So much to look forward to. I hadn't realised until now that Josh Kirby died in 2001, its obviously been a while since I read a Terry Pratchett book. Also didn't know that he was from Waterloo and studied at Liverpool City school of Art.

In 2007 Liverpool will be 800 years old. Where better to celebrate this Year of Heritage than in Liverpool, a city that has more museums and galleries than any other regional city in Europe?

National Museums Liverpool has an exciting programme for 2007 which explores many aspects of Liverpool’s incredible history. Among the most significant of the events is the opening of the International Slavery Museum in August, which will tell the story of the transatlantic slave trade, the reopening of the Sudley House featuring the only surviving Victorian merchant art collection in Britain still hanging in its original location and a major new exhibition, Magical History Tour, that charts the history of this unique city.

At the Walker Art Gallery Doves and Dreams tells the tragic story of arbiters of the Glasgow Style Frances Macdonald and J Herbert McNair,who lived and worked in Liverpool at the turn of the 20th century. In addition the gallery will host exhibitions by Liverpool-born science fiction artist Josh Kirby and internationally renowned maker Peter Chang.

International Slavery Museum opening - 23 August 2007

The first part of this £10 million museum, opening in 2007, will feature new dynamic and thought-provoking displays about the story of the transatlantic slave trade, in which Liverpool played such a prominent part. It will include new displays on the legacy of transatlantic slavery and will address issues such as freedom, identity, human rights, reparations, racial discrimination and cultural change.

A new research institute and resource centre will follow in 2010, including an events programme of performance, public lectures and debate. The research institute is being developed in partnership with the University of Liverpool.

The displays in the new museum will be complete by 23 August 2007 to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain.
Merseyside Maritime Museum, Albert Dock, Liverpool
Open daily 10am–5pm Admission is free 0151 478 4499 www.merseysidemaritimemuseum.org.uk

Sudley House reopens - Summer 2007

Sudley House, the former family home of the Liverpool merchant George Holt, is undergoing a major refurbishment and will reopen in the year Liverpool celebrates its 800th anniversary. Holt’s extensive Victorian art collection is the only one of its kind still in its original domestic setting.

The house will be transformed with new displays which tell the story of the building and the family who owned it, including the Childhood Room featuring a remarkable range of toys and dolls and the Costume Room displaying a range of period clothes.
Sudley House, Mossley Hill Road, Liverpool
Open daily 10am-5pm Admission is free 0151 724 3245 www.sudleyhouse.org.uk

Slavery Remembrance Day - 23 August 2007

National Museums Liverpool has hosted a Slavery Remembrance Day event since 1999 in recognition of the city’s role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Strong local support, most notably from Liverpool's black community, has made this an ongoing project that aims to raise awareness of an issue that can never be forgotten. Events include a memorial lecture, performances and a libation ceremony.

Doves and Dreams: The Art of Frances Macdonald and J Herbert McNair
Walker Art Gallery 27 January to 22 April 2007

The first major exhibition devoted to the avant-garde art of Frances Macdonald and J Herbert McNair, exploring their life and work in both Glasgow and Liverpool. Featuring more than 80 pieces including watercolours, graphics, furniture, metalwork, textiles and decorative art. The exhibition will spotlight the achievements of these two remarkable artists: McNair, the innovator and inspirational teacher and his wife, Francis Macdonald, sister-in-law to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who produced some of the most remarkable symbolist watercolours of the early 20th century. Exhibition organised by the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, in partnership with the Walker Art Gallery.
Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street, Liverpool
Open daily 10am–5pm Admission is free 0151 478 4199 www.thewalker.org.uk

The Cathedral That Never Was: Lutyens’ design for Liverpool
Walker Art Gallery 27 January to 22 April 2007

Following a programme of major conservation work at Liverpool’s National Conservation Centre, the stunning architect’s model of Lutyens' cathedral brings to life the story of the ambitious building proposed for Liverpool. The exhibition will help interpret the model and its construction as well as providing the context and background to Lutyens' architectural commission, of which only the crypt was ever built.

Conservation work was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street, Liverpool
Open daily 10am–5pm Admission is free 0151 478 4199 www.thewalker.org.uk

Animated Adventures - World Museum Liverpool 10 February to 26 August 2007

Animated Adventures captures the full animation process from storyboards to set design. Find out how the world’s top animators create their on screen characters and discover the art of cel painting, stop frame and CGI technology. All the industry’s secrets are revealed through a fun and engaging mix of hands-on exhibits and multi-media pods that guarantee to get everyone animated!

Animated Adventures, has been developed by W5, Belfast and is one of three exhibitions produced by the ecsite-uk Travelling Exhibitions Consortium (eTEC).
World Museum Liverpool, William Brown Street, Liverpool
Open daily 10am–5pm Admission is free 0151 478 4393 www.worldmuseumliverpool.org.uk

Merchant Palaces - Lady Lever Art Gallery 16 February to 13 May 2007

To celebrate Liverpool’s Year of Heritage, the lost interiors of grand Victorian houses in Liverpool and Wirral are shown in this fascinating photographic exhibition. Around thirty ‘through the keyhole’ views by Harry Bedford Lemere (1864-1944) give a rich insight into the interior design of the homes of Liverpool and Wirral merchants.

