Sunday, 4 July 2010

bedizzened

Rachael House is exhibiting at this; I therefore suspect it's likely to be bloody great!

Bedizzened
A thorough diffusion of feeling


APT Gallery, 6 Creekside, Deptford, London SE8 4SA

8 – 18 July 2010

Free exhibition, all welcome

Thursday to Sunday from 12noon to 5pm and at other times by appointment.

Preview: Wednesday 7 July 6pm to 8pm
Discussion with artists: Thursday 8 July 3pm to 5pm
Tea party: Sunday 18 July 3.30pm to 5.00pm
Performance by Calum F Kerr: Sunday 18 July 3.30pm


Transport:
DLR – Deptford Bridge or Greenwich
British Rail – Deptford Station from London Bridge
Bus – 47, 53, 177, 188, 199
Free parking on Creekside

Exhibitors:
Edwina Ashton, Jennifer Ball, Donna Barnett, Johanna Berger, Cornford & Cross, Jenny Dawes, Othello De’Souza-Hartley, Sophie Eade, Russell Eade, Sandra Erbacher, Mia Fernandes, Rebecca Fortnum, Karin Hanlon, Rachael House, Robin Hutt, Marcus Jefferies, Calum F Kerr, Louisa Minkin, Richard Moon, Damien O’Connell, Cathie Pilkington, Nicola Plant, Matilda Power, Alice Prior, Liam Scully, Lucy Soni, Finlay Taylor, Lindi Tristram, Jessica Voorsanger, Sara Willett, Rosalie Woods, Amy Petra Woodward

Cathie Pilkington appears courtesy of Marlborough Gallery
Edwina Ashton appears courtesy of WORKS|PROJECTS


carnival of feminist cultural activism

I'm on the organising committee for this upcoming conference/festival. Please feel free to submit proposals...
Love, Melanie x

[edit as of Sept 2010: I am no longer personally involved with this event]


CARNIVAL OF GRASSROOTS CULTURAL FEMINIST ACTIVISM AND ART

www.FEMINIST-CULTURAL-ACTIVISM.net
3-5 March 2011
Centre for Women's Studies
University of York,
UK
E: carnival@feminist-cultural-activism.net

Conference Announcement

We welcome proposals for a three-day international conference and festival of academic papers, presentations, performance, exhibitions & workshops.

The event is designed to generate action as well as debate, and to inspire, celebrate & challenge understandings of women, grassroots art & politics.

We ask: can feminist art change the world and, if so, how? and we invite responses from activists, artists and academics.

To get involved, send 300-word proposals for papers, panels, exhibitions, workshops and performances plus a 50-word biography to:
carnival@feminist-cultural-activism.net
or post to:
Carnival of feminist cultural activism
Centre for Women’s Studies
University of York
Heslington
YO10 5DD
UK

Deadline for proposals: 31 October 2010.

Please see website for further details.

FLIER

Friday, 18 June 2010

i heart melanie and jesus!




Melanie Cervantes: Thanks to Josue Rojas, we have a really awesome video of Jesus Barraza and my (Dignidad Rebelde) thoughts on creating art as a generative act of resistance to racist and nativist legislation like AZ's SB1070.

i wanna see this film



The Heretics
USA, 2009, 95 Minute Running Time
Genre/Subjects: Arts & Literature, Biography / History, Bisexual, Discrimination, Documentary, Gender, Lesbian, Politics
Program: Documentary
Language: English

DIRECTOR: Joan Braderman


Welcome to the New York City art world of the 1970s, where women are underrepresented in the MOMA, in publishing, in theaters, as well as in pretty much every other artistic institution. What’s a group of feminist woman artists — painters, filmmakers, designers, writers, architects — to do? Form an art collective, hold endless meetings and publish a progressive magazine called HERESIES: A Feminist Publication on Art and Politics. That’s what.

Filmmaker Joan Braderman, a member of the collective, tracks down twenty-four other members who are now accomplished artists living around the globe. The women talk about the magazine that published Adrienne Rich, Alice Walker and Barbara Ehrenreich.

They reminisce about what it was like to be a woman in a man’s world: from an instructor who praised Ida Applebroog, “That is good, you paint just like a man,” to Mark Rothko, who said to Lucy Lippard, “You’re too cute to be an art critic.” They also recall differences and disagreements; since editors changed for each issue, some women protested when it was determined that only self-identified lesbians would edit the magagzine’s Lesbian Art and Artists Issue.

A collage of intimate interviews, archival footage and photographs, digital animation, contemporary art works, and music by women, this is far from an historical piece. Rather, The Heretics emphasizes that collective feminism is as relevant today as ever. It’s a call to action to transmit this “gift, this collective energy of woman’s togetherness” to the younger generation. — NANI RATNAWATI

Wednesday, 16 June 2010

polish queer comix for pomada, july 2010

I translated this message with Google Translate, so apologies if it doesn't read entirely correctly...



"Draw queer - send a job!"

During scheduled in July, Pomades (http://www.pomada.info.pl/) - an alternative to the Europride events - will take place, including a comix queerz "lesbijskiemu" block devoted to comics and queers.
One of the points of the program is displayed Fri "Queer in the Polish comics." The list of artists and artists whose works will be shown is not yet closed, because for obvious reasons we are not able to reach everyone. Therefore, if your comic or ilustratons are queer works and you want to share it with others, select one of the work and send it to us. The technique and color is not important. The minimum quality is 600 dpi. We will contact you to authorize publication and other information.

The work should be sent to the addresses chaosxgrrlz@gmail.com comix.grrrlz @ gmail.com or until 06/25/2010.

* * *

POMADA (mentioned above) is a group of several people and one collective, for the first time joining forces to present our points of view - the perspective of nonheterosexual sensitivity.

We are different in many ways, but what bring us togehter are: cultural and artistic activity, fun of constantly eluding compulsory heterosexuality, a sense of local identity, sensitivity to the commercial entanglement of LGBTQ movements, passion for grassroots action in the spirit of DIY, and above all a sense of humor, especially about ourselves.

We invite you to take part in cultural events in the first half of July (5-18.07.2010), organized by us and by other organizations, institutions, and collectives in our network.

Our activities will take place parallel to the Warsaw EuroPride 2010 events.

We encourage everybody to cooperate and participate, regardless of gender and orientation - whatever, or, as we say in Poland: ganc Pomada!

* * * * *

Tuesday, 15 June 2010

bitch media zine library

The people behind Bitch magazine have set up a zine library in Portland, USA:

http://www.bitchmagazine.org/post/from-the-bitch-library-an-introduction-and-a-call-for-zines

That’s right, we’ve added a zine library to the 1,000-plus books already in our collection. We’re excited to watch our zine collection grow, and we can’t wait to share the breadth of self-published feminist materials. There are a couple of ways that you can get involved with our zine library:

1) You can send us your zines. Whether you’re a zinemaker yourself or you have a zine collection that you’d like to send to a new home, we’d love to include your zines in our library. If you’ve got a big collection to ship, contact me at ashley@b-word.org. Otherwise, just write “zine donation” on your envelope and send it to us at 4930 NE 29th Avenue, Portland, OR 97211. To sweeten the deal, I will be reviewing zines that show up in our mailbox.

2) Come to the library and check some zines out! Again, we’re open from 5-8pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the library can also be opened by appointment during weekday hours.

laydeez who do comics zine event

News from Alternative Press...


