I'm exhausted just looking through the list of items included in the City In Transition programme. This is actually part of the Culture Company's 'Liverpool Performs 2006' and is a sort of umbrella for several things, many of which happen annually anyway. But the common theme is the city and its transformation, regeneration etc.

'As we move towards 2008 the city is experiencing tremendous change at high speed. This is both exhilarating and disruptive and our City in Transition programme for 2006 takes that all on board in a special programme of talks, debates, walks, exhibitions and local and international performance - all connected in some way to architecture, building and the way cities change.'

You'll find all the current details on 3 separate pages: City Talks, City Walks and City Screen.

City Talks: includes a lot of talks about architecture (first is on May 4th) especially during Architecture Week (in June), talks at the Tate, Biennial talks and lots of others.

City Walks: Blue and Green Badge guided tours of regeneration areas, public monuments, etc. the Pool Project's (secret) Elemental Journeys and lots more.

City Screen: includes films, exhibitions and events such as the 37 seconds screenings on the Big Screen, the Made in Liverpool series, Bluecoats Pool of Sound project and lots more.

Take a look and keep an eye on the 08 website, my diary is now full already.

On the Road with National Museums Liverpool takes items from its handling collections to a wide range of venues as part on Museums & Galleries Month

This exciting initiative aims to highlight the collections of National Museums Liverpool and raise awareness about its fascinating displays covering all cultures, subjects and interests.

On the Road visits places where the public gather as well as schools and factories during May.
Role players from World Museum Liverpool’s Treasure House Theatre bring amazing characters from the world’s cultures to life. Demonstrators based at the museum’s Clore Natural History Centre, Bug House and Weston Discovery Centre answer questions.

Merseyside Maritime Museum actors play Albert the ARP Warden along with the Piermaster’s Wife telling tales of wartime Merseyside.

Members of the public can handle such things as fossilised dinosaur poo, animal skulls and things used by smugglers to hide contraband. Staff from the Customs & Excise Museum show how drugs and other contraband are smuggled into Britain. Items covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) are also included.

Among the places being visited by On the Road are:
Sunday 7 May: 1000 – 1600 hours Mersey ferry crossing river.
Monday 8 May: 1300 – 1600 hours Williamson Square, Liverpool city centre.
Friday 12 May: 1000 – 1300 hours Lime Street Station, Liverpool.
Friday 19 May: 0930 – 1230 hours Strand Shopping Centre, Bootle.
Saturday 20 May: 1200 – 1600 hours Cherry Tree Shopping Centre, Wallasey

Haven't been able to get through to liverpool08.com all day. Hope they haven't all gone away for the long weekend.
Update: Must have heard me, its back already an hour later

Some nice tranquil still life and portrait oils from 64 year old, Liverpool resident, Pam Usher.She is self-taught and also writing a novel.

Naive John is known as a Stuckist but I just think he paints rather good and interesting pictures. He says...

"I am a local artist, based in Toxteth, who constructed the persona of Naive John in 2004 shortly before founding the Liverpool Stuckist group. The character and pseudonym of Naive John enables me to abandon the normal concerns of the fine artist; notably being ‘relevant’, fashionable and cutting edge, and refers also to my self taught idiosyncratic painting methods. "

"Currently organising the first international symposium on Stuckism and a major exhibition of new Stuckist paintings for Liverpool's 2006 Biennial at John Moores University."

John also has his own website: www.naivejohn.com

It is the first anniversary of the opening World Museum Liverpool (formerly Liverpool Museum) and a staggering 629,000 visitors have passed through its doors – 85% more than in the previous year.

John Millard (Keeper of WML) says: “The remarkable success of World Museum Liverpool shows how the public are flocking into museums in ever-increasing numbers. This year National Museums Liverpool has had more visitors than at any other time in its history and this greater number of visitors are being more inspired and engaged than ever before."

If you go along today (Saturday) you may even be personally welcomed by John Millard and if you're really lucky you'll get a piece of the birthday cake. That's if 4 yr old Simon Bezanson, pictured here, hasn't already eaten it all.
Also seen here are John Millard and some of the staff admiring the cake.

'A Passion for Fashion' - Mrs Tinne's Wardrobe - A Liverpool Lady's Clothes 1900 - 1940.
The Walker Art Gallery April 29th - July 30th 2006

If you had asked me yesterday what a Jabot was I might have guessed it was a type of pizza or something. Such is my ignorance of fashion, as anyone who has met me will testify. But now I know its something ladies used to wear at the neck (maybe some still do).