The exhibition is organised in collaboration with English Heritage and the National Monuments Record.
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight Village, Wirral
Open daily 10am–5pm Admission is free 0151 478 4136 www.ladyleverartgallery.org.uk

Out of this World: The Art of Josh Kirby - Walker Art Gallery 16 June to 30 September 2007

The first retrospective exhibition of science fiction artist Josh Kirby. He began his career producing film posters, moving to book and cover art for magazines. Some of his more famous work includes the first cover of Ian Fleming’s Moonraker and the poster for Monty Python’s Life of Brian and he is best known for his cover illustrations of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.
Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street, Liverpool
Open daily 10am–5pm Admission is free 0151 478 4199 www.thewalker.org.uk

Peter Chang - Walker Art Gallery 16 June to 30 September 2007

The first major UK exhibition showcasing the work of international artist Peter Chang, one of Britain’s leading contemporary jewellery artists whose work has received world-wide acclaim with shows in Europe, Canada, the USA, Australia and Korea. Now based in Glasgow, Peter Chang was born in 1944, grew up in Liverpool, trained in sculpture and graphic design at Liverpool College of Art and later taught in the City.
Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street, Liverpool
Open daily 10am–5pm Admission is free 0151 478 4199 www.thewalker.org.uk

Masquerade: the work of James Ensor (1860-1949)
Lady Lever Art Gallery 30 June to 22 September 2007

A special showing of the paintings, drawings and etchings of James Ensor (1860-1949) on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent. Described as the most original Belgian artist of the 19th century, James Ensor painted around 1880-85 in a style fashionable amongst the modernists of the day.
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight Village, Wirral
Open daily 10am–5pm Admission is free 0151 478 4136 www.ladyleverartgallery.org.uk

Magical History Tour - Merseyside Maritime Museum 20 July 2007 to Dec 2008

A major exhibition celebrating the city’s 800th birthday in style with a look back across Liverpool’s history. Told through the lives of its people, Magical History Tour will demonstrate some of the ways in which Liverpool has changed and evolved over the past eight centuries. The exhibition will chart Liverpool’s growth from a tiny fishing village to a Victorian metropolis of global significance and will take visitors on a fast paced, dynamic journey of discovery. In celebrating the amazing rollercoaster story of Liverpool, iconic objects on display will include the Liverpool charters and a reconstruction of the long-lost Liverpool Castle. The exhibition is being developed in collaboration with the Liverpool Culture Company.
Merseyside Maritime Museum, Albert Dock, Liverpool
Open daily 10am–5pm Admission is free 0151 478 4499 www.merseysidemaritimemuseum.org.uk

Joseph Wright of Derby - Walker Art Gallery 17 November 2007 to 24 February 2008

An exhibition of major works by Joseph Wright of Derby, one of the most significant British artists of the mid-eighteenth century and the first major artist to find success outside London.

The exhibition will focus on the period 1768-1771 when Wright worked in Liverpool, a dynamic time in the city’s development as it aspired to be a centre of artistic excellence.

Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street, Liverpool
Open daily 10am–5pm Admission is free 0151 478 4199 www.thewalker.org.uk

The final addition to the artists directory for 2006 is Daniel Halsall.

Dan was part of a group show called Muki Paws at Polished T earlier this year. It seems I didn't review it on the blog which is a shame as I remember it being very good.
Then later in the year I was in Tampopo restaurant in Manchester and recognised his paintings on the wall straight away.

He is a Lancashire based artist, originally of Leigh, Greater Manchester. Daniels influences stem from a love of Japanese Prints, Buddhist artwork and painters Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Will Barras.

He has a website under construction:
www.danielhalsall.com

A neat idea. Lots of short arty videos at
www.artpod.info

Uses Quicktime

A Creative partnership between Dyingfrog Arts Network, the Liverpool Culture Company, New City Vision, Alt Valley Neighbourhood Management Services and schools in the Ellergreen area.

This project created an outdoor art gallery on hoardings around a construction site. To see the artwork produced, follow the link to the Gallery.

The artworks were produced in response to the 'dreams' brief supplied by the Culture Company and in response to the development works taking place in the Ellergreen area.

Eight groups of young people from Norris Green schools, a holiday club and nurseries took part in this project. Each group took part in two half day sessions, with the primary schools making a visit to the show houses or building site. Whilst there, they learnt about health and safety on site, and why they shouldn't play there - this was led by Chris Cork, the Health and Safety officer for New City Vision. During this session they took photographs and made drawings of the existing houses, the houses being built and of the new show homes.

For the second session the primary school children either produced monoprints with artist Claire Weetman or created brightly coloured collages with artist Alex Jackson, based on their drawings and photographs from session one. The nursery age children followed a similar path, using simple shapes and building blocks to represent buildings and creating patterns using monoprints.

To get to the images, all of the artwork from all seven groups was taken to children at St Teresa's Catholic Junior School, who expertly combined and arranged the work into the completed display, deciding on the background and adding their own little touches.

Over 170 children worked hard on this project over four weeks, experimenting with new artistic techniques, taking a closer look at the redevelopment in their area, and imagining what the changes could bring for them in future.

http://www.dyingfrog.co.uk/a_city_in_progress.htm

FUTURESONIC 2007 - 10-12 May, Manchester UK
http://www.futuresonic.com

Futuresonic, the urban festival of electronic arts and music, is moving from July to May, back to the Spring date it occupied in 2004.

FUTUREVISUAL
http://www.futurevisual.org

In 2007 the centrepiece of Futuresonic Live will be a celebration of all things audiovisual and a homage to 40 years of multimedia events.

40 years ago there were the first multimedia events of the kind that we would understand today. While the rest of the world was celebrating the soft-centred Summer of Love, a fusion of artforms and a crossover between avant garde and popular was taking place. This was the moment when events like Futuresonic became possible...

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of these seminal events, Futuresonic Live goes back to the future - revisiting one of the inspirations of the first Futuresonic festival in 1996 - to look at the cutting edge of immersive sound and image today.

URBAN PLAY
http://www.urban-play.org

Urban Play is the art and technology strand of the festival featuring exhibitions, workshops and interactive projects in the city streets. It was introduced in Futuresonic's 10th anniversary year, reflecting Futuresonic's focus since 2004 on artworks in urban space, and has since been mirrored in other events in the UK and Europe.