Alternative Press Talk at Laydeez do Comics

We will be doing a short presentation at this excellent monthly comic evening at the Rag Factory next Monday 21st June. The subject of this months meeting is;

ZINES

Guest Speakers:

Dr Roger Sabin, Reader in Popular Culture at Central St Martin’s College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London. Author of Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels (2001)

Prof Teal Triggs, Professor of Graphic Design and Head of Research, School of Graphic Design, London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. Graphic design historian, critic and educator.
Co-author with Roger Sabin of Critical Radar: Fanzines & Alternative Comics From 1976 To Now (2001)

Gareth Brookes and Jimi Gherkin, comix artists and members of Alternative Press
http://www.alternativepress.org.uk

Rachel House, artist and Co-director of Space Station Sixty-Five www.spacestationsixtyfive.com

Katie Allen, feminist zinester and editor of women’s magazine
www.fat-quarter.co.uk

You can find out more about Laydeez do comics at: http://www.nikjep.demon.co.uk/laywhen.htm

proper academic!

Feminism and its Methods: an interdisciplinary colloquium
12-13 July 2010, Manchester Museum

This event is organised by the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change (CRESC), and is co-sponsored by: School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester and CESAGen (Centre for Research on Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics). This event is also part of the Manchester Feminist Theory Network.

The conference will have a dual focus on:

* methods as a means for rethinking feminisms, as well as
* the histories, transformations and travels of feminist methods and methodologies.

Academic reflections on feminism and its recent past have tended not to encompass feminist methods and methodologies. This workshop aims to explore how our understanding of feminism might be transformed if we focus in particular on methods. The widespread influence of feminist methods across the social sciences and humanities could be taken as evidence of feminism's vitality, countering narratives of its demise. However, this influence often goes unmarked and unacknowledged. Feminist methods and methodologies have not been taken up evenly across disciplines, and do not necessarily index the same debates. In this event, we are keen to promote dialogue within and between different quarters of feminist practice, research and activism. This colloquium will explore how feminist methods have been taken up and transformed in and across disciplines, that is, how feminist methods have travelled.

Methods have been central to feminist practices, from the making of women's history and the creation of feminist archives, to the speak-out, consciousness-raising groups, manifestoes, oral histories, feminist utopian fiction. This historical centrality poses questions about the contemporary relationship between methods and feminism.

Speakers include: Bridget Byrne, Rachel Cohen, Ann Cvetkovich, Jacqui Gabb, Magaretta Jolly, Joan Haran, Amelia Lee , Julie McLeod, Maureen McNeil, Kate O'Riordan, Nirmal Puwar, Rachel Thomson, Kath Woodward, Sophie Woodward

For more information please go to http://www.cresc.ac.uk/events/feminism_and_its_methods/

Tuesday, 8 June 2010

symposium discussion group gets a mention


Amelia Wells of Amelia's Magazine has written a neat review of London Zine Symposium here: http://www.ameliasmagazine.com/art/zine-symposium-review/2010/06/08/

She mentiones the discussion group I ran with Patrick, Debi, and Em... it's rad to hear what people made of the group, and to hear that it was important and worthwhile :)

Thank you Amelia <3

girls who draw - cornwall


Girls Who Draw invite you to come and visit their amazing ‘Travelling Menagerie’ which will be at the Here and Now Gallery in Falmouth throughout July. The exhibition will feature an exotic array of artwork from the ‘Menagerie’ postcard book as well as new work based on the same theme.

There are 10 illustrators participating in the exhibition and they are Gemma Correll, Anke Weckmann, Mary Kilvert, Sarah Ray, Kate Hindley, Ruth Green, Currentstate, Yee Ting Kuit, Karoline Rerrie and Michelle Turton.

Travelling Menagerie at Here and Now Gallery, Falmouth,
July 2nd – July 31st 2010 (Private view Fri 2nd July 6-9pm)
Here and Now Gallery
41 a Killigrew Street
Falmouth
Cornwall
TR11 3PW

http://girlswhodraw.wordpress.com

Monday, 7 June 2010

serbia and london - diy photo zines

From my inbox (Thanks Josh!)...


Between East and West.
From Novi Sad in Serbia to London in UK.
DIK Fagazine in Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina and The Photographers' Gallery.

We are happy to invite you to exhibitions featuring self publications and artists books as well as artistic "products in development". DIK Fagazine and it's publisher - Karol Radziszewski will be participating in both shows.

The exhibition in Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina will present some selected issues of DIK Fagazine and pictures taken last year during Karol Radziszewski's residency in Novi Sad. This announces the new book documenting his research focused on homosexuals in contemporary Serbia as well as on gays life in the communist past. The unique publication will be out this year!

* * * * *

RESIDENCY CULTURE
2-10 June 2010
Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina
Dunavska 37, Novi Sad, Serbia

Opening of the exhibition: Wednesday, 2nd of June, 8 pm

The exhibition "Residency Culture" consists of artists taking part in programs Opening Our Closed Shops and Schloss Solitude. Exhibition will show artists' production developed and produced both during residency time but also production that is developed during "everyday life" time.

Artists:
Bernhard Herbordt & Melanie Mohren, DE / Min Kyoung Lee, KOR/ Darinka Pop-Mitic, SRB / Karol Radziszewski, PL / Dubravka Sekulic, SRB / Helene Sommer, NOR / Natasa Vujkov, SRB

* * * * *

We are also happy to announce that MARIOS DIK photo book by Karol Radziszewski will be presented at The Photographers' Gallery:

Self Publish, Be Happy Weekend
5 - 6 June 2010
The Photographers' Gallery
16 Ramillies Street, London


A weekend showcase of 60 exceptional contemporary DIY photo books, selected by Bruno Ceschel. A talk and signings throughtout the weekend will provide an opportunity for art book lovers to discuss, admire and buy publications originating from around the world.

From the more obscure zines assembled in student bedrooms to impeccably printed photobooks, Self Publish, Be Happy Weekend will offer inspiration and happiness for everybody.

Featuring work by: Adam Murray & Robert Parkinson, Alastair Levy, Alec Soth, Alex Mctigue, Alexander Binder, Alexandra Klein, Asa Johannesson, Asher Penn, Aubrey Mayer, Charlotte Dumas, David Schoerner, Derek Henderson, Erik Kessels, Erik Van Der Wejjde, Esther Teichmann, Gerry Badger, Grant Willing, Heather McDonough, Jan Von Holleben, Japp Scheeren, Jason Evans, Jeff Luker, Jeremie Egry and Nicolas Poillot, Joachim Schmid, Joshua Deaner, Karol Radziszewski, Katrina Umber, Lester B. Morrison, Lina Scheynius, Lucas Blalock, Marten Lange, Maxwell Anderson, Morten Andersen, Morten Spaberg, Ofer Wolberger, Patrick Waugh, Ricardo Cases, Richard Renaldi, Sam Falls, Sebastien Girard, Shane Lavalette, Sjoerd Knibbeler, Sophie Morner, Stephen Gill, Terence Hannum, Tim Barber and Victor Sira.

A selection of the books will be availble for sale in The Photographers' Gallery Bookshop. Come and get your piece of happiness.

Self Publish, Be Happy is an organisation founded by Bruno Ceschel in 2010 with the aim to celebrate and promote self published photobooks through events (fairs, exhibitions and conferences), books and online. Self Publish, Be Happy also organises workshops aimed to help photographers to make and publish their own books. For more information visit: http://www.selfpublishbehappy.wordpress.com/


http://www.mariosdik.com/
www.karolradziszewski.com
http://www.dik.blog.pl/

Wednesday, 2 June 2010

zine on sale online

The zine, Taking Cultural Production Into Our Own Hands (see blog post below this one) is now available to order online, via my etsy site: www.etsy.com/shop/COTL

It'll also be available to buy at Bradford Zine Fayre on the individual zine table.