Apart from not being passionate about fashion myself the other problem I have here is that I thought I'd taken a wrong turning and ended up in the museum. It just looks like a museum show rather than an art show. But, of course, fashion is an art, kids go to art colleges to study it and I'm sure plenty will be here over the coming weeks to see what is probably the largest collection of one persons period clothes in the UK.

From a historical and sociological view its really quite interesting. There are over 700 items in the collection and about 130 on show here and they were pretty much all bought or made in Liverpool when Bold St was the 'Bond St of the North' and GH Lee's was so exclusive because the items were actually made in the workshops on the top floor. Bon Marche (Church St.), Lewis's and Owen Owens were also favourites of Mrs Tinne. Also smaller places such as Cripps in Bold St., De Moysey in Ranelagh St , Madame Val Smith in Church St. and shoes from J. Collinson in Bold St.

There's every kind of fur coat on show, an array of day wear, evening wear, coats, swimwear (even a two-piece woollen bathing suit), shoes, hats and accessories.

Babies’ and children’s clothes from the inter-War period, including the family’s embroidered christening gown. Emily’s eldest child, Elspeth, was born in 1911 and her youngest, Philip, in 1929 and she kept many examples of all six children’s clothes, some of which are featured here.

Lucky there were no credit cards then, she was a bit of a shop-aholic at a time when Liverpool was a wealthy, fashionable city. Yes, even before the Met Qtr arrived! I like the old pictures of the family and their house 'Clayton Lodge' in Aigburth and the old shops.

I have to go now, there's a Placket that needs Faggotting.

You can download the latest 08 Update via this link http://www.liverpool08.com/News/Newsletter/index.asp

Community Broadcast Technician (tenantspin)
£18K (Pro Rata, per annum)
Fixed Term for 12 months, Part Time (4 Days 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 a Community Broadcast Technician (tenantspin) to work within the Collaboration Team to be responsible for technical coordination of tenantspin, the management of technical resources and the training of tenants in broadcast technology.

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 Monday 15 May 2006.
Applications cannot be accepted after this time.

Interviews to be held week beginning 22 May 2006.
FACT welcome applications from any individual regardless of ethnic origin, gender, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation or age. All applications will be considered on merit.

www.fact.co.uk

Transvoyeur, Egg Space, South Bohemian Gallery, Head Space and associate artists within the city of Liverpool are contributing to the London Biennial international event for the Flagging Down May Day event.

This will be held at the iron bridge in Sefton Park, Liverpool, from 3.00 pm this coming Sunday 30 April 2006.

Everyone is welcome to contribute and to have something included to email Jo Derbyshire at aprilskies1204@aol.com with an image of their submission. However, to turn up on the day with their flags and join in the fun.

This event will be happening across the globe, as well as in Liverpool and London.
Museum Man, Adam Nankervis and David Medalla are the founders of the London Biennial and who have conceived this project which not only stems from London, but Liverpool and many, many other places with hundreds of artists and alike contributing to this.

Opportunity for Lancashire-based Artists

During July 2006, PAD gallery in Preston will be hosting an exhibition of contemporary artist books by Lancashire based artists. We are looking for a range of submissions for the exhibition including Zines and limited additions.
We will also be looking to employ artists to run book-making workshops in the gallery and there will be opportunities for artists to sell books through the gallery shop.

PAD is a brand new contemporary art gallery in Preston, which was developed to showcase work by Lancashire artists and to support their professional development.

To submit work for the exhibition, please send good quality images (jpegs, slides or prints), along with a cv and personal statement to:

Elaine Speight
Harris Museum and Art Gallery
Market Square
Preston
PR1 2PP

or e-mail: e.speight@preston.gov.uk

If you wish to have images etc returned, please enclose a SAE.
The deadline for submissions is Monday 22nd May.

For more information about PAD, visit
http://www.freshcreative.org/page.asp3Fid3D2639

 National Museums Liverpool have kept me busy the past few days, there's lots of new things happening. This story about all the Walkers collection of 6 Rodins coming from a house in Blundellsands is very interesting, I should try and make it to the talks.

Six sculptures by the legendary French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840 - 1917) are on display at the Walker Art Gallery from 28 April to 28 August 2006.

All were bequeathed to the Walker in the 1920s by wealthy Liverpool wine merchant James Smith, who once owned more works by Rodin than any other British public or private collection.