Thirty years after Brian Eno's MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS, Futuresonic 2007's Urban Play presents ART FOR SHOPPING CENTRES, an exhibition of interactive artworks in a major shopping centre.

Urban Play will also feature FREE-MEDIA activities in association with Mongrel, MediaShed and Access Space, including a UK first implementation of the free-media Video Toolkit developed by MediaShed and Eyebeam (more TBA).

EVNTS
http://www.futuresonic.com/07/evnts.html

A competition and showcase for the best new and ground breaking events from around the world.

EVNTS is a strand of the Futuresonic festival which enables artist groups and event organisers to participate in the festival. Since its introduction in 2005, EVNTS has grown into a community of people who each year return to give the festival an extra edge.

INVITATION FOR SUBMISSIONS: Futuresonic now invites anyone working in music or media arts to take part in EVNTS 2007, with the EVNT Competition offering financial support for a limited number of events.

For further details announced soon. Visit www.futuresonic.com/07/evnts.html for more info, or sign up to Futuresonic's subscriber list to receive regular updates.

SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES SUMMIT
http://www.socialtechsummit.org

A major international conference exploring the creative and social potential of new technologies, bringing together leading figures to explore "a whole new way of doing things in the air".

In 2007 a focus of the Social Technologies Summit is FREE-MEDIA. Free- media is about finding inspiration and resources in our built and natural environment that were previously dismissed as being without value or irrelevant. It doesn't cost much because it makes use of public domain Free and Open Source Software, and recycles freely available old equipment, waste materials and junk (FOSS). Free-media increases access to media technologies, especially to the people who need it most and can afford it the least, and lowers environmental impact of the media we produce and consume.

The 2007 Summit will also host a network meeting for ENVIRONMENT 2.0, a new initiative joining the dots between locative media and environmental calamity, being launched by Futuresonic to assess and offset the environmental footprint of future arts and culture.

And it will play host to THE MAP DESIGNERS, an event drawing together map hackers, artists, cartographers, DIY technologists, architects, game programmers, bloggers and semantic web philosophers.

But selling out fast.

Limited to 100 copies, 'Social Club' is the latest book of drawings by the Southport-based artist Craig Atkinson.

150 pages, A5, no text, signed and numbered.

Costs £12

Too late for Christmas but some people will happily accept gifts at other times too or treat yourself to a copy.

http://www.craigatkinson.co.uk/

Funkadelic Chicken Donned at Oxford but Nearly Skinned and Plucked
Thursday 21 December 2006
Written by George Lund (on his Alter Ego of the Funkadelic Chicken)

Fifty staff (Directors, managers etc) from the Innovation Factory, Jet Jobs Employment Training Centre, Yanwath Community Centre, and other community organisations held a Christmas Party at the Oxford on Wednesday 20 December 2006.

The Funkadelic Chicken was invited to perform and gave a chicken lip smacking, grease lightening floor cabaret act. The party poops mainly women were stunned by the Chickens capers. The Funkadelic Chicken had it's cheeks felt and pinched. The chickens' trews' fell down and a Full Monty Chicken nearly evolved and had a standing ovation (metaphorically of course!)

The Funkadelic Chicken said: 'I my beak was bent and have bruisers on my bottom and legs to prove it from the frenzy of the dance (CLUCK!). I have been asked by many of the women (CLUCK!) when and where I will perform again (CLUCK! CLUCK!). I will consider taking the Chico-gram up next year!"

The Funkadelic Chicken Rocked the Oxford, but escapes with life from attention of horde of women, now avid fans. Stuffing fell out everywhere and some ladies were trying to stuff it back in. He added: "I was telling them to get stuffed (CLUCK!)".

To learn more of the Funkadelic Chickens moves ...

Chicken Dances of Life.Funky Chicken:
Peace Happiness Love, Tranquillity.
Beak Dancing.
Communication, Language, Dialogue, Diplomacy.
Mooning Walk.
Cheekiness, Cosmic (full moon,half moon) Comfort Posture.
Straw Dance.
Sleep, Harvest,.Warmth, Food.
Chicken Salsa.
Culture, passion. rhythm, hotness, Latin.
Chicken Vin DE Loo.
Curry favours, Hotness, healthy food.
Chicken Robot
Technology, Innovation, Futuristic.
Chicken Lake.
Classical, Culture, Ballet.

More information can be found at
www.lundart.co.uk

To celebrate its 60th birthday, the Arts Council collection of post-war British art has been made available for all to enjoy on the Internet.

The collection, formed in 1946 and administered by the Hayward Gallery since 1987, encompasses some 7,500 works by over 2,000 artists.

These include works by some of the biggest names in British art like Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, Henry Moore and David Hockney

I don't like the website much though, too fancy for its own good. Keep it simple.

www.artscouncilcollection.org.uk

Apologies for late notice (my fault) - Deadline is January 3rd 2007

Submissions are now being taken for artists who want to show in our January Sale Show "B.O.G.O.F." (Buy One Get One Free). The theme is open so you can submit any type of artwork. N.B. We are very limited on space when it comes to showing Sculpture so please bear this in mind when you send us you submissions. The basic idea of the show is Buy One Get One Free - meaning people can buy on piece of artwork & get one free, this should be taken into consideration when you decide upon the prices of your artwork & means you can only submit work for this show that is for sale & you must also be prepared to give away two pieces of artwork for the price of one. HeadSpace will also take the usual fee of 20% commission from any sales generated during the exhibition.

There will be an entry fee of £7.50 per 2 pieces of work (to cover costs) & we are limiting each artist to 2 - 4 pieces of work (depending on the size of your artwork - i.e. if your work is very large then you will be able to submit only 2 pieces and if it is small then you can submit up to 4 pieces. This will also will be subject to demand / space limitations once we know how many entries we have.