Wednesday, 26 May 2010

latest zine



Taking Cultural Production Into Our Own Hands.
A collaborative zine, made for the discussion group on Creating Our Own Culture that I'm running at London Zine Symposium this Saturday.

It's a big bunch of info from a host of *amazing* people on the hows and whys of creating culture yourself... inspiring and skills-sharing.

Thanks to the contributors for writing about:

Starting your own clubnight
Making your own animations
Organising Comedy Nights
Starting your own publishing house
Setting up a zine library
Starting your own theatre company
Recording albums
Creating your own independent gallery space
Writing and publishing your own book
Making zines
Opening your own shop/cafe
PUtting on gigs
Starting your own record label
Screenprinting
Starting your own band
Booking and organising spoken-word tours
Curating art shows
Running a magazine
Making your own (documentary) films
Making comics
Making poster artwork for gigs and events.


£1.40 (or free if you contributed!!)
If there's any left, I'll put copies for sale online after the symposium.

More info on the LZS website

Monday, 24 May 2010

more UK zine fests...

As well as London Zine Symposium this Saturday [see you there], Zine Fest at the Women's Library, London on 12th June, and Leeds Zine Fest on 27th June [EDIT: This event has been cancelled], the following Summer events have also been announced:

Bradford Zine Fayre on 20th June 2010
Join us for a day of stalls, workshops, performances and overall DIY lovliness.
Interested in getting involved? having a stall? performing? helping out? email us! bradfordzines@hotmail.co.uk or bradfordzines@northern-indymedia.org

Birmingham Zine Festival in the planning stages... see: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=104056762967490&v=wall&ref=ts

queer zine festival in brussels

From my inbox...


Hi,

I received the mail below about a zine festival on June 26th-27th in Pink Ponk, a queer space in Brussels (Belgium)!

If you are interested in going there with your zines or do something else, mail to freefree@laposte.net. Apart from zine selling, zine showing, zine making and zine reading, there wil be an open stage, performances and a queer party.

It would be nice to see your zines too! If you've never made a zine before, now is the time! If you've ony made zines in a long-forgotten dark past, you should dig them up, or even better, start making zines again!

There's no website for the festival (yet) as far as I know, so you should ask more info or mail your questions to freefree@laposte.net

See you there hopefully!

Nina


---

From: freefree
Subject: 26 et 27 juin festival intergalactique du fanzine à bruxelles

hola
voici un appel pour vous invités à venir au local pink ponk à bruxelles le 26 juin
dans le cadre d'un festival inter galactique du fanzine venez avec vos table de presse !
vos zine et autre réalisation votre matériel !
découpage !collage !cadavre exqui !sont au programme!
dès 14 h ensuite vers 20 h scène ouverte pour vos performances ! lecture de textes ! et tour de chants suivi d'une queer party le tout prix libre une photocopieuse sera à disposition au bunker à 200 mètre du pink ponk ou de nombreux fanzineusEs exposeront et comploteront de nouvelles page en votre compagnie le 26 et le 27 juin
local pink ponk 2 rue marie popelin bruxelles à 100 mètre de la place rogier
nous annoncé votre présence peux nous aidé à évalué le nombre de table à prévoir n'hésité pas

Saturday, 15 May 2010

leeds zine fest

There's gonna be a Leeds Zine Fest on 27th June at Brudenell Social Club. I don't know much about it, but the organiser, Katie is still looking for distros and zinesters to have tables (and I think she's still looking for bands to play afterwards too)

Email her at: katie_thirkill@hotmail.co.uk to get a table/state your interest!

More info here

[EDIT 25/5/10: I heard today that this event has now been cancelled]

Wednesday, 12 May 2010

henry and glenn



Henry & Glenn Forever comic by Tom Neely looks so totally great.

Buy Via: Microcosm

Starring super-notorious musclebound punk/metaldudes Glenn Danzig and Henry Rollins (with a little help from super-notorious soft-rockdudes Hall and Oates) Henry & Glenn Forever is a love story to end all love stories! The premise of this Cantankerous Titles-released comic is explained at the front of the zine: “Henry and Glenn are very good 'friends.' They are also 'room mates.' Daryl and John live next door. They are satanists.” What follows is ultra-metal violence and cryfest diary entries, cringing self-doubt and mega-hilarious emo-meltdowns. Who knew Danzig was such a vulnerable, self-conscious sweety-pie? Who knew Rollins was such a caring spouse? Who knew Hall and Oates were so infernally evil—yet so considerate? Well, illustrating/writing team Igloo Tornado (featuring super-awesome comixdude Tom Neely) did and they kicked down 64 fully-illustrated pages with it. Genius on all fronts. Terrifyingly cute. Cutely terrifying. As the real-life Rollins says, quoted on the back cover, “Has Glenn seen this? Trust me, he would not be impressed.”


EDIT: I just read a rad interview with the creator, Tom Nealy, who was asked:
Personally, I see the comic as a brilliant commentary on the fact that metal and hardcore scenes are incredibly homoerotic. Agree, disagree?
Yeah, I think that’s definitely part of it. But there’s also a lot of homophobia in the metal scene that we’re making fun of. Henry and Glenn are easy targets because they are both such strong personalities who take themselves very seriously. They’re also beefy attractive dudes, so the strips almost write themselves.
For my own part of the book, I drew a lot of inspiration from past relationships and my own neuroses. There's a little bit of me in both Henry and Glenn. And there’s a little bit of my ex-girlfriends in both of them, too. There’s even a few in jokes about me and my wife as well. I’m making fun of myself as much as either of them.
There’s another side to the book for me, though. With all that’s gone on with the Prop 8 out here in California in recent years, I really wanted to just present them as a normal couple (although kinda neurotic). So, I actually hoped that it would come across as more of a pro-gay comic rather than making fun of anyone.

Wednesday, 5 May 2010

creating our own culture

I'm going to be running a discussion group at this year's LONDON ZINE SYMPOSIUM (Sat 29th May) with Patrick, Debi, and Em. It's on: 'Creating Our Own Culture'

Creating our own culture
A discussion group with zinesters Melanie (Colouring Outside The Lines), Patrick (Ricochet! Ricochet!), Em (The World’s A Mess & You’re My Only Cure), and Debi (Self-Publishing and Empowerment) talking about taking the DIY ethos of zine-making and applying it to becoming creative producers and creative consumers.
They will discuss:
- Organising gig and spoken word tours
- Setting up independent gallery spaces
- Forming bands
- Launching own publishing houses
- DIY Book publishing
- Exhibiting art communally
Come and hear how and why they are creating their own cultural environments/cultures/worlds, and discuss how you could too. Feel free to bring examples of what you’re up to, and/or ideas, plans, and projects that you’d like to put out in to the world

Monday, 3 May 2010

aorta #3



Aorta Magazine #3 is back from the printers. Order your copy online at Aorta's website

Issue 3 features my interview with the wonderful Marci Washington amongst lots of other equally rad things!

Thursday, 29 April 2010

it's true...

... I'm a bona fide contributor to Pikaland



Head over there now to see a big picture of my face on the site. Haha!!