Smith bought the the sculptures between 1899 and 1907. He visited Rodin in his Paris studio in 1903 and ordered the marble version of 'The Death of Athens'. All were displayed in Smith's home The Knowle, in Blundellsands, near Liverpool, together with a collection of more than 100 art works later also bequeathed to the Walker.

'Danaid' and 'The Death of Athens' were placed on turntables - supplied by Rodin - so they could be spun around and admired from all sides. Smith and Rodin corresponded and met frequently in London and Paris, which Smith often visited in the course of his business pioneering the import of Mediterranean wines into Britain.

Art historian and author Edward Morris, former curator of fine art at the Walker, will give a free slide talk about the relationship between Smith and Rodin between 1 and 2pm on Tuesday 9 May 2006. Xanthe Brooke will give a free talk at the display between 1 and 2pm on Friday 12 May 2006.

Fund raising in other words. Well, someone has to do it I suppose.

Corporate Development Officer
Tate Liverpool

If you already have two years experience in marketing, fundraising or PR, then this position could prove an excellent next step in your career. The role focuses on two key methods of fundraising for Tate Liverpool, Corporate Membership and Corporate Sponsorship.

You will manage our Corporate Membership Scheme, which involves account handling the relationships with Corporate Members, maintaining the database and organising corporate benefits. You will also research potential new Members and Corporate Sponsors, and contribute to funding proposals. As there is extensive contact with current and existing corporate supports, you will get to put your strong interpersonal and negotiation skills to excellent use.

In addition to salary, Tate offers generous benefits including the choice of final salary or stakeholder pension.

For an application pack please visit http://www.tate.org.uk
or email daisy.ward@tate.org.uk
or call 0151 702 7418 quoting ref 6010/TL

Closing date: 8 May
Interview date: 24 May

Via Design Initiative...

Catapult Centre Workspace for Creative Industries

The Catapult Centre provides units for St.Helens burgeoning creative industries sector. Due to the growth and relocation of existing tenants space has become available for those in the creative sector, particularly start-up and young businesses that are looking for small to medium sized premises.

The Catapult Centre is situated in the George Street Cultural Quarter of the Town Centre; it provides high quality business space with modern facilities including broadband access.

There is a strong demand for space for the creative industries in St.Helens, businesses that have taken space in the original Catapult Centre, and Catapult Too include: artists, graphic and interior designers and a recording studio.

For further information on lettings please contact: 01744 742041
www.sthelensci.co.uk

BLUEPRINTS II

museumMANberlin is inviting artists, as an open invitational to send works, of any medium, with the subject (see BLUEPRINTS) on the museumMAN website,for an exhibition to open on May 18 2006.This work will be carried over to an installation also included in the museumMAN project of The Liverpool Biennial 2006.
All work will be thoroughly documented and if the last event in February held within the museum is anything to
go by-a large audience will be in attendance.
If you could also include a very brief CV,artists statement I would be very grateful.

The address is
Adam Nankervis+Mona Wehr
museumMANberlin
Kastanienallee 72
D-10435 Berlin
Deutschland
*Germany

www.museumman.org

Still time for artists to be involved in this event, you need to send an image for a flag. Contact Jo Derbyshire before Saturday, email is aprilskies1204@aol.com

London Biennnale 2006 - Liverpool
Co-ordinated by Jo Derbyshire
With help from Transvoyeur artists George Lund, Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney

Flagging Down May Day
Iron Bridge, Sefton Park, Liverpool

This local bridge is famous location of a tragic love story as told by the Liverpool ghost writer Tom Slemen http://www.tomslemen.tk/ of Haunted Liverpool fame and was chosen by the Liverpool artists for its central location.

Sunday 30th April, 3pm

You may recall last month I went to see one of the printmaking classes run by the Bluecoat but now housed in JMU's 68 Hope St building while the Bluecoat is being refurbished. At the time, they were busy organising this exhibtion simply called 'Bluecoat Printmakers' runnig at Out of The Bluecoat in Paradise Street until Sunday April 30th 2006.

There was a good crowd at the viewing on Tuesday to see this well presented show of some twenty artists who attend the 2 classes (Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings).

There's is some really good stuff here and most of it is for sale at very reasonable prices. There are examples of several print making methods. I don't have all the artists names but some that I have noted include the dark black & white pictures of Stuart Munro, other good monchromes include Frederick Jones and Irene Jones (not related), Grace Horne's picture of Leasowe Lighthouse and the thicker lines of Mike Hatjoullis.