The show will run from 11th - 29th January 2007, with the Private View on Thursday 11th January from 7pm onwards & we will be setting the show up from Monday 8th January 2007.

If you wish to submit work into this show then please send small-ish j-peg images of your work to headspaceegg@aol.com
no later than 3rd January 2007
so that we can decide what work can be part of the show. We will then let everyone know after 3rd January if they have been successful.

When sending entries please make the subject of your email: "B.O.G.O.F." tell us the following information for each entry:

Your Name
Title of Your Artwork
Size / Dimensions of Your Artwork
Medium used to Create Your Artwork
Price of Your Artwork (please include the commission we take in this amount)

We will then use this information to create the labels for the show so make sure it is what you want to appear on your label.

If you are successful then you will be able to bring your work in on Sunday 7th January 2007 between 11 am - 12 noon or on Monday 8th January 2007 between 12 noon - 2pm. If you are unable to make these times then please get in touch & we may be able to arrange another day / time with you. You can also send your work through the post to us at:

HeadSpace@EggSpace
2nd Floor,
16 - 18 Newington,
Liverpool,
L1 4ED.

Please email for further details
headspaceegg@aol.com

North West artist and musician Gideon Conn will have several of his works on display in The Quarter restaurant, Falkner St from January 9th 2007.

You can see his portfolio on his website:

www.gideonconn.com

Also

www.myspace.com/GIDEONCONN

He is also appearing at the Barfly as part of the 'Festivus MMVI' (fans of Seinfeld should recognise the name) on December 30th 2006

From Craig Atkinson...

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS...

Artists that use text - somehow, somewhere.

Letters will be an exhibition at The Atkinson Art Gallery in Southport, UK, curated by Craig Atkinson
www.craigatkinson.co.uk.

The exhibition will be the visual arts component of the Sefton Festival of writing 2007 and will run from April 22nd -June 7th 2007. The Gallery space for the show is 1600cm x 730cm.

You are invited to submit work that uses the written word, or text somewhere, somehow. Whether you make paintings, books, zines, photographs, models or sketchbooks, or anything else . As long as there are links to letters, text, words, signs or symbols in your work, whether they are direct or indirect.

Submission is free. Artists will pay for transportation and should arrange their own insurance for the time their work is in transit. The gallery will insure the work for the duration of the exhibition. The gallery is secure with information assistants throughout.

In the first instance artists should submit work by email to craig@craigatkinson.co.uk. Files should be no larger than 1MB. A short description of the work, including title, date, medium and size should be included along with a very brief Bio / CV. Please also state how your work relates to / uses text / words etc.
Deadline for email submissions is January 1st.

Christmas Soiree at the Slaughterhouse by Alex Corina and Paraphernalia Exhibition of Ian Taylor.
Written by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney, 23 December 2006.

Alex Corina had kindly invited Transvoyeur artists and many others from the art community in Liverpool and the Northwest of England to attend a Christmas soiree at the Slaughterhouse Gallery in Garston Village (Liverpool, England) on Friday 22 December 2006. An array of artists, curators, and different professionals turned up and a pleasant and amicable was had by everyone.

It was also the last opportunity to view the unique and thought provoking art of Ian Taylor in the ‘Paraphernalia’ Exhibition. The collection was a series of sculptures and framed work, but with a three dimensional content. Each piece was derived from ‘found objects’, but so cleverly done, you knew what each piece was sourced from, but the reconstruction into these amazing art objects played with ones mind and shared in the vivid and surreal imagination of the artist.

Alex Corina, who is a strong activist in contemporary arts and culture, curated the exhibition. His drive and passion currently lies with his many projects and initiatives managed in the Garston district already. However, his vision has many more plans in store and he is historically and culturally changing the face of Garston with his immense contributions made to this area.

There was the infamous ‘Camel’ too, which was recently vandalised, but since repaired. This was unveiled in a switching on ceremony and party at the Slaughterhouse on Friday 17 November. A 25 feet neon light formed into the shape of a camel. This was researched and produced by the international artist, Ron Haseldon, who invited pupils to make drawings on the subject of an animal. One was chosen and transformed into a large scale, freestanding neon light. This project was originally one for the Liverpool Biennial in association with the Garston Cultural Village. It will be interesting to see what other strange and wonderful art is presented in Garston Village. I recommend a journey on the 82 Bus to St Mary’s Road (Garston Village). It is worth a visit to view and experience upcoming events there to be announced in 2007, as each one has been diverse and fascinating.

It was an enjoyable evening with good art and a chance to catch up with many before the Christmas season and since the hype and mania of the Biennial. Time to reflect now and plan for 2007 for everyone.

Information on future events at the Slaughterhouse and Garston Cultural Village can be viewed at: www.culturalvillage.co.uk or www.alexcorina.com

I don't know much about the current line-up of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark but this sounds pretty exciting.
OMD also play at the Empire on May 16 2007, tickets on sale Jan 26.

From the OMD website...

On Monday 30th April 2007 Virgin/EMI will release a special deluxe double pack CD and DVD of a digitally re-mastered Architecture and Morality plus a live DVD of OMD performing at Drury Lane Theatre in 1981.

Meanwhile, a brief update on the plans for the OMD/Peter Saville installation: The work will be premiered at FACT in Liverpool in March 2008 as part of the Capital of Culture celebrations. The installation has a working title of The Energy Suite and is based on five power stations.

OMD are also currently working with The London Philharmonic Orchestra for a unique tour in Autumn 2008. The series of concerts that will tour Europe and the States will see the LPO playing The Energy Suite from the OMD/Peter Savile Installation with giant screens carrying projections of the power station images as well as the band and Orchestra interpreting many of OMD’s classic back catalogue songs.

Sounds like an interesting course...

MA Curating New Media Art is a year long programme in which students explore and critically appraise projects in curating, creating and contextualising New Media Art. All students are introduced to a range of analytical and theoretical skills and approaches pertinent to the study of historical and contemporary material.