I'm going to be doing oodles of interviews with artists that make my heart go boom! I already have a wish-list of interviewees long enough to make me feel faint!!

First up on the Pikaland site though will be an interview I did this week with the lovely Jill Bliss who was sooooooo nice to me & whose interview responses sent my brain into wild backflips of inspiration :)

Wednesday, 28 April 2010

zine exhibition - and - london college of communication zine library

From my inbox...

(from www.toandfor.co.uk)

TOandFOR gallery is looking for zine-makers to contribute their publications, for the first of an exciting new programme of exhibitions taking place from the end of May.

Titled ‘Paper Exchange’ the exhibition aims to demonstrate the versatility of paper as it forms the medium for the dissemination of our ideas. Alongside book arts and paper sculpture we want to celebrate the self-publisher and pay homage to the paper pages!

TOandFOR is now looking for zine-makers to contribute their publications to the show. We would like to build up a collection of zines to be displayed and be available for perusal during the exhibition. The bigger the selection we get, the better the impression we can give of the sheer wonder and diversity of the zines! At the end of the show we would like to donate the zines to the London College of Communication Library who are building a zine collection.

As well as creating an extended period of zine appreciation for those of us well versed of the zine scene, TOandFOR also aims to bring a new audience into contact with the beautiful simplicity of the medium, and hopefully encourage some more self publishers in the making!

If you would like to contribute to the show in any way shape or form please get in touch!
info@toandfor.co.uk (please put ‘paper exchange’ in the subject line)

* * * * *

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

relationship of art to politics today

Totally fascinating blog post asking questions like 'can art really have a stake in making political change? If so, has contemporary art been at all successful in doing so? How must art’s relationship to politics be understood, and what must be rethought in light of our present?'

Upcoming panel discussion event looking at these questions of art, autonmoy, and resistance open to those interested in critical cultural production to be held in New York.

roll on my trip to bristol in august!

Seriously, the idea of seeing the work of natalia fabia, camille rose garcia, elizabeth mcgrath, brandi milne, marion peck, gretchen ryan and mark ryden all in the same space makes me feel a little dizzy and giddy-sick!


COREY HELFORD GALLERY in collaboration with BRISTOL’S CITY MUSEUM & ART GALLERY present:

ART FROM THE NEW WORLD
A Big Brash Exhibition of the New American Art Scene


Saturday, May 1 – Sunday, August 22, 2010
Bristol’s City Museum & Art Gallery, Queen’s Road, Bristol BS8 1RL
Free entry. Open daily 10am-5pm

ART FROM THE NEW WORLD
For the first time, a world-class collection of works from some of the finest emerging and noted living U.S. Urban and Contemporary artists from the new American art scene is being unveiled internationally in a museum exhibition for British and European audiences. Los Angeles’ Corey Helford Gallery is collaborating with Bristol’s City Museum & Art Gallery to present a diverse range of 45 artists, spanning the spectrum from pop surreal and neo-figurative to street art in the exhibition, ART FROM THE NEW WORLD. Virtually all of the works have been specifically created for the show and will infiltrate not only the exhibition gallery, but most of the ground floor of the museum.

Highlights include:

• A fifteen-foot tall “ice cream cone” balloon sculpture created by, and topped with the characters of well-known street artist Buff Monster (who is featured in Banksy’s new film, Exit Through the Gift Shop). The artist will also be on-site creating a “live painting” of murals on select museum walls during the days immediately leading up to the exhibition.

• On opening day, paintings by world-renowned artist Gary Baseman will come to life as a special collection of his costumed characters makes a rare appearance to interact with museum guests.

• The Todd Schorr painting “An Ape Allegory”, featured in San Jose Museum’s Todd Schorr retrospective and on loan from the Corey Helford private collection will be on display in the main rotunda.

• Artist Mike Stilkey will transform a wall of 2,000 books into a ten-foot “canvas” for his work. The unique sculptural installation will greet visitors as they enter the museum.

Presenting and curating the exhibition in collaboration with Bristol’s City Museum and Art Gallery is Jan Corey Helford, owner and curator of the noted Corey Helford Gallery, located in Los Angeles, California. Corey Helford has presented a wide range of artists from the new fine art movement, such as Gary Baseman, Ron English, Josh Agle (SHAG), Buff Monster, COOP, Natalia Fabia, Korin Faught, Sylvia Ji, Eric Joyner and Lucie-award winning photographer Chris Anthony. Helford’s husband, and partner in the gallery, is American television writer and producer, Bruce Helford (Roseanne, The Drew Carey Show, The Oblongs).

In a statement released by the gallery, Jan Corey Helford explains the significance of the exhibit, ART FROM THE NEW WORLD. “Like the Arts Decoratif of Paris in 1925, or the bright, poppy England of the 1960’s, America is gushing forth a new wave of taste and style born of Pop Iconic culture, expanding American diversity, resistance to the mainstream art world and a need to communicate to an art audience looking for relevance in America’s Age of Uncertainty. The selected artists are part of an exciting new art movement that encompasses all forms of media and art – painting, sculpture, printing, stencil, photography, digital art. Their work defies traditional paths and has been embraced by a new generation of collectors and enthusiasts who crowd the exhibitions of a growing circuit of alternative galleries spreading throughout the United States. This is an exciting opportunity to raise the profile of this movement to new audiences.”

ART FROM THE NEW WORLD will open to the public in Bristol, England on Saturday, May 1, 2010 and will be on view through August 22nd.

Participating Artists:

JOSH AGLE (SHAG), JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER, CHRIS ANTHONY, VAN ARNO, GARY BASEMAN, RAY CAESAR, COLIN CHRISTIAN, SAS CHRISTIAN, LUKE CHUEH, COOP, DAVE COOPER, RON ENGLISH, NATALIA FABIA, KORIN FAUGHT, SARAH FOLKMAN, MELISSA FORMAN, AJ FOSIK, CAMILLE ROSE GARCIA, MERCEDES HELNWEIN, DAVID HOCHBAUM, SYLVIA JI, ERIC JOYNER, DAVE KINSEY, KUKULA, JOE LEDBETTER, HENRY LEWIS, LOLA, TRAVIS LOUIE, MICHAEL MARARIAN, ELIZABETH MCGRATH, MIA, BRANDI MILNE, BUFF MONSTER, MICHAEL PAGE, MARION PECK, JOSHUA PETKER, CARLOS RAMOS, JOHNNY RODRIGUEZ (KMNDZ), GRETCHEN RYAN, MARK RYDEN, TODD SCHORR, KATHY STAICO SCHORR, MIKE STILKEY, GREG SIMKINS (CRAOLA), JOE SORREN, DAVID STOUPAKIS, ADAM WALLACAVAGE, MARTIN WITTFOOTH, KENT WILLIAMS



Juxtapoz coverage
BBC coverage

Bristol’s City Museum & Art Gallery
Queen’s Road
Bristol, UK BS8 1RL
T: 0117 922 3571
www.bristol.gov.uk/museums

* * * * *

amy, audrey, lesley, and stella hit london - yay




Rad looking exhibition hitting London this summer:

‘The Next Generation: A New Chapter In Contemporary Art’ – curated by Thinkspace
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
London Miles Gallery
242 Acklam Road, Studio 303
London, W10 5JJ, United Kingdom
(44) 020 317 08618
www.londonmiles.com

salford zine library

Salford Zine Library, based at Islington Mill, Salford is looking for artzine submissions:

Salford Zine Library is a new venture which aims to create a Library of self published work from around the world. The library is based at Islington Mill home to over 50 artist studios.