There's Eric Orme whose work we saw at Unity recently and Caroline Murgatroyd's bold coloured picture of Egg Cafe. The more subtle colours of Christine Toh, Carole Traynor and Lyn Ben-Yousef. Then there's the very detailed but weird and fanatastical drawings of Julian Ellison.

Well worth a look, to quote from the blurb...
Printmaking opportunities are hard to come by in Merseyside. This exhibition serves to open people’s eyes, alighting their imagination to such an important, but slightly neglected, medium.

What a total plonker! Gives artists a bad name...

Wednesday April 26, 2006

An artist caused large areas of west London to be sealed off this morning after she left five packages police suspected were bombs around Shepherd's Bush and Hammersmith.

Some of the "art installations" were cardboard boxes out of which nails protruded.

Police cordoned off five sites around Shepherd's Bush Green shortly after 8am following reports of suspicious packages in the area, and underground rail travel on the Central and Hammersmith and City lines was disrupted at the height of the morning rush hour.

full story in Guardian

AustralianFemaleShorts
Cornerstone Artists Cinema presents a programme of shorts by Australian filmmakers.
Thursday 27th April 6.30pm
Free

Amanda Brotchie
1. Headlock (1996, 14 mins), a graduation short film.
2. Break and Enter (1999, 9 mins).

Katrina Mather
3. Teenage Portraits (1994, 5 mins, DVD) Australian teenagers profiled in their social tribes, shot in a rhythmically sensitive, black and white photomontage.
4. Vernon- the visitor (1996, 1 mins, DVD, Animation)
5. Meta4 (2005, 1 mins 30 secs, DVD) An experimental conceptual argument, that’s all 4…four…for…fore…

Sue K
6. DAZ07/02/012038 (2001, 5 mins, video)
daz07/02/012038 uses an intricate form of editing to remodel time, establishing a rhetoric that questions the provision of motion in film's pictorial space through the succession of still images.

7. STEPS---89 (2004, 17 mins, video)

Curated by Edda Markus.
www.hope.ac.uk/artsandhumanities/everton/cornerstonecinema.htm

Good to see Tenantspin which has links with FACT, mentioned in today's Guardian. Take a look at their website for news of future broadcasts and there's some interesting stuff in the video archives.

www.tenantspin.org

Good job I like poetry, this art blog is being taken over by poetry fanatics.
The BBC have asked me to remind you about this opportunity for poets to perform their stuff on the Big Screen in Clayton Sq.

Reason to Rhyme.

Times running out. Don’t miss the opportunity to see yourself on the Big Screen in Clayton Square performing your own work.
Enter the Nothing Rhymes with Poets competition, deadline 16 May.

From the initial submissions, a shortlist of poets will be given the opportunity to enhance their poetry performance skills to prepare them for a live audition. From the audition five people will be selected to take part in a short film to be broadcast on BBC Big Screen Liverpool throughout September and will receive a cash prize.

Full details in previous posting

Dorrie (who has excellent taste) Recommends...

16 [R]evolutions

Friday 5 and Saturday 6 May 8:00pm at Unity Theatre

New York based Troika Ranch bring their lush multi media dance work to unity for their Liverpool Debut. Performed by a company of UK based dancers, 16 [R]evolutions fuses video, interactive media and imagery, integrating dance and theatre.

With the use of live camera tracking technology, the movements of the dancers generate interactive 3D imagery in real-time, producing exquisite visuals that warp and morph in response to the dancers every move.

Troika Ranch's 2006 tour is managed by Essex Dance and co-promoted with Merseyside Dance Initiative [MDI].

To download a flyer follow this link: http://www.essexdance.co.uk/16revs2006.pdf

£8.00/£6.00 Concessions
http://www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk/

NOISE REACHES OUT TO YOUNG CREATIVE TALENT AT HM PRISON HINDLEY WITH BBC BUS TOUR

In partnership with Manchester’s BBC Bus NOISE visited HM PRISON HINDLEY, a youth custody centre in Wigan on the 11th of April.

The NOISE BBC Bus Tour is part of a national campaign to spotlight young creative talent and encourage young people to bring along their work, spend time on the bus and create something original to submit to the NOISE web site at www.noisefestival.com.

Graham Smith, PO Juvenile Caseworker at Hindley says: “Hindley is a youth custody centre that endeavours to provide positive opportunities for young people to gain qualifications and to address offending behaviour, whilst aiding them to reintegrate into society upon their release. Our regime provision includes skilled and experienced staff delivering several strings of learning and skills and we have many talented young people here working in fine art, sculpture, illustration and music.