The MA programme offers a postgraduate qualification for students interested in the study of current and emerging areas of curatorial practice. It allows students to formulate and test their ideas in a range of arenas including exhibition, symposium and thesis.

MA Curating New Media Art offers both a practical and theoretical negotiation of the working methods of new media curatorial practice and the wider gallery system via projects concerning historical, current and emerging practice.

More details

For further information please contact
MA Curating New Media Art
Liverpool School of Art and Design
Liverpool John Moores University

telephone +44(0)151 231 5190

email ArtMA@ljmu.ac.uk

From our friends at p-ornithology, now 'A Design Collective'

A Design Collective - Register for entry information 'The100Albums' - Competition 2007.

p-ornithology has changed it's name... we are now, "A Design Collective" - a name change that encompasses new angles and wider prospects for working with various artists and art organisations.

You may remember last year we held 'the100shirts' design competition (a great success - thank you again to all those who took part.). Well - It's that time again and time for another event/competition! The event will be run from May 2007.

The100Albums - Got Them Covered
Competition/ Exhibition 2007!

This year's competition will be following a similar successful formula as the100shirts, taking the idea on to pastures new with a twist! There'll be the usual emailed support from one of our team, full exhibition/ media coverage for
the designs chosen for the exhibition and another great prize for the winner!

Have you ever been inspired by your favourite album art? How do you think you'd fare - pitting your design skills against the original artists of some classic great album covers? Do you think you have what it takes to redesign one of the greatest albums of the last few decades?! We are going to suggest the top 100 iconic albums and then ask you to redesign them with a contemporary feel.

The competition/ exhibition will again be open to all artists across the UK and we are trying to make sure the message of the project reaches every corner of the UK.
Would you be interested in submitting some work yourself? If not, perhaps you could you help us to spread the word?! We want to get thousands of artists involved.

Send an email to Bob Blackwell: the100albums@mac.com for more information and details on submission of your work.

Pic: Tomma Abts, Ebe, 2005, Acrylic & oil on canvas, 48cm x 38cm, Courtesy greengrassi, London

Yes, I'm still catching up on old news. I really like what I have seen of Tomma Abts work. Looking forward to next year's Turner Prize being hosted in Liverpool

Tomma Abts wins the Turner Prize 2006

The Turner Prize 2006 has been awarded to Tomma Abts, it was announced at Tate Britain on 4 December 2006. The £25,000 prize, sponsored by the makers of Gordon's gin, was presented by Yoko Ono. With Gordon’s support this year’s prize fund is £40,000 with £25,000 going to the winner and £5,000 each for the other shortlisted artists. You can see the exhibition at Tate Britain until 14 January 2007.

Tomma Abts’s paintings are the result of a rigorous working method that pitches the rational against the intuitive. She works consistently to a format of 48 x 38 centimetres in acrylic and oil paint. She uses no source material and begins with no preconceived idea of the final result. Instead, her paintings take shape through a gradual process of layering and accrual. As the internal logic of each composition unfolds forms are defined, buried and rediscovered until the painting becomes ‘congruent with itself’.

Abts describes the finished works as ‘a concentrate of the many paintings underneath’, each functioning as an autonomous object revealing the visible traces of its construction.

http://tate.org.uk/britain/turnerprize/2006/

Photo: Edward Chambré Hardman, Liverpool’s leading portrait photographer of the mid 20th century. © The National Trust

via 24hourmuseum

Mr Hardman's Studio Wins Museum Interpretation Award
By Graham Spicer
05/12/2006

A historic Liverpool photographer’s home has won an award for museum interpretation.

The Interpret Britain And Ireland Award was presented to the National Trust run Mr Hardman’s Photographic Studio at 59 Rodney Street by TV personality Loyd Grossman, recognising the outstanding way the venue informs and involved the public.

Mr Hardman’s House scored highly against a range of criteria including imagination and innovation, good interpretive planning and a clear commitment to accessibility, training and maintenance.

The judge’s citation said that the house “made for an enjoyable and atmospheric visit”, and “brought the Hardmans to life”.

Mr Hardman’s Photographic Studio was the former home and studio of Edward Chambré Hardman (1948-1988), Liverpool’s leading portrait photographer of the mid 20th century.

59 Rodney St

In 1953, the Football Association ran a competition aiming to show the opportunities that football can offer the artist. First prize went to LS Lowry, for his painting Going to the Match, which now hangs in The Lowry, courtesy of the Professional Footballers Association.

For World Cup year, the Lowry have re-staged the 1953 competition, inviting artists of today to submit their interpretation of the beautiful game, with big prizes for the winners.

On Thursday 30 November, the winners were announced and prizes handed out by football star Michael Owen.

Most of the works in the show are for sale.

'One Love: The Football Art Prize' at the Lowry, Salford until Mar 25 2007

This very good exhibition 'Its About Time' by four artists closes on Friday December 22 2006.
The four are all former staff of Liverpool Art School (1966 - 1992) so they are a very accomplished and experienced group.
The first wall on the top floor of View Two Gallery in Mathew Street is taken up with the works of Ray Fields, they look to me at first sight like manually created prints but are actually digital creations drawn with a mouse.
Nigel Mairs more colourful paintings on the far wall are also partly digital but there's other media in there too.
Then there are a set of photographs of places such as a Paris pavement cafe by Phil Jenkins and finally a fine set of small still life watercolours by Peter Bailey.

View Two is looking better than ever these days, the works on the first two floors have been thinned out a bit so its easier to step back and have a good look.
There are still some of Jon Pountain's excellent pastels and several works by Matt Wilde which are well worth a look.

www.viewtwogallery.co.uk
Open Thursday - Saturday 12-16.00 or view by appointment

Last chance to see Ian Taylors Paraphernalia at the Slaughterhouse

You Are Invited To

Christmas party and Celebration at the Slaughterhouse
73 St Marys Road, Garston.