Please send contributions to:
48 Landos Court
Gunson St
Manchester
M40 7WT
U.K

the latest from aorta



Aorta Magazine (formerly known as ArtXX Magazine) is proud to announce Cardiac Unrest, the hottest reading and release party in MAY, 2010! Come see the biggest heartthrobs of the San Francisco literary scene reading some of the hottest most radical poetry and prose. Dance the night away with hard pumping beats courtesy of DJ Puppet. Buy some yummy swag and look at some fantastic art from our very new ISSUE 3 of Aorta Magazine.

Saturday May 8, 2010
Doors @ 7, Show @ 8
$5 - 10 sliding scale

@ Million Fishes Arts Collective
2501 Bryant St, SF CA

You don't want to miss radical readings from:
Dusty Horn
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Meliza Bañales
Charles Vasquez
Rose Sims

Delicious visuals from:
Judith Page
Nikki Nefarious
Umayyah Cable

Musical temptations by:
Linda Moody (of Bay Area band Excuses for Skipping)
Zoe Boekbinder (storyteller, songwriter, loop pedal master)
Bass-thumping rhythms by DJ Puppet!!!

And, for further delights, expect to treat yourself to food, libations, and raffle prizes.

Come get your ears teased by words and rhythms and work yourself into a state of Cardiac Unrest!

www.aortamagazine.com

###

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is a queer Sri Lankan writer, spoken word artist and cultural worker whose life’s work is telling queer of color, radical South Asian, high femme and survivor stories. As a spoken word artist she has performed widely in the United States, Canada and Sri Lanka. She has featured at Bar 13, Michelle Tea's RADAR Reading Series, The Loft, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, as well as at universities including Yale, Sarah Lawrence, Oberlin, Swarthmore and the University of Southern California. Her first one woman show, Grown Woman Show, debuted at Toronto's Alchemy Theatre in August 2007.

Dusty Horn is a Show Business Impresario, urban cowboy cyclist, part-time hippie, loud fast and loose drummer, face-melting wah rhythmn guitarist, social worker, porn performer, and practitioner of professional BDSM. Her culture writing has been published in McSweeney’s The Believer, Maximum RnR, and Kitchen Sink, and she pens, publishes, and distributes a nominal sex worker memoir/critical theory zine.

Meliza Bañales, aka Missy Fuego, writes books, sews clothes, and makes movies. She has one book of poems, Say It With Your Whole Mouth and has work in several anthologies. Whether creative, spiritual, or activist, Meliza's work aims to give more complex awareness around issues of queerness, race, gender, and class using humor, sharp wit, and a lot of spandex.

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Issue #3 is hot off the presses!

Aorta is proud to announce the release of Issue #3! Once again, we're delivering a magazine crammed full of the talents of women, queer and trans artists. Issue #3, printed in an edition of 250, features an array of visual, performative, musical, and literary artists, including: Daphne Gottlieb, Jennie Ottinger, Marci Washington, Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Nikki Nefarious, Larisa Escobedo, Still Black, Dusty Horn, Maryclare Brzytwa, Mangos with Chili, Imogen Binnie, W.A.G.E., Amy Casey, Ill Nippashi, Cristy C Road, Rose Sims, Judith Page, and more!

www.aortamagazine.com

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Aorta is a self-produced, collectively-created, bi-annual publication that features a diversity of emerging and established female, queer and transgender artists.

Aorta Magazine is a 501(c)3 sponsored project of the NY Foundation for the Arts and is supported in part by Southern Exposure's Alternative Exposure grant program.

* * * * *

Snap from inside issue two:

Monday, 26 April 2010

oompa indeed!

“All fizz and finger-poppin’ talent. Such fun!”
- Diane DiMassa, creator of Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist

“ ‘Oompa!’ will give you eargasms!”
-Annie Sprinkle, Artist/sexecologist


What would you do after editing a Lambda nominated anthology with bell hooks, Nan Goldin and Kate Bornstein? Well, if you’re Sabrina Chapadjiev, editor of Live Through This- On Creativity and Self-Destruction, you shorten your name to Sabrina Chap and hit the road with your hot brand of vaudevillian and ragtime stomp.

After ditching her role as ‘feminist editor,’ Sabrina Chap turned back to her first love- songwriting and performing, and it’s a good thing too! She’s got the ballad lyrics of Tom Waits, the onstage antics of Phyllis Diller and the voice of a whiskey angel. After performing what has been called ‘The Dirtiest Song Ever’ in a performance the New Yorker called, “Rousing!”, she’s proved that she’s also got moxie.
[NB. I've just searched high and low for videos of the performance, and the New Yorker review to link to, and it appears it was all so dirty that it's all been taken down from the web!! -Melanie]

Released for the first time in her debut studio album, ‘Oompa!’, her songs are a ragtime stompin' good time, full of laughs, heartbreaks, and just plain good songwriting.

A classical pianist from the age of 5, Sabrina has performed in nine Ladyfests throughout the US and Europe, anchored two European tours and hit every small bar and club in New York and Chicago.

The album title, ‘Oompa!’ stems from the typical left-hand stride that is found in ragtime, where the left hand is incessantly playing, “oompa, oom-pa”. A majority of the songs on the album originally contained this rhythm, and soon the album became an exploration on how to riff off of this basic musical theme. In one track, a Dixieland band is added, in another a trio of strings. Fellow feminist editor,
Melody Berger (the F-Word zine, “We Don’t Need another Wave”) brings her bluegrass fiddle to the track, ‘Carolina’.
All in all, ‘Oompa!’ is a musical feast of Americana’s favorite styles that’ll keep your toes a tappin and your finger’s snappin’.

A dynamic performer, Sabrina has found that it is the burlesque scene where she is finding her strongest supporters. In February she brought her bawdy vaudeville numbers and razor-sharp wit to the burlesque joints and sideshows of East Coast. Currently, she is playing solo shows in the New York area, while planning a travelling circus sideshow tour this summer, The show will feature a fire-eater,
burlesque performer, magician and herself as a one woman band performing the songs from ‘Oompa’. Hilarious and fearless, Sabrina is gearing up to become one of the hottest voicest in ragtime revivalor as an interview in the Queerist recently put it, “Wildly articulate, witty and passionate, Sabrina Chap is an artist to look out for.”

Head over to Sabrina's Myspace to hear songs from the album (my fave, for the record, is Boat Song)

mel, i heart you, love melanie

Today, I mostly want to be Maria

sometimes i get overhwelmed by the rad things my friends are doing/organising (Pt. #804)

Jane Arden Project: An active research project, culminating in an exhibition and limited edition artist bookwork, that invites women artists and writers to contribute responses to the work of Jane Arden.


and...