“The NOISE / BBC Bus tour coming to the establishment at Hindley is a fantastic opportunity for our young people to submit their creative works to NOISE and have their talent promoted across the media - it gives them the motivation and belief that there are opportunities for them beyond Hindley and beyond a life of offending."

Reece, 17 from Manchester who recorded his rap track says:"The NOISE bus at Hindley is a breath of fresh air, it gives us a chance to practice our music and more confidence that people want to hear our talents.”

The 24 Hour Museum (24 HM) has launched its fourth annual Museums and Galleries Month Arts Writing Prize for student journalists.

Museums and Galleries Month (MGM) 2006 runs throughout May 2006 with a host of special events and exhibitions held around the UK in celebration of our great cultural institutions.

The best review or feature about any MGM 2006 event submitted to the 24HM will win a first prize of £250, with two runners up prizes of £50.

Full details on the website

An evening of music, fashion, dance and most importantly raising awareness of fairtrade, organised Local Agenda 21

at the Pacific Road Arts Centre
on Wednesday the 26th of April. 6pm-10pm.

The Fair Traded Fashion Show modeled by Fair Trade supporters from Wirral Schools, recycled wirey creations from Oxton based artist Alison Bailey Smith, local bands and DJs and stalls with local craftwork and fairtrade goods.

Tickets at £2 available from The Green Shop on Christchurch Road in Oxton Village or £3 on the night at the door.
Registered Charity (no 1043886)

Make Poverty History

Now, this is art. Sadly its not in Liverpool. London is still way ahead when it comes to arty trends. Can't wait to see a lot more of these in our local shops.
I spotted this amusing article by Ryan Smith on the (impossible to navigate) Ukula 'Lifestyle' website.

Finally Something New

London is so full of old design it is inescapable. My journey home from the bus stop takes me past a quaint Victorian shop displaying replica turn-of-the-century French advertising posters for sale. Opening my front door forces me to look at ancient stained glass and wrought iron detailing, and once inside I throw my keys on a table kept level with Mozart’s Diary under one leg. It was either that or a stack of Magna Cartas, and I’ve got to wipe my ass with something...

Read full article.

I love architecture, I think its fascinating and often beautiful and I'm not talking about the actual buildings we end up with (though some of them are great too). How can anyone fail to admire the skill and imagination that goes into these drawings by architecture students now on show at the RENEW rooms?
This is the first time the 'Presidents Medals' awards have been exhibited outside of London. The President's medals attracts entries from over 100 schools of architecture around the world and the current President of RIBA, Jack Pringle was here on Friday evening to inform us, amongst other things, that the only people who hold a negative view of British architecture and architects are the British themselves. The rest of the world thinks RIBA and its members are fantastic.

He then introduced Yew Choong Chan who won a silver medal for his 'Vertical Energy'' scheme. His plan is to reintroduce marshlands into the Lea Valley area of London and build 60-storey high towers that will house pods that grow spinach. Why spinach? Because there is a guy at MIT who is pioneering the use of spinach juice to generate electricity, something to do with photosynthesis. Its all very 'green' of course, all architects are green nowadays if only they could find the developers willing to build their projects. So the towers include vertical gardens and little platforms for birds to stop off.
Take a look at his fantastic drawings on the Presidents Medals website.

The other medal winners are equally fascinating. Unfortunately the exhibition is a bit small so its difficult to get of full picture of all the plans but well worth a look, you may be inspired.

The RIBA Presidents Medals at RENEW, Wood St. April 24th - May 19th 2006.

Fundraising event for Zoe's Place Baby Hospice
Friday 12th May 2006
starting at 7pm
at Zoe's Place, Yew Tree Lane, West Derby, Liverpool.

liverpoolgallery.com In conjunction with Zoe's Place, an Exhibition and Sale of art and photographs from the gallery's artists.
All artwork exhibited will be for sale and there will be an auction during the evening for a few selected pieces.

Admission is free. Wine, coffee and nibbles will be available.

Note that the deadline for applications for the Biennial Independents board and the job of Creative Consultant has been extended to April 29th. See details in a previous posting.

Here's one for the dancers....

Merseyside Dance Initiative
is proud to present the next eventin our series of exciting dance intensives.

Event: Finola Cronin dance intensive.
Date: Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st May
Time: 10-4pm.
Venue: Liverpool John Moores University, IM Marsh Campus, (The Egg studio),
Barkhill Road, Aigburth, Liverpool, L17 6BD.
Cost: £25

Finola Cronin Dance Intensive
Finola Cronin is a choreographer and lecturer on dance. She trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance in Dublin and London (London School of Contemporary Dance). She was a founder member of Company Vivienne Newport at TAT in Frankfurt (Germany) and later joined Tanztheater Wuppertal (director, Pina Bausch) where she worked for over ten years. She continues to occasionally guest with the company.