Friday 22nd December

18.00 - 21.00

Garstons Magnificent Giant Neon Camel Has Been Repaired
The Camel was first launched in November but was vandalised. It has now been repaired and given a new protective cover. Come and Join The Celebration

Lady Lever Gallery - Artwork of the Month - December, 2006
'The Annunciation', by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones

About the artwork
'The Annunciation' depicts the events described in the Gospel according to St. Luke, chapter 1 verses 26-35. The angel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary, saying ‘…you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call him Jesus…’. This subject was painted several times by Burne-Jones but this painting is the most important. The angel Gabriel, suspended in space, appears to emerge from a tall bay or olive tree. The architectural background is clearly derived from the artist’s visits to Italy in 1871 and 1873.

The long, narrow composition of the picture gives it the appearances of one of his designs for a stained glass window and despite the dramatic single point perspective the emphasis on shape and pattern flattens the picture space. Burne-Jones did not want to recreate an image of a real event, rather he wished to portray a more poetic and dream-like spiritual reality. Above the arch there are carved reliefs showing the expulsion from Eden. Mary stands by a well to which she has come for water. The model for the Virgin was said to have been Mrs. Leslie Stephen - she became the mother of the author Virginia Wolf and the artist Vanessa Bell.

LINK

Liverpool Walker Art Gallery - Artwork of the Month - December, 2006
'The Death of Oedipus', by Henry Fuseli

About the artwork
Fuseli took the subject of 'The Death of Oedipus' from the play Oedipus at Colonus, the second of the three so-called Theban plays of Sophocles. Oedipus, King of Thebes, blinded himself when he discovered that, in fulfillment of a prophecy, he had unwittingly killed his own father Laius and married his mother Jocasta, acts which had brought a curse upon the realm of Thebes. The old man, now banished from his own kingdom, but accompanied by his two daughters, Antigone and Ismene, recognises the portents of his death:

Oedipus:

'The gods themselves are heralds of my fate
Of their appointed warnings nothing fails…
This thunder, peal on peal, this lightning hurled
Flash upon flash, from the unconquered hand…'

Later, a messenger describes the scene as the thunder pealed:

'…the maids
Shivered, and crouching at their father’s knees
Wept, beat their breast and uttered a long wail…'

The works of Sophocles, written in the second half of the fifth century B.C., are now regarded as among the masterpieces of Greek theatre, but in late eighteenth-century Britain they were still relatively little-known. Fuseli’s choice of Oedipus at Colonus as the source for this painting tapped into a growing interest in Greek plays.

At the time Fuseli made his paintings, fresh translations of the plays of Euripides and Aeschylus by the Rev. Robert Potter were enjoying a vogue in literary circles in London, and Potter had started work on translations of Sophocles. Fuseli, who as a Greek scholar could read the plays in the original, was thus positioning himself on the cusp of literary fashion while emphasising his advanced tastes.

LINK

Thursday 21st December 2006 17.00 - 19.00
Official opening of "Collage"
Roscoe Hall,
1st. Floor,
Grand Central Hall,
Renshaw Street.

Collage is Lis Edgar's new retail outlet selling collectables, original artwork, prints, postcards, greetings cards and other interesting stuff.

10% discount and free gift on all purchases for one day only.

Lis is also interested in artists producing work from recycled materials.

UPDATE: I forgot to add Lis's email address:
lisedgar@iclway.co.uk

As usual I couldn't resist joining in the bidding for a couple of items in the auction at Arena studios. It was the last one of these popular annual Christmas auctions to be held in the Duke Street studios as they have been forced to move out. They have moved to nearby Jordan Street where, hopefully, they will flourish and there will be plenty more exhibitions and auctions in the future.

Meanwhile the room was bedecked with festive stuff partly thanks to the Lotus Room shop, mulled wine and mince pies were available and the auctioneer was, as usual, the irrepressible Paul O'Keeffe.

Unfortunately several works did not meet their reserved price and had to be withdrawn but there were still many sales including the two works I came away with, one of Nick Sykes paintings and a plaster ice cream by Laurence Payot.

ENVIRONMENT 2.0
a Futuresonic 2007 festival special feature.

Futuresonic is taking steps to reduce the environmental impact of the festival, starting with a pioneering study of the carbon footprint of the Futuresonic 2007 festival, undertaken in collaboration with the Manchester-based Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and Creative Concern, and a series of projects which highlight social and environmental impact of future arts and technologies.

The issues raised by this will be explored under the banner of ENVIRONMENT 2.0 within the SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES SUMMIT, the main conference strand of the Futuresonic festival.

SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES SUMMIT
*SPECIAL ADVANCE BOOKING RATE AVAILABLE TILL 31 DECEMBER*
£25 (Normally £45)
http://www.futuresonic.com/07/bookings.html
The Delegate Pass gives you access to all Futuresonic seminars and talks, the Social Technologies Summit, and entrance to Futuresonic Live events over the festival weekend. See below for details.

A part of Futuresonic 2007
http://www.futuresonic.com

SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES SUMMIT
http://www.socialtechsummit.org
The main conference strand of the Futuresonic festival, the Social Technologies Summit, is a major international conference exploring the creative and social potential and implications of new technologies, bringing together leading figures to explore "a whole new way of doing things in the air".

KEY THEMES FOR 2007:

ENVIRONMENT 2.0
In 2007 a focus of the Social Technologies Summit is ENVIRONMENT 2.0, a new international initiative in which two worlds collide:
o The world is waking up to realities of climate change, long predicted but until now too easy to ignore.
o The world is in love with smart environments, mobile communication, pervasive media, wearable computing.
Can these two approaches to environment, each one iconic for our times, be reconciled?