Raising Hell: This half hour documentary profiles the experiences of the children of Lesbian and Gay parents in the UK aged 12 to 35, exploring themes of School, Gender, Sexuality, Prejudice and what the word Family means. Set alongside an examination of the rich history of Lesbian and Gay parents from the late 1960s to the present day this film at once normalises and elaborates on the unshared and unheard experiences of the children of Lesbian and Gay parents

* * * * *

bonfire madigan in LA every sunday in may‏

New Music Residency Showcase 2010

Composer, Singing-Cellist Bonfire Madigan curates and performs a unique concert every Sunday in May at the Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles

May 2nd, 9pm Bonfire Madigan performs pieces from her Kill Rock Stars catalog and selections frm her forthcoming full length stud...io album. 8pm Cate La Bon from Europe

May 9th, 9pm Bonfire Madigan plays songs by mom's (a special Mother's Day show - bring a mom!) 8pm surprise guests

May 16th, 9pm BMad w/ a tribute to American composer Moondog 8pm Rachael Cantu

May 23rd, 9pm BMad plays w/ the work of composer, singing cellist Arthur Russell 8pm DUBUS frm Tijuana

May 30th, 9pm BMad debuts selections frm her original score to the theatrical event Elektra opening Sept at the Getty Villa, starring Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis 8pm Emily Jane White frm San Francisco

only $8 in advance $10 at the door

http://foldsilverlake.com

http://bonfiremadigan.com

Thursday, 15 April 2010

gives good interview

Sabrina Chap sure gives good interview...

http://blog.thequeerist.com/2010/03/interview-with-sabrina-chap

CG: You seem to have many different creative outlets. How do you juggle being such a jack of all trades?
SC: I don’t. I’m a mess. In fact, I’m crying right now.

Totally love Sabrina :)


[p.s. I interviewed Sabrina years ago too. You can read here]

* * * * *

crazy ass 'democracy'

Okay, so once again I'm behind with the news, but this sucks

Iraqi artists denied entry to Britain for their own exhibition. Visas refused on grounds that applicants could not provide bank statements

As the article says, Proof of financial stability and a bank account in the applicant's home country is a bureaucratic requirement for British visa authorities, but it is also, according to Iraqi experts, a very tall order in an occupied country with no banking infrastructure.

"Since 2003, Iraqis have been promised democracy but Britain and America have not managed to do what they promised. We tried to use art to rebuild some of that trust. This incident loses that trust ... The artists have been refused visas for not having bank statements; many Iraqis do not have bank accounts. It's an unstable country, usually its citizens are paid in cash"

The artists denied entry include Shaho Abdul Rahman, 36, a designer and painter, Azar Othman Mahmud, 22, an installation artist, Sarwar Mohamed, 37, a filmmaker, all from Sulaymaniyah; Falah Shakarchi, 45, a painter from Baghdad and Julie Adnan, 24, a photojournalist from Kirkuk.

Friday, 2 April 2010

the diary of a teenage girl

OK, so I don't really 'do' theatre, and there's probably little to no chance of it coming over to the UK so I don't know what I'm getting so excited about, but Phoebe Gloeckner's amazing graphic novel 'The Diary of a Teenage Girl' has been adapted in to a stage play in the US. Wowzer!

The basic premise: 'It’s San Francisco in the 1970s. Fifteen-year-old Minnie has just started an affair with her mother’s boyfriend. Shit.'

Oh, and I love this touch: C. Andrew Bauer’s video designs cleverly incorporate Ms. Gloeckner’s drawings. A small exhibition of Gloeckner originals in the lobby pays further tribute to the unblinking honesty that inspired this heartfelt production.

"When you enter the building, you're treated to an unexpected exhibition of original art by Phoebe Gloeckner -- and I promise you, this alone is worth the price of admission. The selections draw heavily from the comics and illustrations found in Diary, including some of its most memorable pieces -- a dalliance between Minnie's best friend Kimmie and her ersatz boyfriend Monroe on the beach literally made my jaw drop, while I laughed aloud at seeing the book's memorable rear-view portrait of Monroe and Kimmie arguing in the buff. But one of "Minnie"/Phoebe's comics from her teenage years was also on display, as were several of her astonishing illustrations from J.G. Ballard's The Atrocity Exhibition, including that infamous fellatio cross-section. Throughout, it's almost awe-inspiring to see how much more frequently white-out is used to erase lettering mistakes or alter word-balloon placement rather than fix the art itself; Gloeckner's line appears to flow fully formed from her brain to the page. I was hard pressed to pull myself away from them to enter the venue proper, or to leave and catch my subway at the end of the night." (from: this rad review)

How I wish I was in New York to see this :(

get your cray-on for the bay area child care collective



(Click to enlarge for all the small print!)

Friday, 26 March 2010

research with fury

Oh Keri Smith, I love you so

i heart katy

Lady Monsters
New work by Katy Horan
Exhibition runs March 20–April 22, 2010



Opening night:
Saturday, March 20, 2010
at Domy Books, Austin
913 E Cesar Chavez, Austin, TX 78702, USA
7-9pm, FREE ADMISSION

"In my current work, I create fantastical characters rooted in traditional ideas of femininity. To create these characters, I combine subconscious imagery with external references that include archetypes from folklore and history, storybook illustration, Renaissance portraiture and decorative elements of historical dress. The image is familiar, but mysterious. This invites both the viewer’s imagination and knowledge of feminine imagery and narrative to inform the work."

More info on Domy's site



sad sad demise

I'm trying to remember the year it was - probably 2002 - I treated myself to an international subscription to Venus zine; I loved the female artists they covered, the fact they gave column inches and backing to bands and artists who really deserved the exposure and support, I loved the music ideas they introduced to my head, the good interviews and reviews that made me sit up and take notice, and much more - The general fact that it existed in the way it did was really inspiring to my feminist-self-publishing sensibilities. It really was a great magazine. After that year though, things went a bit downhill, it as a magazine meant less to me and said much less to me - I figured it was because it had served its purpose to my earlier self, or something. On reflection, it was more than that, bigger changes had taken place within the actual zine - in the substance of the zine. But for that year it was my favourite (maga)zine.

Cue this recent news:

'Feminism is “an old-fashioned concept” and “doesn’t seem relevant," according to Sarah Beardsley, the 47-year-old publisher of Venus magazine, which she recently purchased from the two real estate agents who had themselves purchased the magazine only a few years earlier from its founder, Amy Schroeder.
As reported by the Chicago Reader, Beardsley’s solution for saving the zine seems to leave any association with the dreaded F-word behind.
“She told me she's not a feminist and feminism is what hindered the magazine in the past,” one unnamed source told the Reader. Instead, Beardsley plans to focus her newly purchased mag on, in her words, “an extended community of people who want to be part of—movement's too strong a word, but cause—something people believe in, an aesthetic being built from the ground up.” Hmm. A community of people who want to be part of a cause that people believe in? Nah, feminism is nothing like that.
The magazine, which began life as a zine focused on women in music, had ceased publication last September, and has just released its first issue under Beardsley. Whether the new, feminism-free version of the troubled mag will succeed remains to be seen. And if it does, what would that say about feminism?'


(via: Bust (incidently, Bust is another magazine that seems to now subscribe to the 'cute sweaters and nice neckalces' [Thanks, Lex!] school of thought when it comes to feminist publishing... yeah, yeah, enough knitting and crochet already... how about having something to say for yourselves again)

Pissing on someones grave (Amy Schroeder's Venus) isn't cool, and neither is being so bafflingly confused about the nature of community, movements, and feminism.

As Sabrina Chapadjiev wrote to me today: 'What a way to demoralize something that actually meant a lot to people. But you know what this means, ladies. . .it means that they're turning it over to us. . .'

* * * * *

just about the best thing i have seen today

Okay, so it was exhibited last year, so I'm already waaay behind and playing catch up, but I love this:

David Fullarton's contribution is an installation in the offices of Houston radio station 90.1 KPFT entitled "What I do at work when I'm supposed to be working." It consists of a number of small works made entirely from office supplies, which are pinned up randomly around the office, in amongst the notices, flyers and memos that were already existing in the environment.



