and what they think should be in place in the future to make them feel safe. They came up with things like decent play areas, more policing, no guns and cleaner streets."

Youngsters learnt all about recycling, community safety and regeneration in a creative way and the fruits of their labour will be displayed permanently inside their school in Eversley Street, L8.

 
If you were out on Friday night you may have seen me walking round Liverpool with a small lamp attached to my forehead being filmed by an Austrian artist. I felt like a bit of a plonker, not being used to performing in front of camera but it was good fun.

I was one of 4 local artists chosen by the Austrian artist group and communication agency DIE FABRIKANTEN based in Linz. They are running a project called 'Botschaft Europa' a series of 5 European city night portraits.

We each had to visit 10 places and talk about them or introduce people, tell stories etc. It had to be at night, hence the headlamp, I'm afraid I probably finished well before the others as I didn't have a lot to say and was getting tired by midnight.

I am pictured here (photos by Minako Ueda) at the Nerve Fundraising gig with another of the four, Tamasine Seibold and 2 video artists Michael and Miho.
I won't see the final edited version for several months I think.

A Reminder from Kitchen Gallery at Norton Priory, Cheshire...

CALL TO ARTISTS: The Kitchen Gallery Open Contemporary Art Competition for Artists in the North West of England.

One artist will win the first prize of £150 cash plus a very well promoted solo show in September – of course, September is Biennial month in Liverpool and the Kitchen Gallery is located at the award winning tourist attraction of Norton Priory which is just 20 minutes drive from Liverpool!

There is also a prize of £100 selected by the staff of Norton Priory and all selected artists have the opportunity for their work to be shown to a large audience and to appear in a full colour catalogue and on the website.

With less than two weeks till the deadline for entries of 28th of February you need to hurry, but please don’t send original artwork, just photos, slides or CD-ROMS showing your artworks. 2D artwork only and no photography or computer-generated images please. Size limitations also apply; no works are to be larger that 50cm by 50 cm, nor to project more than 15 cm from the wall. Artists can send images of up to three artworks for a non-refundable fee of £5 (which accumulates into the prize money).

Please get in touch with Sarah at the Kitchen Gallery on 0151 733 5986 or by email info@kitchengallery.uk.com or have a look at the website for further information or to print a copy of the application form www.kitchengallery.uk.com

Or by post to:
The Kitchen Gallery
Norton Priory Museum & Gardens
Tudor Road
Manor Park
Runcorn
Cheshire
WA7 1SX

The Kitchen Gallery is an independent gallery located in the beautiful Norton Priory Museum and Gardens. Opening times are April to October, Friday to Sunday, 12-4 or by appointment.
This project is supported by the Arts Council of England, Halton Borough Council and Norton Priory Museum and Gardens.

From local artist Laird Galbraith...

'Artist in Residence', at the Britannia Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool.

I am currently working on a project for Liverpool's Capital of Culture 2008. With the kind support of the management of the world famous Adelphi Hotel (originally built for the Titanic's transatlantic passengers), I will be creating paintings reflecting the life and history of the hotel and it's guests, both local and from around the world.
As the highly successful and entertaining BBC TV programme showed, this 'life' can often be rather 'colourful'. However, with the residency project, I will still continue to develop the themes and issues which I have been exploring in recent years (full information and contact details can be found on my website).
This work will be more than simply, oil painted 'fly on the wall' documentation.

Anyone who has stayed at, or who intends to visit, the Adelphi, may like to consider contributing a photo to this 2008 Project.
email lairdgalbraith@yahoo.com
website www.lairdgalbraith.com

Some fine illustrations and paintings from Andrew Spencer in the directory now.
You can see more of Andrew's work on his own website at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/maybury/

Latest addition to the artinliverpool Directory of Liverpool Artists is Sarah Jane Richards. She is based in Arena Studios and will be exhibiting as part of the 'Relentless Forms' show at Urban Coffee starting on March 3rd 2006.
I love the use of colours and bold strokes in these figurative works.

Project Coordinator for the Design Sector

Part-time post 2-3 days per week, negotiable (job share)
Salary: £17,725 pa pro rata (under review)
Based in Liverpool

An energetic self-starter with sound knowledge of the design sector is sought to assist with project development and the delivery and oversee the smooth running of the Liverpool office.

The Design Initiative is unique in providing support and guidance to designers, visual artists and commissioners of design to ensure a high quality professional industry that contributes to the economic and cultural life of the region.