The Social Technologies Summit will host a network meeting for ENVIRONMENT 2.0, and present the findings of a pioneering study of the carbon footprint of the Futuresonic festival, undertaken in collaboration with Manchester-based Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and Creative Concern.

FREE-MEDIA
A linked focus is FREE-MEDIA. Free-media is about finding inspiration and resources in our built and natural environment that were previously dismissed as being without value or irrelevant. It doesn't cost much because it makes use of public domain Free and Open Source Software, and recycles freely available old equipment, waste materials and junk (FOSS). Free-media increases access to media technologies, especially to the people who need it most and can afford it the least, and lowers environmental impact of the media we produce and consume.

THE MAP DESIGNERS
The 2007 Summit will also play host to THE MAP DESIGNERS, an event drawing together map hackers, artists, cartographers, DIY technologists, architects, game programmers, bloggers and semantic web philosophers. Presented by the British Cartographic Society, the event will focus upon the interface between cartography and cutting edge design.

FUTUREVISUAL
As the main conference strand of the Futuresonic festival, the Social Technologies Summit will also host discussions of the festival's artistic themes. In 2007 this will involve a conference strand supporting Futurevisual, a city wide celebration of future image and sound. It will mark the 40th anniversary of the first multimedia events of the kind that we would understand today, which took place in the halcyon year of 1967, the year that also saw the first crossover between avant garde and popular music, and the introduction of the Moog synthesiser. The conference will feature seminal figures from the period, alongside contemporary artists who can connect with the energy and openness of 1967, and bring it bang up to date.

FUTURESONIC 2007
Futuresonic, the urban festival of electronic arts and music, is moving from July to May, back to the Spring date it occupied in 2004.
Futuresonic 2007 will feature profile music events in Futuresonic Live, and art and technology events in Urban Play, a strand of the festival introduced in 2006 that has since been mirrored in other events in the UK and Europe.

DELEGATE PASS
Advance Booking Rate
£25 (Normally £45)
Reserve your discounted Delegate Pass before December 31st 2006 and make payment by January 31st 2007 http://www.futuresonic.com/07/bookings.html

The Delegate Pass gives you access to all Futuresonic seminars and talks, the Social Technologies Summit, and entrance to Futuresonic Live events over the festival weekend. You must reserve your discounted Delegate Pass before December 31st 2006 and make payment by January 31st 2007. To reserve email tickets2007@futuresonic.com stating your name, address and contact details. You will be sent purchasing information from the festival box office by January 8th 2007.

It was purely by chance that I bumped into 2 local authors with their books in Editions in Cook Street on Friday.
David Cottrell has been a man possessed over the last couple of years on a mission to document all the Liver Birds in Liverpool. There's a hell of a lot of them so his 'Little Book of Liver Birds' isn't so small. Its fascinating read with hundreds of full-colour pictures. Some of the birds are pretty weird-looking and the ones atop the Liver Building will always be my favourites I think.
A bargain at £9.99 from Edition, 16 Cook Street, I got my copy signed by the author.

At the same time, local artist Edward D Walker was signing copies of his new book of maritime art 'Sea Liverpool' and some of his pictures were on the wall of the gallery.
Much as I love the waterfront, I'm not a fan of realistic paintings of ships, submarines etc. but Ted's are as good as any in that genre. He's been painting these for many years, has exhibited and sold all over the world and is commissioned by Cunard to paint their ships.
The signing sessions and exhibition have finished but the book will continue to be available from Editions, I think it costs £14.95

There's a few other books of local interest on sale as well as the usual and new paintings and fine art prints.

www.editionsltd.net

Two marketing vacancies at Bluecoat Arts Centre

Bluecoat Arts Centre, Liverpool is rejuvenating its grade 1 listed building and creating a brand new arts wing. Bluecoat reopens in autumn 2007 ready to play a key role in Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture 2008.

We are seeking two people to ensure a successful reopening for Bluecoat to help make our new vision a reality.

Head of Marketing (maternity leave cover)
Salary £32K
Contract from end Feb 07 for up to 12 months.

A rare chance to manage a high profile launch and make your mark.
Responsible for all marketing and communications activities, and working as part of the senior management team you will play a key role in taking Bluecoat through this critical period. You will champion Bluecoat’s new brand, ensuring consistent application and buy in; make sure that marketing systems and resources are in place in good time; and, ensure that launch plans are in place and managed during the reopening.
You will have an excellent track record with over 3 years in an arts marketing management role, able to motivate yourself and others to make things happen.

Marketing Officer
Salary £18K

A great opportunity to start from scratch! Working with the Head of Marketing, you will be responsible for developing and delivering marketing plans and campaigns for relaunch and audience development. You will specifically ensure successful delivery of Bluecoat’s marketing messages to our audiences using the full range of marketing tools. You will play a key role in ensuring that Bluecoat engages with its visitors both through relaunch and into the future.
You will have over 2 years in an arts marketing role, a track record in managing effective promotional campaigns on time and to budget, be used to building relationships with suppliers and be up for a big challenge.

Closing date for applications: 5 Jan
Interviews: Head of Marketing 22 Jan; Marketing Officer 26 Jan
For application packs please contact annj@bluecoatartscentre.com or telephone 0151 709 5297.
Both posts are full time (35 hours per week).

Bluecoat is striving to be an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. The building is being made accessible, though at present is only partially so. Contact us for further details.