Wednesday, 24 March 2010

terrific american exhibitions a go-go in April/May

PORTLAND:


Bright Forest: Paintings and Prints by Sarah Utter + a Mecca Normal show
Land gallery will present Bright Forest: Paintings and Prints by Olympia, Washington, artist Sarah Utter. Utter is an artist, designer and musician (from the bands Bangs and Western Hymn)

Utter will be showing brand-new work and some from the past several years that hasn’t been seen outside the Puget Sound. She paints mostly birds, along with foxes and squirrels and will be showing archival giclee prints from her 2009 calendar. Her artwork highlights a love of the natural world, bright colors, and layers of pattern inspired by printmaking and textiles.

Mecca Normal will perform “Blue Sky and Branches”—a new piece written for Utter’s art opening at Land on April 30. Vocalist Jean Smith wanted to do something “vaguely collaborative” for the event—a response to themes in Utter’s artwork. Most recently, their songs have been about Smith’s dating adventures, but as she told Utter, “Unless the critters in your paintings have been doing more online dating than I suspect, there isn’t a real connection between your art and our music.”

Land is located at 3925 North Mississippi Avenue, Portland, Oregon; landpdx.com
Come and help us celebrate Sarah Utter's work on Friday, April 30 from 6–9pm. Her show will be on display from April 30 to May 23.
Vancouver duo Mecca Normal will give a special live performance at the opening party between 8-9pm.

More info: on facebook

* * *

SAN FRANCISCO:

Dignidad Rebelde, Artists in the Struggle: Creating Radical Graphics



Dignidad Rebelde is a graphic arts collaboration between Oakland-based activist-artists Jesus Barraza and Melanie Cervantes. Their art is a reflection of community struggles, dreams and visions. Following principles of Xicanismo and Zapatismo, they create art that translates the stories of everyday people in struggle into images that they can be put back into the hands of the communities who inspired them. Jesus and Melanie will be presenting a slideshow of their work contextualizing their work in the history of social movements and the graphic arts traditions that have served those movements.
Thursday, 08 April 2010 19:00 - 21:00
Modern Times Bookstore, 888 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA

More info: on facebook

* * *

OLYMPIA, WA:

The Black Dot Museum: "Political Artists from Vancouver" Northern Exhibit



The Black Dot Museum: Political Artists From Vancouver

In May 2010, David Lester and Jean Smith (Mecca Normal) co-curate a month-long, group art exhibit at Northern -- an all-ages project in Olympia, Washington. The show includes art by Lester and Smith, along with Brian Roche and Gord Hill. Mecca Normal plays the May 1 opening.

More info: on facebook

* * *

PHILADELPHIA:

Shouts from the Wall



Leeway's Spring 2010 exhibit, "Shouts from the Wall," features fifty limited-edition prints, posters, and apparel, covering issues of current national and global interest created by Favianna Rodriguez, Jesus Barraza, and Melanie Cervantes, members of Taller Tupac Amaru; Beth Pulcinella (LTA '09, ACG '08) co-founder of RECLAIM; and bex (LTA '09). EXHIBIT RUNS March 25-June 25, 2010

Opening night: Saturday, 27 March 2010 18:00 - 20:30
Leeway Foundation, 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 832, Philadelphia, PA

ARTIST TALK & RECEPTION
Favianna and Jesus will give an artist talk on Saturday March 27, 2010 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm at the Leeway office (1315 Walnut Street, Suite 832). An opening reception will follow their talk from 7:30pm to 8:30pm.
RSVP for the Artist Talk and reception by emailing rsvp@leeway.org or by calling (215) 545-4078

More info: on facebook

* * * * *

Tuesday, 23 March 2010

uk tour schedule for angola 3 movie

Via PM Press: London! Black Panther Robert King is in town, be sure to check out the screening of the new Angola 3 movie and the following panels...and buy King's book at www.pmpress.org

See Angloa 3 News for full details on UK screenings of the following film...



SCREENINGS & DISCUSSIONS:

WEDNESDAY 24th March 2010
LONDON Ritzy Brixton

Moderator: Polly Toynbee
Panellists: Vadim Jean, Robert King
Screening Time: 7pm

THURSDAY 25th March 2010
LONDON Curzon Soho

Moderator: Terry Waite CBE
Panellists: Vadim Jean, Robert King, Clare Algar, Executive Director, Reprieve
Screening Time: 6.30pm

FRIDAY 26th March 2010
LONDON Screen On the Green - Islington

Moderator: TBC
Panellists: Vadim Jean,Robert King
Screening Time: 6.30pm

Sunday 28th March 2010
LONDON Picturehouse Clapham

Moderator: TBC
Panellists: Vadim Jean, Robert King
Screening Time: 3.30pm

Monday 29th March 2010
CAMBRIDGE Picturehouse

Moderator: TBC
Panellists: Vadim Jean, Robert King
Screening Time: 6.30pm
Tuesday 30th March 2010

LONDON Amnesty - The Human Rights Action Centre
Moderator: Intro By Kate Allen
Panellists: Vadim Jean, Robert King, Sam Roddick
Screening Time: 6.30pm

Tuesday 31st March 2010
LONDON Lexi Cinema Kensal Rise

Moderator: TBC
Panellists: Vadim Jean, Robert King
Screening Time: TBC

WEDNESDAY 1st April 2010
EDINBURGH Cameo

Moderator: TBC
Panellists: Vadim Jean, Robert King
Screening Time: TBC

Recent Guardian article here: The Guardian

exploring attitudes towards breasts

From my inbox...

From Corin:

I am currently undertaking an MA in Gender Studies at the University of Leeds and am looking for people to take part in my dissertation research.

My research project is called ‘Queer Breasts’. The intention of my research project is to explore attitudes towards breasts among queer, female-identified people and the impact this has on experiences of queer female embodiment. I will be drawing on existing narratives of the female body in literature on cosmetic surgery and in trans theory. Traditional accounts of cosmetic surgery have typically focused on heterosexual women, thus creating narratives of a specifically gendered, female body. My interest in researching queer, female-identified participants is to explore attitudes towards breasts outside of a heteronormative context.

The first part of my research is a short, emailed questionnaire. From the returned questionnaires I will be selecting a small cross-section of participants for follow up interviews. You are not committing yourself to anything by completing the questionnaire.

I am looking for participants who self-identify as queer and female, and are willing to talk about their breasts with me and attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. This does not mean you have to identify specifically as a woman, have had any cosmetic surgery, or currently have breasts to take part. If you consider yourself queer and female-bodied then please feel free to participate.

You will need to have an email address.

You will also potentially need to be available for interview within the next three months either in Leeds or London.

If you know anyone else who may be interested in participating please invite them to the group.

If you would like to complete a questionnaire, or have any questions or comments, please email me: QueerBreastsResearch@googlemail.com

I will be collecting questionnaires until Monday 12th April, 2010.

Facebook group for more info

i am completely in love with this video

Bugger, I can't get it to embed...

http://www.wk.com/wke/show/DIY/episode/2

It's that part where she talks about the feeling of stuffy and that she's not really supposed to breathe around art, and then walking outside. I love Swoon's work so hard.

Thursday, 18 March 2010

immediate gratification of distraction

"I can’t speak for other artists but staying focused can be one of the most difficult things for me these days. Other people’s images, ideas and perspectives can scatter my concentration and the internet has created a culture where turning on the computer can become a habit that fills the place of creativity with the immediate gratification of distraction."

So very true.
India Richer (whose work has featured in Colouring Outside The Lines... swoon!)

artists & media workers for social change

“In making art, I think about sharing a narrative, and touching people so much that they want to do something.”

