"i love kate bush very much" -- debi withers

Adventures in Kate Bush & Theory: The Film, made by Emma Thatcher. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrCpF3zUARA

always encouraging people to speak out

Of all the masses of words and tributes I've read today in memory of Howard Zinn, these words from Nicolas Lampert moved me the greatest...

Howard Zinn changed my life. In 1999, I first read “A People’s History of the United States” and read it cover to cover, fascinated by his words, his sense of optimism, and belief that ordinary people can and have organized and challenged powerful institutions throughout history.

In 2003, I was so fortunate to meet him and strike up a correspondence and friendship. I remember sending him the full set of Josh MacPhee’s “Celebrate People’s History” posters as a gift to let him know that us young radical artists were attempting to visualize many of the histories that he wrote about. He responded by thanking me for the posters and said that they were too important to remain in his house, on his wall, in a drawer – that he would find a community space where they could hang, a place where people could see them.

That embodied his spirit. Such a genuine person who was always teaching, always inspiring, and always encouraging people to speak out and become active.

london zine symposium 2010

The London Zine Symposium is an annual event bringing together zines, small press, comics and radical writers to celebrate DIY and zine culture.

This year's Zine Symposium is happening on:

Saturday 29th May 2010
12pm-6pm
The Rag Factory, 16-18 Heneage Street, London E1 5LJ

The day is free for everyone. (Donations will be taken to help cover our costs)

This year will be the 6th Annual London Zine Symposium!

Featuring Stalls/Workshops/Talks/Discussions/Vegan cake

Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43222899146&ref=nf

Website:
http://www.londonzinesymposium.org.uk

Applications for stalls now open:
http://www.londonzinesymposium.org.uk/stalls

inspiration of the week

I'm having one of those bowled-over-with-inspiration sort of weeks that I'm glad comes about every now and again to help keep me on track and remind me of what makes me want to keep doing stuff.

Todays inspiration comes in the form of the following artists work:

DEBBIE MILLMAN

KEETRA DEAN DIXON

GINGER BROOKS TAKAHASHI

I'm overwhelmed!!

express your rights

This conference in Michigan, USA looks so so great. It totally keys in with work I'm researching for at the moment (in the area of political collective creativity), and with ideas/plans I am cooking up and dreaming of myself.
Just reading about it has set my head on fire with ideas and inspiration...




Human Rights Through Education (HRTE) proudly presents:

EXPRESS YOUR RIGHTS: THE ROLE OF ART IN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM

Conference Itinerary:

Friday February 5 (at the MICHIGAN UNION, PENDLETON ROOM)

3:30-4: Registration

4-5: Carol Jacobsen
speech name: Women's Criminalization, Clemency and Human Rights
Title: Professor, U-M School of Art and Design. Award-winning social documentary artist whose works in video and photography address issues of women's criminalization and censorship.

5-6: Danielle Abrams
speech name: Burritos and Bulldykes: Performance Activity in the Gay Ghetto of the Mission District in San Francisco
Title: Assistant Professor, U-M School of Art and Design. Former artistic director of BUILD, a performance space in San Francisco’s hub of queer performance - the Mission District and a founding Board Member of the Harvey Milk Institute in San Francisco.

6-7: Nick Tobier
speech name: Human Centered Design & How Collective Creativity Enables Change
Title: Associate Professor, U-M School of Art and Design.

7:30: Emmanuel Jal (MICHIGAN LEAGUE)
performance name: WAR CHILD: A Story of Survival
Title: Internationally-renowned hip-hop artist, human rights activist, and former child soldier from Sudan
Co-sponsored by: U-M Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs (MESA); MSA Peace and Social Justice Commission
Most seating reserved for U-M students, faculty, and staff; limited seating for general public


Saturday February 6 (at the MICHIGAN UNION, PENDLETON ROOM)

10:30-11: Registration/Breakfast/Breakfast

11-12: Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP)
workshop name: Human Rights and Art in Prison
Affiliation: University of Michigan

12-12:30: OyamO
presentation name: Sensing the Censors
Title: Associate Professor of English, U-M College of Literature Science and the Arts; Associate Professor of Theatre and Drama, U-M School of Music

12:30-1:30: Allied Media Conference (AMC)
presentation name: Create, Connect, Transform
Jenny Lee, Allied Media Projects Program Director; Diane J. Nucera, Allied Media Projects Allied365 Program Director

1:30-2: Reception

2-3: M1
presentation name: From the Ghetto to Gaza
Title: Hip-hop artist and political activist; one-half of hip-hop duo Dead Prez

3-4:30: Paul Shoebridge and Michael Simons
presentation name: Visual Activism: The Role of Designer as Author
Title: co-authors, "I-Live-Here;" creative team and former creative force behind "Adbusters" magazine
Special appearance by Phoebe Gloeckner, "I-Live-Here" collaborator and assistant professor at School of Art & Design


As part of the Conference there will be an art exhibit in the Union right outside of Amer's from February 1st-7th featuring original work from Students and PCAP.

Express Your Rights is made possible by generous funding and sponsorship from the Center for Ethics in Public Life, the Institute for the Humanities and CAAS.

Additional funding provided by Arts at Michigan, Ambatana Multicultural Council, Cameo Multicultural Council, A'Subuhi Multicultural Council, and Markley Multicultural Council

portland zine symposium 2010 poster art call out

PZS is looking for art submissions for the 2010 poster. This year's theme is "Zine Arcade" Your art submission should be your creative interpretation of that theme.