Workshop
The two-day workshop series will offer an insight for participants into the working processes, and composition methods of Pina Bausch. One key aspect of Bausch's methodology is the gathering of material from her performers
towards developing material for her work. Bausch does this by setting tasks and/or asking questions of her performers and we will endeavour to replicate this process.

Each day will begin with a warm-up / class based on movement techniques developed by Hans Zulllig, (a member of Ballet Jooss and former director of the Folkwang Tanzschule Essen).

The latter part of the morning session will involve participants exploring movement tasks. The afternoon sessions will allow for further development of the movement tasks and participants will be facilitated to consider how to
implement Bausch's composition processes.

This workshop should support participants towards the development of their individual choreographic practice. The methods explored would also be useful for dance educators and those who work with actors or primarily people who have little experience in professional dance techniques.

To book on this exciting and informative dance intensive fill in the attached form and send to Merseyside Dance Initiative, 24 Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BQ or fax to 0151 707 0600 or call Claire Quinn on 0151 708 8810

Some delightful new prints from our favourite Faery artist, Michelle Campbell. The series is called the Sub-urbans and feature Goth-style faeries.
See more on her website: www.faerywoods.com

Shame it was only here for the weekend but, no doubt, we'll be seeing more. This banner says 'The Arabic Cultural Foundation Welcomes You', its the work of local children and was only just finished in time for this exhibition celebrating Arabic culture.
It was a fascinating collection of all kinds of items put together by the Arabic community in the North West.
I was greeted by Muslim Chaplain, Adam Kelwick, who is Director of the Arabic Cultural Foundation which organised the event along with staff at Liverpool World Museum.
I enjoyed some Arabic coffee and big juicy dates before looking round the items in the Weston Discovery centre on the 3rd floor. Here I saw examples of traditional clothing, kitchen utensils, incense, ornaments and just a few of the medals won by the foundation's Shotokan Karate club which has members of the GB team training for the London Olympics.

On the ground floor the maths teacher and artist Fauzia Khan was giving calligraphy demonstrations, not just Arabic lettering but also Celtic and others and drawing ones attention to the similarities. After all, the different cultures have been learning from each other, trading and co-operating for many hundreds of years. There was also an exhibition of her paintings, mostly including text in both Arabic and English, painted with watercolours, gouache and ink. Her work is very much on the themes of peace, tolerance and the positive role of Women in Islam.

'Arabic Cultural Foundation Exhibition' at Liverpool World Museum. April 22nd - 23rd 2006

The Poetry in the City (Liverpool) 2006 Festival starts on Tuesday April 25th with a Writers of Colour Group at Central Library then Levi Tafari at the Unity Theatre. Lots more as it runs until May 13th.
There's a nice website with complete listings: www.poetryinthecity.co.uk

I caught up with events in Smithdown road yesterday morning starting with a coffee at Ginger Up which is a nice little juice bar/cafe. Very tidy and clean and some delicious looking cakes on show. And on the walls there are photographs by Susanne Richter. The exhibition is called 'In Transition' and will be here until the end of April. All local scenes I think, shots of old, dilapidated houses and shopfronts and demolition sites, some quirky and interesting. Can be a bit depressing though which can negate the desired 'ginger up' effect.

Then across the road is South Bohemia Gallery, the place is constantly changing. Not just the artwoks but also the activities. Peter is now taking orders for small printing jobs and did some very nice business cards for me. He has recently made some space available on the walls to display Easter related works by children from the Wellington Road Toddler group.
I also spotted some very nice original paintings by Derek Colligan who is a professional book illustrator.

Just further up the road is a shop called Mini Amsterdam which, amongst other things, sells art of various kinds. They do their own wood burning, glass engraving, wooden toy and games making etc. This Ouija board is one example of their work.

Personally, I think if you are going to work in someone elses gallery you should be paid. But its up to you....

VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR NEW LIVERPOOL GALLERY

Passionate people needed to help run a new gallery in Liverpool due to open over the next few months. Must be reliable and have a genuine interest in visual art. Great work experience opportunity. Hours / days flexible.

Please email enquiries@dot-art.co.uk for more information or to apply.

From biennial.com....