For further information and job description, please contact the Design Initiative on 0161 834 3722
or email Russell@designinit.org.uk

Closing date for applications: 12 noon Friday 10th March 2006 Interviews to be held on Wednesday 22nd March 2006 in Liverpool

The Design Initiative is an Equal Opportunities employer

Another fine group show at the Domino gallery in Green Fish Cafe opened last week. Not really anything to do with Valentines Day but apparently its 'an exhibition to tempt you and titillate your love'!
Works by Parabhen Lad, Clare McCarthy, Penny Gill, Elin Blake, Michael Pace-Sigge, Micheline Robinson and Neil Robertson.
Runs until March 25th 2006.

Looks really good. Robbie and Bob were there till late last night and they must have used some awful big step-ladders! Think the shirts are stuck to the wall with some magic Velcro stuff.
There's a few going up in the 08 place today.
Do call in and have a look, I'm surprised how different the designs look when printed on a real T shirt.

Microzine is at 65-67 Bold Street, Liverpool, L1 4EZ
See the 100shirts blog for full details

Announcing the launch of art06 awards nominations

Deadline Friday 10 March

art06 is Arts Council England, North West's third annual spotlight on the arts in the North West and will take place in Preston on Thursday 8 June 2006.

art06 is held in partnership with the Northwest Regional Development Agency, supported by the BBC and Preston City Council.

Every year the Arts Council presents two prestigious awards, each worth £10,000, for outstanding achievement in the arts in the North West. This year the awards will be in the areas of:

· Arts and Communities

· Children and Young People

The two brand new categories have been chosen to reflect the excellent work which is ongoing across the region, often at grass roots level, and to reflect Arts Council England's own core campaigns.

The winners will be chosen by a judging panel, whose high profile members will be announced at a later date.

Previous award winners include Contact Theatre from art04 and Quarantine and Eddie Berg from art05. All were judged to have made outstanding contributions in their respective fields.

The deadline for receipt of nominations is Friday 10 March. For more information on how to nominate and who might qualify for the art06 awards, follow this link.

www.artscouncil.org.uk/art06

Nice review by Joe Riley in the Liverpool Echo..

Most fairytales are scary, and some like Red Riding Hood and Hansel And Gretel involve dark and mysterious forests.
We are now deep in the territory of this multi-media exhibition by Becca Backhouse and Elizabeth Willow, which emerged from a shared fascination with childhood stories and their enduring effect.

Exhibition at Cornerstone ends on Friday February 17th.

LAST CHANCE TO SEE
Conrad Shawcross: The Steady States

The Walker Art Gallery is giving visitors a last chance to see the latest work of young British sculptor Conrad Shawcross, with a series of free exhibition-inspired events for all the family. The stunning show closes on Sunday 26 February 2006.
In the spirit of the exhibition, Liverpool artist Mike Badger will host a half-term Family Workshop on 20, 21, 22 and 23 February 2006 (1100, 1200, 1400 and 1500 hours). Visitors can create an unusual sculpture from everyday household objects. Tin cans, bottle tops and guitar strings are some of the recycled materials that will be used to make into a mechanical masterpiece.

Mike will be on hand to demonstrate imaginative ways to encompass movement and sound into sculptures by employing simple mechanical devices like pivots, hinges and levers.

The workshops focus upon the notion of expressing scientific theories and concepts via art - a theme that is central to Shawcross’s work. The marriage of art and science is reflected particularly in Shawcross’s Loop System Quintet, a sculpture that consists of four large mechanisms that rotate hypnotically to produce a loop of light and an accompanying sound effect.

Ann Bukantas, curator of fine art at the Walker Art Gallery, says: “Conrad is one of the most exciting and innovative of a new generation of sculptors, so it has been thrilling to show his work within the context of the Walker Art Gallery's historic sculpture collections. His work is intellectually rigorous and challenging in its inspirations.

“The end result is visually stunning and dramatic, combining light, sound and motion. To create this exhibition we have worked in partnership with the New Art Gallery Walsall, enabling Conrad to make a large body of new work that, together, we can bring to a much wider audience”.