Great interview with Favianna Rodriguez. She and her work blows me away.

Monday, 15 March 2010

collectivity can lift barriers to getting our voices out there

Last month I spoke with Debi Withers for an inteview about self-publishing and empowerment. That interview/conversation has developed into an article that Debi wrote, Adventures In Self-Publishing accessible now on The F Word website.

I'll post links to the actual interview we did when it's uploaded on to a different website (hopefully).

The interview references Debi's workshop, Self-Publishing and Liberation that's going to take place this Saturday at the Women's Library, London.
All the info on this important workshop can be found at www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/whats-on

Debi says the following about the plans for Saturday:
"I will be exploring the issue of self-publishing, the histories of feminist publishing and collective working practices in an upcoming workshop at the Women’s Library on Saturday, 20 March, called Self-Publishing and Liberation. The workshop is going to consist of a mixture of practical information, creative exercises and historical testimony focusing on the subject of self-publishing. The workshop has three aims: firstly, to arm people with the knowledge they need to self-publish in various forms. Second, to create space for exploring ideas about what kind of publications attendees would like to read, write and publish. Thirdly, to include historical testimony about the topic of women’s publishing networks in the WLM, highlighting the importance of collective working. This is to create an opportunity to connect with an important legacy of culture making from the movement, and be inspired by the actions and working practices of previous generations of feminists. The workshop aims to shake things up a bit and get people dreaming, acting and researching the diverse histories of feminist publishing."

Thursday, 11 March 2010

a matter of life and death

From my inbox...

A Matter of Life and Death: LGBTI Rights in Uganda
Sunday 21st March in Manchester

David Kato, LGBTI activist from Uganda and member of SMUG http://www.sexualminoritiesuganda.org will talk about his experiences as an activist in the context of recent legislation threatening the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", the campaign in Uganda to stop the new law as well as international efforts for decriminalisation. To be followed by questions/discussion.

David is on a short tour of the UK and this is his only Manchester date.

David will be joined by Sokari Ekine, activist, writer and founder of http://www.blacklooks.org/ a site documenting social justice issues in Africa and the diaspora with a focus on LGBTI rights, gender-based violence, militarism as well as literature and popular culture.

Delicious cheap food and cafe available from 12.30pm.

Talk/discussion
2-4pm Sunday 21st March,
LGBT Centre, 49-51 Sidney Street, Manchester (Behind 8th Day Co-op off Oxford Rd)

The event is free but voluntary contributions towards travel expenses of participants gratefully received.

The venue is wheelchair accessible and all on the ground floor. If you have any queries please contact mikewupton@hotmail.com

This event is brought to you by Manchester Queer Reading Group. For more info or to hear about other events, subscribe to our list https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/queerreadinggroup

Friday, 5 March 2010

yup

From Margaret Atwood:
'You can never read your own book with the innocent anticipation that comes with that first delicious page of a new book, because you wrote the thing. You've been backstage. You've seen how the rabbits were smuggled into the hat. Therefore ask a reading friend or two to look at it before you give it to anyone in the publishing business. This friend should not be someone with whom you have a ­romantic relationship, unless you want to break up.'

From Jessica Hopper:
'I woke up in at four am last night and my brain was on fire with writing. It is hard to know if it was salient at all. I kept thinking, as I always do, if I get up and write this all out, then tomorrow I will automatically wake up at this same time and perhaps there will be nothing to write down. And then I lay there for a while debating "what if this is the best idea I have ever had and I lose it to the annals of slumber?"'

From Marc Johns:

Wednesday, 3 March 2010

self-publishing and empowerment

Debi Withers just shared a link with me to a pdf copy of her newly published booklet: Self-Publishing and Empowerment: A Resource for Community Groups.

You can download the pdf of the booklet here: http://www.debi-rah.net/SelfPublishing.pdf or visit her website to request a hard-copy of the booklet.

The booklet covers the main forms of self-publishing that are currently available at a low-budget cost: zines, blogs and Print-on-Demand publishing.
The booklet is a mixture of practical information, inspiring profiles of individuals, groups and projects, workshop guides and resources. It contains contributions from Melanie Maddison, Red Chidgey, Melissa Steiner, April L. Hamilton, Deseronto Archives and the Remebering Oilve Collective.

Seriously, reading this booklet today has filled me with an immense amount of energy, inspiration and excitement. I think it's a really useful and important activist resource that holds so much potential for empowering more people with the skills of self-publishing within community settings.
Thank you Debi for making this resource available.

gup shup






from my inbox...

Gup Shup – From Textile to Tote

gallery II | 8 March – 23 April 2010

A collaboration between Cath Braid, Rolla Khadduri and women’s embroidery collectives in Chitral, Pakistan

Gallery II and the University of Bradford are pleased and very excited to present the work of this amazing creative enterprise project from the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan on its first UK outing.

OFFICIAL LAUNCH… 5 – 7pm, Monday 8 March 2010. International Women’s Day.

Everyone Welcome!! FREE

Chai & Chat with Cath Braid… 4 – 5pm, Monday 8 March *BOOKING ESSENTIAL

Seminar with Cath Braid… 3 – 5pm, Tuesday 9 March * BOOKING ESSENTIAL

Talks are FREE. To book your place, contact Rachel Kaye: 01274 235495 or email r.kaye@bradford.ac.uk

“Gup Shup” is a landmark collaboration. Rather than seeking to preserve craft in its pure traditional form, this project introduces creative strategies to develop new images that seem true to the lives of their makers. But what seems most striking about his project is the sheer quality of the work itself, both in its craftsmanship and deft arrangement of ordinary elements.

This project seems quite transparent about the experience of the women it is meant to support. Apart for the creative challenges that they enjoyed, there seemed also benefits in the money and recognition that their work brings.

The Gup Shup project has been developed by Cath Braid, designer for social enterprise- Polly&Me and Rolla Khadduri- Development consultant.

‘Gup Shup’ (meaning chit chat in Urdu and Hindi) is a collaborative body of work from the female artisans of Chitral and Polly&Me. The exhibition comprises of large contemporary textiles depicting the artisans’ daily life and their translation into totes for women the world over to carry. For Rolla, this project is ‘an opportunity to give women the space to tell their own stories’. Rolla worked with Cath on running the workshops, probing the women about their stories, and recording their tales to appear at the back of each textile. The process begins with story-telling, dealing with everyday themes such as family life and through exploring the graphic world around them, particularly in packaging of products from the market. Their creative exercises also include making collages of photographs of their children. These then form the basis of the embroideries and their subsequent translation into funky designer bags. All work is available to buy and the profits go back to the women’s collectives.

Polly&me was developed by Cath Braid, an Australian and graduate of Central St Martins, who originally started work in northern Pakistan with Kirsten Ainsworth as part of the clothing label Caravana. Cath has been working in Chitral since 2003. Polly&Me works with a partner Mogh Ltd, the first publicly traded company in Chitral, set up by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme. Shareholders in MOGH Ltd are the Chitrali women who embroider, the Chitrali men who weave, local artisans and craftspeople, including those who work in the honey production, set up and supported by the Hashoo Foundation.

Chitral is in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan and lies nested within the mountain range of the Hindu Kush.
http://www.worldmapfinder.com/Map_EarthMap.php?ID=/En/Asia/Pakistan/Chitral


Gallery II

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Gallery II, Chesham Building, University of Bradford BD7 1DP