Liverpool Biennial Update Event

The next Liverpool Biennial UPDATE event is taking place Friday 5 May from 6-9pm at Liverpool John Moores University, 68 Hope Street.

The first part of the evening will involve 1-2 minute updates from the biennial team, local artists, arts groups and arts organisations, to share plans and ideas for Biennial activity and let each other know of opportunities that may exist. This will be followed with the chance to chat further over a glass of wine.

The event is open to anyone working within the arts in Merseyside and there is no need to book. More information on the event will be posted on the website shortly.

See you there.

MOMENTUM in collaboration with Hope Street Ltd present Physical Fest2

With workshops from:
a.. Marie-Gabrielle Rotie (Butoh UK)
b.. Andrea Buckley (CH4PTER)
c.. Momentum (Yorgos Karamalegos&Elinor Randle)
d.. CORPUS SOMA/EX-GENERAL LUDD(Yorgos Bakalos)

7 DAYS OF EXCITING PHYSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOPS IN LIVERPOOL FROM 30TH OF MAY TO 6TH OF JUNE
Physical Fest is an annual physical theatre workshop festival with the aim to introduce powerful and experimental movement forms and styles,to research into body expression, exchange information as well as finding different ways of producing theatre material.

For more information and a booking form, please go to http://www.momentumtheatre.com or Contact Momentum (Yorgos or Elinor)on: info@momentumtheatre.com 01517071816/ 07813301517

All workshops will take place at Hope Street Ltd:13a Hope Street, Liverpool,
L1 9BQ Entrance from Arrad Street (the back of the Everyman Theatre)

I've just been to see this exhibition of Chinese art & calligraphy curated by Xia Lu. It includes several of her delighful small works alongside some other large works by some really well-known masters of chinese painting. Its really good, read full details in the Dialy Post article and go see it before it finishes on April 27th (open 10-16.00).
Daily Post Link

Have to admit I'm getting a bit tired of all the photographic exhibitions lately, but edible photographs! Now that sounds like a good idea. I propose a cake exhibition lasting just 2 hours. 1 hour for people to admire the pics on top of the cakes and another hour to eat them all. So you don't even have that arduous task of de-installing the whole thing.
www.eatyourphotos.co.uk

Arabic Cultural Foundation Exhibition

An exhibition celebrating Arabic culture opens at World Museum Liverpool for this weekend only, 22-23 April 2006.

Special events, organised by the Arabic Cultural Foundation, will provide a unique opportunity to learn more about all things Arabic, from calligraphy to the kitchen. Touch, sound, taste, scent and vision will be used to evoke the diverse and rich cultures of Arab countries, from North Africa to the Middle East.

The programme will include:

* The Arabic Cultural Foundation’s children’s art exhibition.
* Coming Together Through Calligraphy - a look at the history of Arabic calligraphy and art.
* Traditional Clothing - featuring examples of traditional Middle Eastern dress
* The Incense Trail - a wide variety of different scents, perfumes and incense for everyone to try.
* An Arab Kitchen - a look at some of the pots and utensils used for generations in a traditional Arab kitchen.
* Hands-on activities for children - flag making, worksheets, badge making, Arabic exercises and world culture trails.
* Currency Collection - an assortment of bank notes, coins and designs from across the Arab nations.

Other special timed events include:

* Tastes of the Middle East - a chance to try Arabic coffee with a variety of different dates and sweets from the region. (12 noon and 2pm)
* Arabic Cultural Foundation’s Shotokan Karate Demonstration -
Meet the Karate club including members of the GB team training for the 2010 London Olympics. (12.15 and 2.15pm)
* Peace Presentation - A tour by F. Khan of her work; the development and diversity of Islamic art. (Every hour)

The exhibition offers an insight into the work of The Arabic Cultural Foundation, a community initiative, which has recently been nominated for the ‘Best Youth Group’ in the Community Foundation Merseyside’s (With patronage of Cherie Booth QC) ‘Spirit of Merseyside Awards 2006’.

Excellent news!!

MUSEUM OF LIVERPOOL GETS THE GO AHEAD

The Northwest Regional Development Agency today announced a grant of £32.7m to support the development of the Museum of Liverpool. This news, which follows a successful planning application in December, means the museum now has the green light to proceed.

The Museum of Liverpool, with a budget of £65m, will be one of the world’s leading city history museums reflecting Liverpool’s global significance through its unique geography, history and culture.