Limited tickets will be available from the information desk at the Walker Art Gallery on the day of the event. They are supplied on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

Julie Anderson is currently exhibiting in Urban Coffee.
She says, "Through my work I explore feelings of loneliness, isolation, exclusion and fear that I have experienced through my personal and working life. I use found objects, sounds, words and spaces that people have used or left behind, to create work in a variety of media. I find the traces and imprints left by people more fascinating and powerful than their human presence. "

museumMANliverpool is organising a series of exhibitions in March April 2006 of unique personal collections of any theme or subject. If you are a collector of a theme of any personal interest and would like to exhibit your collection whether porcelain figurines, naturalist, celebrity or of any other interest, please contact Adam

Many Thanks
Adam Nankervis
0151 7030569

email: adam.museumman@gmail.com
www.museumman.org

Big Screen Liverpool : 37Seconds. Call For Submissions.

The BBC Big Screen Liverpool is a public, (outdoor), twenty-six square metre, digital video screen located in Clayton Square, a vibrant city centre location with an estimated daily footfall of 55,000 people - largely drawn to the area for shopping.

The BBC have joined forces with a freelance digital curator, FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology), the Liverpool Biennial and an ever expanding network of local creative organisations to produce a rolling programme of artistic film & video for the Big Screen. This programme is called 37 seconds.

As you approach Clayton Square, it takes approximately 37seconds to pass the Big Screen. 37seconds is a curated programme of innovative, original moving image art works that aims to communicate within, and potentially prolong this 37 seconds. How? This is up to you.

Selected material will be screened to a wide and diverse audience alongside works by emerging and established artists. Each programme will be screened for fifteen to thirty minutes, at least x5 showings per day on a fortnightly rotation. Site-specific works or those created for public space exhibition are strongly encouraged. Selected material may, on agreement, tour as part of the UK BBC Big Screen network and in partnership with international screen sites.

To apply for inclusion into the 37 seconds screening programme please submit the following
* A Mini DV or DV Cam copy of your moving image artwork, (no more than 30 minutes in length). DVD is acceptable for viewing purposes only.
* A completed BBC consent form (download here) , as provided. Please pay particular attention to music copyright.
* SAE for return of material (without this we cannot guarantee return of work)

Please note that at present there are no screening fees for artists but your work will be promoted locally and nationally through web and print marketing campaigns.

Please send entries to:

Rebecca Lennon
Digital Curator: Big Screen Liverpool
FACT (Foundation for Art & Creative Technology)
88 Wood Street
Liverpool, L1 4DQ

For additional enquiries on the 37 seconds programme contact Rebecca on 0151 707 4438, or email Rebecca.lennon@bbc.co.uk

OK, they're in Manchester but I'm a big fan of Futuresonic. I went to last years festival (report 1, report 2).

FREELANCE FUNDRAISER (CHARITABLE TRUSTS & FOUNDATIONS)

To secure organisational funding for Future Everything CIC, the new creative 'community interest company' responsible for the Futuresonic International Festival, now in its 10th year, for the period 2007-2010.
The work will progress a development plan and a three year vision for the festival and organisation developed with funding from Arts Council England.

FREELANCE PR CONSULTANT/OFFICER

To develop key media partner(s) for Futuresonic International Festival.

We are looking for freelance arts / music or events PR professionals to identify, approach, negotiate and secure key media partners for the Futuresonic International Festival. The Festival is looking to build strategic and long-term relationships with key media organisations that can help take Futuresonic into a wider public consciousness.

FREELANCE SPONSORSHIP CONSULTANT/OFFICER

To develop and manage new commercial and corporate income streams, supporting Future Everything's development strategy and enabling its programme, oriented around the Futuresonic International Festival, now
in its 10th year, and the new Social Technologies Summit event. The March-July 2006 short term contract will develop opportunities for both 2006 and 2007, aiming to generate some income for the 20-23 July 2006
festival, and prepare the ground for 2007 and beyond. Through this work we want to raise awareness of the organisation's work, aims and goals with related companies and individuals as well as generate financial or
in-kind benefits for the organisation.

Closing Date: Midday, Monday 6th March 2006
Commencing: March / April 2006 (subject to availability)

Further information and contact details available online at: http://10.futuresonic.com/

Please check the information on the website before applying.

Please send your applications to:
Drew Hemment
Future Everything
Third Floor
24 Lever Street
Manchester M1 1DZ

Email: 10@futuresonic.com

Futuresonic Festival 20th-23rd July 2006

Peter Worthington, the proprietor of the South Bohemia gallery is hoping to organise a 5-a-side football competition involving local galleries, artists, art groups etc.
If you are interested contact Peter and he'll get it started.
email Peter at peterworthington1@yahoo.co.uk
Phone: 0151 733 5120

Its not fair, I never get the chance to wear my best frocks in public!
From the Daily Post...

