So tomorrow is the launch of the Portsmouth leg of Journeys Festival International. This yearly event is a celebration of the amazing stories and talent of refugee artists and through its program it aims to create a “positive interface” with the community.
Over twelve days there is an assortment of paid for and free events where people are invited to watch, to view, to listen and most importantly, to participate with the work of refugee artists; learning more about their stories and engaging with their practice.
Events range from the container project, know as the “Well-Come” project where 10 young artists from the refugee and asylum seeker community will work with urban artist, M-One, exploring their creativity inside the container. To Cafe Conversations on a variety of topics related to the themes that affect refugees and the wider world; to a reading from Hidden a Sunday Times book of the week by young person’s author, Miriam Halahmy; to pop-up theatre; more theatre; visual art including the work of Nikos Papadopolous’ Plasticobolism series which will be viewable around the city (you can find our more about the work here) and later in The Container Project.
We will be checking in with quite a lot of the work over the coming twelve days and will keep you updated, our highlights will also feature in the Winter edition of South Central.
Our good friends at Hampshire Libraries are looking at having a theatrical celebration of Shakespeare next year at Fareham Library.
At this stage we are seeking those theatre companies who may be interested in being involved;
are you working on a new piece for the Shakespeare festivities and need a venue to show your work?
are you interested in creating a new piece to perform in libraries?
If this sounds like you get in touch with us today with a brief email and your contact details so we can pass them on! Email: events@liveartlocal.co.uk
Bournemouth Arts and Bournemouth Emerging Arts Fringe 2015 is on until (Bournemouth Arts) Sunday 18th October and (BEAF) until 1st November.
These two very different, but equally brilliant festivals spend a week crossing over and really do make the most of what the borough has to offer with events spreading from Boscombe all the way to Winton which borders Poole.
As part of the Bournemouth Arts Festival we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Museum of Water, a crazy sounding arts piece that traverses art to include science, history and memory, all through that most seemingly simple of elements, water.
Chief curator and creator of the Museum of Water, Amy Sharrocks has spent over two years amassing a collection of different types of water that have been donated by visitors to this travelling museum. What we loved about this exhibition is that every bottle tells a story and even if some of them might not be all they seem, they have non the less been treated as if they are precious (and who know’s in 30 years they may well be precious owing to water shortages). There are numerous vessels of various kinds holding this elixir of life (as a side note some of them even contain bodily fluids) each with a handwritten note from the donator lying beside. My favourite ones had lovely stories attached involving glaciers and teardrops, but there is even containers for spit from a trombone.
So vast is the collection that curatorial decisions have to be made about what to include in each space. If like us you have no donation to leave you can use a sheet of their beautiful letterpressed paper to tell what kind of water you would have brought.
Sunday 18th October is the last donation day although the museum will continue to tour and to collect from other countries.
We were also lucky enough to attend the Stevn Moberly show at The Old School House on the 16th October. I love Steven’s work and first became aware of him as an emerging artist at Platform 21014 in the exhibition at Aspex gallery. It is deeply layered work that seems to transcend meaning; partially realised bodies, suggestions of other worldliness a hint of cheekiness, and so much colour.
I should add I am thinking of stalking Steven and trying to get him to bring his work to Fareham. To see more of his work visit http://www.stevemoberly.co.uk/
We were also lucky enough to attend the opening of Here and There at the Old School House in Boscombe on Saturday evening. A great exhibition reuniting three members of student art collective, The Coal Collective. A photographic exhibition of great contemporary photography by three young women all with a bright future in the industry ahead of them. One of them, Christina Miller we will be showcasing in a solo show in the near future in Fareham.
The Fringe runs until 1st November with a varied program in traditional and non traditional spaces and we suggest you visit Bournemouth during this time if you can. Unlike the Bournemouth Arts Festival which is organised with the help of Bournemouth Council, the Bournemouth Emerging Arts Fringe is run entirely by a dedicated group of volunteers who are are keen to give a space for new and exciting work to reach the widest audience possible.
10 Days Winchester 2015 — Chalk is a celebration of the arts that takes place in England’s historic capital every 2 years. We were lucky enough to visit during its opening weekend.
The principle is simple:
We strive to link all sections of the community through exhibitions and other participatory events. 10 days has a core commitment to the visual arts and welcomes participation from all forms of practice. We embrace collaboration, interdisciplinary practices and multiculturalism, and foster partnership between business, education, local government and other sectors.
There is so much happening between 10th October until 7th November and most of it is FREE (yes I know that’s longer than 10 days) ! Highlights include live art in multiple venues, this includes performances, drawing and more.
The variety of things happening over the festivities spans all artistic disciplines. There are one off events and longer running exhibitions in venues such as The Winchester Gallery and Winchester Discovery Centre
To find out more about this brilliant arts event that engages the entire community please visit http://www.10dayswinchester.org/
On Wednesday 14th October crime writer Fergus McNeill will visit Fareham to give a talk at Fareham Library about his work.
Crime writer Fergus McNeill is the author of the Detective Harland series (you can find out more via wikipedia ). He is published by Hodder & Stoughton one of the largest publishers in the UK
Wednesday 28th October see’s Rupert Matthews – The History Man visit Fareham Library to discuss The Ghosts of Hampshire. Tickets are £4 and can be purchased via the library or online. As with all events at the library this starts at 7pm.
On Wednesday 25th November Charlie Read will lead an evening looking at
The Life and Times of George Formby
This is your chance to hear the life story of the famous British entertainer – plus a sing along to his well known songs
HMS: Hear my Story. Join the team at Waterlooville Library on Thursday 17th September as they explore and discover how life has changed in the Royal Navy over the last 100 years with stories, archives and documents from The National Museum of the Royal Navy
This event begins at 7.30pm and tickets (bookable in advance) are only £2
will draw you in to their dark and twisted world of murder, mystery and suspense. Find out more about the writers by clicking on their names to be take to their websites.
This is a ticketed event priced at £3. As with all evening events at the library the panel begins at 7pm
Meet the Author Lucy Cruickshanks as she visits Waterlooville Library this September to talk about her novels.
Join Lucy as she talks about her novels. Trader of Saigon and Road to Rangoon and how her travels have inspired her writing.
Lucy’s first novel, trader of Saigon was well received when it was published in 2013 with the Guardiandescribing it as having “a pacy plot” and a good debut.
If you would like to know more about her process then book your tickets for Thursday 10 September 2015. The event has a 7.30pm start and tickets are priced at £3
This Wednesday 16th September Fareham Library would like to invite you to celebrate 125 years of the Queen of Crime for an evening of mystery and intrigue.
So join the team at Fareham Library for the Agatha Christie Festival: Murder Mystery Night
This starts at 7pm and tickets only cost £3
For more details visit www.hants.gov.uk/library
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