Building on the incredible success of the Museum of Liverpool Life, the new museum which will be located on Liverpool’s famous waterfront, will provide a showcase for social history and popular culture. The museum will draw on National Museums Liverpool’s vast wealth of collections, many of which have never been on public display. As a vital part of the legacy of 2008, when Liverpool becomes European Capital of Culture, it will express Liverpool's confidence as a great 21st century European city.

David Fleming, Director of National Museums Liverpool says:

“The Northwest Regional Development Agency decision means this new museum is now in business and Liverpool is about to get one of the world’s best museums right in the heart of the city. It will attract people from far and wide and will be a brilliant learning and recreational resource for local people.

“There are still hurdles to overcome but this museum is becoming a reality. Work on site will begin in the autumn and the building is due for completion in 2008.”

To enable building works the current Museum of Liverpool Life will close on 4 June 2006. A programme of special events for the public has been planned for the museum’s closing weeks, giving visitors a last chance to see some of the most popular exhibits and take part in exciting events and activities.

In the run-up to the new museum opening two major exhibitions about Liverpool will be staged at the Merseyside Maritime Museum. In 2007 a large-scale exhibition will explore Liverpool’s history over the last 800 years, told through the lives of ordinary people, the famous and the infamous. A major multi-sensory, exhibition in 2008 will celebrate Liverpool as the capital of pop and rock, exploring Liverpool’s popular music heritage from 1945 to the present.

There are plans to take the Museum of Liverpool on the road with a series of displays of our collections in shops and venues around the city later this year.

Museum of Liverpool – an Overview

The new museum will provide 5,000 square metres of exhibition space and will be unique in its approach to display, featuring flexible spaces that regularly change showing more of the collections than ever before. The museum will focus on four main themes: Port City, Global City, My Liverpool and Expressive City.

As visitors enter the building they will find Port City, a gallery that will exploring Liverpool’s role as a port city and the development of its architecture, infrastructure, people and commerce. This will follow the story of the industrial revolution and will feature Lion, a 1838 steam locomotive as its centrepiece. The main gallery will explore stories about the people living and working underneath the rails of the Overhead Railway, or the Dockers’ Umbrella, and will feature an original third class Overhead Railway carriage, suspended above the gallery at its working height.

Also located on the ground floor, Global City will explore Liverpool as a world city. The main attraction will be the 200-capacity Liverpool Theatre featuring an unmissable show experience created by Liverpool film makers, writers and artists, using local voices to tell the blockbuster story of Liverpool’s history.

Plans for the first floor include the History Hub, a resource centre housing over 10,000 objects from the NML collections. Featuring an interactive zone, the Hub will offer highlights from the collections and an opportunity to explore stories and objects in depth. Aimed at everyone from children to academics, this will be a one-stop shop for exploring Liverpool and Merseyside’s archaeology and social history.

On the second floor visitors will find People’s City. This gallery will explore the city and its people through themes such as housing and health, opportunity and deprivation, social reform, religion and trade unionism. The centrepiece will be the model of the proposed Liverpool Catholic Cathedral by world-famous architect Edwin Lutyens which was never built.

In Expressive City visitors will be able to discover the unique and creative character of Liverpool. The gallery will explore why this city has produced such an amazing roll call of writers, performers, comedians and sportsmen. The gallery includes some unique Beatles objects, including the original stage on which John Lennon’s band the Quarrymen played in 1957. A special immersive experience in the gallery captures the excitement, passion and intensity of football in Merseyside through the fans’ eyes. The story of the history of the clubs will investigate how they have become such a cornerstone of the city’s identity.

The new museum visitors will give visitors breathtaking views of the city and river.

Joan Miro was born on April 20th 1893 so Google have done one of their special doodles to celebrate his birthday. Its a good one I think, barely recognisable as Google, if you click on it you're taken straight to a page of search results for the artist.

Schools, don't forget the google doodle UK competition

Apologies to the Telegraph for just copying their headline but I thought it rather good and an entertaining article by Clive Aslet.

The largest collection of 'naughty' art goes under the hammer next week. Clive Aslet takes a peek

Christie's in Paris is the sort of place where even Louis XVI would have felt underdressed. The glacial young women behind the desk, whose matching uniforms make them look like two of the early Supremes, are faultlessly coiffeured, sublimely correct. The austere neo-Classical architecture and wood panelling exude the very strong impression that vulgarity - let alone hanky-panky - will not be tolerated.

Yet this aesthetic holy of holies is currently housing a collection of what the sale room likes to call "historical erotica" but is basically the biggest collection of very naughty books in private ownership. They are to be auctioned next week in what is the first sale of its kind for Christie's.

Link to full article