Successor Leadership Programme

Supported By Arts Council of England
Places are free
Programme will start in March 2007
This is a customised programme for 25 future arts leaders working in Merseyside. If you have ambition to take a senior leadership role in an arts organisation, this is an exciting opportunity to develop your leadership skills and work closely with others, whilst developing leadership capacity within the region. To apply, you need:
• To have worked in the arts for more than 3 years
• To have managed a budget
• To have managed people, either volunteers, freelancers or permanent team members
• To have a demonstrable commitment through your ideas, participation and/or networks to developing the arts in the region
The aims of the programme are to:
• Build a network of ‘next generation’ leaders in the arts and culture world in Liverpool
• Develop participants ‘understanding and awareness of leadership in different contexts
• Develop their own aspirations as leaders in the arts
• Build their awareness of key issues, agencies and leading players influencing the city’s development such as regeneration, culture and the political backdrop
• Build the capacity of leaders in the arts to communicate broadly and effectively with leaders operating on other worlds.
Application packs are available from:
Anne Jones, Bluecoat Arts Centre
School Lane, Liverpool L1 3X
Tel: 0151 709 5297
Email: annj@bluecoatartscentre.com

(alternative formats available on request)
Closing date for applications 12th January 2007

MERSEYSIDE GALLERY CLOSING - FURNITURE FOR SALE!

x 6 Poly fold Lightweight Circular 60" Folding Tables
x 28 Stacking Chairs, oval chrome steel frames with polypropylene seats
x 3 Glass-door Display Cabinets (Ikea)
x 2 Ornate Metal Chairs
x 2 Ornate Metal Tables
x 2 Wicker Chairs
x 1 Glass Shelving Unit
x 1 Glass Table
x 1 Glass Plinth
x 1 Upholstered Seat with Glass Shelf
x 1 Laminated Computer Desk
x 1 Laminated Desk with 2 Drawers

If you can get to St Helens to view/collect your possible purchases then please telephone Jess Bowstead on 01744 20466 between 10am - 6pm
Tues-Fri or email
jess@supervisions.co.uk

Jess Bowstead
Creative Director

5athegallery
Bickerstaffe Street
Cultural Quarter
St Helens
Merseyside
WA10 1DH
http://www.5athegallery.co.uk

Some of Pete Carr's excellent photographic prints (limited edition only £50) are amongst the artworks for sale through Dot Art.
All works by North West artists and reasonably priced, you can see them online or at Dot Art's new gallery in Oriel Close off Water Street.

Note that the last order date for guaranteed Christmas delivery is Sunday 17th December 2006

You can buy from the gallery right up until Friday 22nd December.

The gallery will be CLOSED from Saturday 23rd December to Tuesday 2nd January.

www.dot-art.com

Today - Sunday December 17 2006 10-16.00
Hope Street Farmers Market (and its not just food)
Creative Bias - Art & Crafts Fair at Blackburne House and
Art sale at 60 Hope Street

Chapman Brothers love Dollman and Dollman loves Disco

Dollman with Chapman Brothers at the Tate (Liverpool) private view, Thursday 14 December 2006. (Image by Tony Knox)

Next Dollman event 'Sherry Trifle', New Years Eve,
at the Vines Ballroom (next to Adelphi Hotel, Lime Street, Liverpool, England).
20.00 until 02.30

Tickets £9.99 (in advance), £14.99 on the door.

To reserve your ticket please contact Dollman at dollmandisco@hotmail.com

Acknowledgement: With appreciation to Sean Kenny (Graphic Designer) for his professional support of Dollman Events. For further information on Sean Kenny (Graphic Designer) seankennygraphics@hotmail.co.uk

Supported by the Arts Council of England.

Its a shame this first Annual Commercial Exhibition at the Royal Standard is only on for 3 days. It doesn't give people much time to see and buy the works. And its well worth a visit, there are over 40 pieces by local, national and international artists, prices range from £2 to £2000.
You could buy one of John O'Hare's painted chairs or Nicola Fitzsimmons tower block made out of staples or a painting by Hamish McLain, James Buso, Paul Luckcraft, Jen Davis, Ian Law, Geoff Molyneux etc.
Some works I would class as more commercial than others but as a non-buyer I found them all interesting especially this 800RPM piece by Alan Dunn which is a unique 12" vinyl with a recording of 800 uses of the word 'Revolution' from various records. In the centre are authentic autographs from Bill Shankly, Ian McCulloch, Bill Drummond, Ricky Tomlinson, Kenny Dalglish and John Peel.

Finishes Saturday December 16th 2006 12-17.00

This annual event is always good fun. Note that its in the afternoon, you can call in after visiting the Hope Street market / Arts & Crafts Fair at Blackburne House and Art sale at 60 Hope St.

ARENA ART AND DESIGN ASSOCIATION

Christmas Art Auction 2006
Sunday 17th December 2006
Opening 12.00
Auction starts 14.00

Arena Art and Design Association is hosting its final Christmas Art Auction at Duke Street, a location we have resided in for over 20 years. We are leaving Duke Street and have relocated to Jordan Street, the newly earmarked Cultural Quarter, with the support and assistance of Arts Council England, Culture Company and Liverpool Vision.

Arena has been holding highly successful Christmas Art Auctions at Duke Street for since the beginning and we are pulling out all the stops for this last auction at this location. We are hosting the event on the entire first floor of the building at Duke Street. We are using set designers to design the sales room, we have arranged a harpist to play for the interval and will be selling mulled wine and mince pies.

This year we have some exceptionally high quality work representing some of the best artists in the North West. We have received kind assistance from Ian and Minako Jackson and Terry Duffy, Arenas’ founder in selection and also generous donations from Lotus Rooms on Bold street.

Unique contemporary art makes an exciting Christmas present, is a special addition to any home and can visually define a company’s ethos. Our annual auction is a fantastic opportunity to purchase exclusive art at an exhilarating and festive event.

BEING HELD AT:
82-84 DUKE STREET, LIVERPOOL L1 5AA

Static gallery this Saturday 16th December 2006
Bands playing are Kling Klang,
a.P.A.t.T. and
Glaswegian band Tattie Toes.
Starts 20.30, £4 entrance

Presented by Defcon