BRITISH potter and Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry did not disappoint the fashion-conscious when he arrived to make an after-dinner speech at the Tate Liverpool.

Perry, who has an alter-ego named Claire, and who likes to dress in women's clothing, arrived in a very ornate black number.

The Victorian look with matching black tights and high-heel boots was nicely set off with a pillbox hat topped by feathers.

He was at the Tate Liverpool's annual dinner for friends and sponsors with another great British eccentric, Liverpool jazz singer and art critic George Melly, also in attendance.

Artist Craig Atkinson has a new publication available from his website.
Its called 'Happy Birthday Zine' and Craig explains...

"I'm not sure what the zine is about, not exactly anyway. And I'm not sure why I'm calling it a zine because I hate that word! I think there is still an interest in semiotics in there but more apparent is just everyday stuff! I just wanted to make something fairly accessible and fairly disposable, taking things from their usual context and placing them together. I suppose like a curiosity shop. So the zine is a collection of drawings of things that didn't relate to each other but now they do because they're in the same place. Hmm, waffle!"

Via Merseyside ACME.
Design Initiative Have New Website: Great Resource for Merseyside's Artists
The Design Initiative (Formerly Liverpool Manchester Design Initiative) promotes good design, visual arts and contemporary craft from the North West region.
The Design Initiative offers artists:

Information and advice: They provide practical advice and specialist information to commissioners, purchasers and producers of design, craft and visual arts.

Creative professionals: The Design Initiative offers one-to-one advice sessions for creative professionals giving advice on portfolio development, presentation or where to look for business support.

Commissioners and clients: The Design Initiative offers an impartial matchmaking service to help purchasers, commissioners and exhibitors of design, visual art and craft identify the right practitioner for their project. We also offer free professional advice on all aspects of the commissioning process from writing briefs to selection processes.

Design initiatives: The Design Initiative organise an ongoing programme of events and initiatives

JUNE FURLONG AT WALKER
Posed for Lennon and Freud

Artists’ model June Furlong will be giving a free talk at 1400 hours this Saturday 18 February 2006 at the Walker Art Gallery.
Ms Furlong has been an artists’ model and prominent character on the Liverpool art scene for more than 50 years. In My Life in Art: June Furlong in Conversation, she will talk about her fascinating life and times.
Among the British artists she worked with were Lucien Freud, Frank Auerbach and George Jardine. She was also the model in life classes attended by John Lennon during his days at the Liverpool College of Art.
Admission to the hour-long talk, which is suitable for adults, is by ticket which can be obtained from the Walker’s information desk.

Patricia Twist has drawn and painted all her life and is largely self-taught. She finds her inspiration in nature, photography, memory and imagination, and uses gouache to create her landscapes, seascapes, figurative and wildlife paintings.

Pat has twice been short-listed for the Daily Mail Not The Turner Prize, a national competition launched in 2003 to celebrate representational painting. On each occasion, her painting - The Misty Mountains in 2003, Wild Waters in 2004 - was selected from 10,000 entries to join the work of 400 finalists in an exhibition at London's prestigious Mall Galleries.

She has her own website at www.users.waitrose.com/~pattwist

ReNew06: A Collaboration
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

We are looking for artists who are producing exciting, dynamic art in response to the theme of renewal and regeneration, to take part in a week-long exhibition at the Liverpool School of Art & Design 68 Hope Street Gallery, to commence 18th April 2006.
We are living in times of great change, and Liverpool in particular is currently in a state of renaissance, thus we have chosen as a title for our exhibition, ‘ReNew06: A Collaboration’. The fact that things are in a constant state of flux can be interpreted both positively and negatively; fluctuation means change which often leads to instability and unrest, but also positive regeneration. If your work explores or addresses these issues then we invite you to submit your work for consideration for our exhibition. We are particularly interested in artists who employ photography, multimedia and installation in their work, however all media will be considered.
If possible please forward digital images of your work to either one of the following e-mail addresses:

martyncoppell@btinternet.com

backyard_babies_rock@hotmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you.
Martyn Coppell & Vicki Maguire (Curators)

UPDATE: The Deadline for submissions is Monday March 20th 2006

I try not to post too many off-topic things but I was fascinated by these photographs taken by a helicopter pilot in Mexico city. There's a lot of beautiful sights and some pretty ugly ones too.
Yes, these are real houses but they look like a digital creation. Where's the park?
LINK