The guidelines are simple – We are looking for a 11" wide x 17" tall poster that will also be used in other formats (the web, post cards, buttons, stickers, etc), so your design needs to be visible and striking at multiple sizes and resolutions (or have smaller, breakaway pieces). The design will eventually be silk screened / screen printed onto t-shirts, so limit your colors to black, white and one other color. We encourage artists to use any medium or style. We strongly prefer that the choosen artist is able to assist us in the process of transferring (resizing / cropping / etc) the image multiple mediums.

Your design should include (or be able to include once all details are finalized) the following:

- the theme

- the dates (TBA)

- the place (TBA)

- the website (www.pdxzines.com)

- "10th Annual Portland Zine Symposium"

- "A conference and zine social exploring facets of independent publishing and DIY culture."

Submission deadline is March 15th. Submissions can be emailed to pdxzines@gmail.com (most strongly preferred), mailed (to PO Box 5901 Portland, OR 97228-5901), or dropped off at the IPRC.

pikaland artists feature

This opportunity is totally worth entering/applying for...

It guarantees so much exposure for artists and illustrators, as the selected artist will be invited for a full interview on Pikaland, and will also be offered free ad space on the blog for a month!

More info about the Pikaland Arists Feature here

and

Go ahead and apply here

Do it. Do it. Do it!!

contemporary scandinavian comics exhibition

I just heard about the Contemporary Scandinavian Comics exhibition being held at Sweden's Nordiska Akvarellmuseet (the Nordic Watercolour Museum) from 31 jan - 14 march.

Details (in Swedish) here

It looks totally rad! And loads of women are taking part.

The museum's first exhibition in 2010, we want to highlight contemporary Scandinavian cartoonists with a strong image expression. Together with invited artists series, we are building an exhibition that change during the exhibition period. Unique series of original intermingled with shops and artistic expression and a rich program of around workshops, lectures and concerts.

Participants: Anneli Furmark (Sweden), Sara Granér (Sweden), Simon Gärdenfors (Sweden), Matti Hagelberg (Finland), Bendik Kaltenborn (Norway), Kolbeinn Karlsson (Sweden), Knut Larsson (Sweden), Helena Roos (Sweden), (GISP!) Bjarni Hinriksson (Iceland), Hugleikur Dagsson (Iceland), Þorri Hringsson (Iceland), Johann Ludwig Torfason (Iceland), Halldór Baldursson (Iceland) , Life Strömqvist (Sweden), Katja Tukiainen (Finland), Marko Turunen (Finland), Amanda Vähämäki (Finland), Ola Astrand (Sweden), Li Österberg (Sweden).

Plus, I saw this call-out on their website...
Nordic fanzine makers are invited to send in their fanzines to us. We make them available to visitors of the exhibition.
During the first months of 2010 the Nordic Watercolour Museum is going to show the exhibition Contemporary Nordic Comics. In the exhibition space there will be a section where the visitors can look through and read books and magazines with works of Nordic comic artists. We would like to display such a wide range of expressions and publications from the Nordic comic scene as possible.
Do you make your own comic fanzine? Would you like to present it in our exhibition? Please send us copies. We will put them on display in the reading section of the exhibition. Participate and help us make this an even more exciting exhibition!
Send your comic fanzines to:
Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Fanzine, Södra Hamnen 6, 471 32 Skärhamn, Sweden.
For more info contact: kristian.berglund@akvarellmuseet.org


RAD!!

grassroots feminism site wants your thoughts

Grassroots Feminism wants your views...

Do you ever read / watch / listen to feminist-made media? We want to hear from you!

Come fill out our online questionnaire...

As part of our research project "Feminist Media in Europe" we have put together an online questionnaire to find out how and why people consume and/or produce feminist media. This survey is specifically targeted to people living in Europe.

We really appreciate your participation in this survey. At the end of it, we will publish the findings on the website.

Fill out the survey HERE

Many thanks!
Red Chidgey, Rosa Reitsamer and Elke Zobl

blanket

From my inbox...

Seeking Contributions:

Re_action: Issue 20 – ‘I Think I Can Fly’ Issue

We’re taking off and letting our imaginations soar!

Each issue we give you a specific theme and we want you to submit a piece of original work that visually reacts to this theme! Use your creative skills and your imagination!

A maximum of 1 image to be submitted please.

Please read our Terms and Conditions before submitting your work to Blanket.


Email submission to: re_action [at] blanketmagazine.com

{ DEADLINE: EXTENDED TO 20TH January 2010 }

* * *

Here’s My Work, I hope you like it…

Each issue we show off emerging creatives and we want you! Send in your original artwork, design or photography. A maximum of 6 images please.

If sending multiple images please place them in a Zipped Folder with your full name and number the images (eg. Bec_Brown_01, Bec_Brown_02, and so on… otherwise I might mix them up and credit someone else with your work!)

Please do not send your personal URL’s as I receive so many submissions I don’t have time to review them all. You are more likely to have your work published if you make it as easy as possible for me. Please send examples of your artwork and follow my image specifications below.

Please read our Terms and Conditions before submitting your work to Blanket.

Email inspire [at] blanketmagazine.com

{ DEADLINE: EXTENDED TO 20TH January 2010 }

* * *

More info at: Blanket's website
www.blanketmagazine.com

i'm sorry but you can't get away with a sweater like that

Thanks to Emily Aoibheann for sharing this gem with me :)