Amelia’s Magazine | Trapese Collective – Tools for Social Change Course

LouisaDAll Photographs courtesy of Natalia Calvocoressi

Louisa Lee: When and how did you first become interested in photography?

Natalia Calvocoressi: I started to become interested in photography just before I left school where there was a darkroom. Then I picked it up again when I went to Camberwell to study graphic design. I took an elective in photography and from then on spent most of my college life underground in the dark room. I started off with black and white because I could print easily myself and did most of my projects around Peckham and Camberwell: on buses, adiposity in parks, stomach old launderettes, information pills and run-down car parks; with pin-hole cameras and borrowed cameras. I then bought myself a Pentax manual film camera. I did a project with my friend Sarah Cresswell, who is now a fashion photographer, in a field somewhere in Buckinghamshire, using mirrors to distort the landscape. That’s when I became really fascinated in creating pictures that blur the lines between fantasy and reality, that seem a little out of the ordinary. One of the first photography books that got me really into photography was the work of Anna Gaskell – I find the contrast of childhood innocence with a sinister undertone, in her photographs, intriguing.

LouisaA

LL: Which people or places inspire you most?

NC: I am very inspired by Scotland. I grew up in Edinburgh and go back regularly, particularly to the Highlands. I enjoy re-visiting places and seeing how they have changed. I often return to certain themes when re-visiting a place. For instance, some of my photos have quite a nostalgic childhood feel to them, perhaps a result of returning to somewhere that meant a lot to me as a child.  I’m inspired by things every day. Often I’m reluctant to read my book on the bus because there are too many things going on out of the window I don’t want to miss. Recently, I was at the bus stop on my way to work and the morning sun was shining brightly through the trees and casting an intense glow onto the patch of grass outside a nearby block of grey flats. There were a few crows in the patch of light and quite a lot of rubbish and it looked really beautiful. I wish I’d had my camera on me! My friends inspire me – a lot of them are photographers, illustrators and designers. My younger sister is my ‘muse’ – she’s used to me pointing my camera at her. Like a lot of photographers, Antonioni’s film ‘Blow-Up’ made a big impression on me. It sparked off my obsession with discovering things in photos you don’t see at the time.

LouisaB

LL: Your work has a cinematographic quality to it. Are you mainly influenced by photographers or do other art forms influence you too?

NC: Photographers have a huge influence on me, but yes, I’m influenced by many other art forms too. I love Gerhard Richter’s paintings especially the ones which emulate snapshot photographs. One of my favourite films is ‘Morvern Caller by Lynne Ramsay – the beginning with the coloured fairy lights turning on and off, intermittently lighting up the dark room. Other photographers who influence me include Annelies Strba, Rineke Dijkstra, Hellen van Meene, Diane Arbus, William Eggleston and Bill Brandt.  I’m also influenced by Andrey Tarkovsky’s photographs, video artist Pipilotti Rist and the London School painters like Kitaj.

LouisaC

LL: Mario Testino has said he very much likes your work and is looking forward to discovering what comes out in the years to come. How do you feel about this?

NC: I’m thrilled! I once showed him my work and he was really encouraging. He really liked my photos, which was great, was extremely thoughtful and took a great interest. That was the same day I found out I got into the RCA so I was very happy.

LouisaE

LL: Would fashion photography be something you’d ever consider getting into?

NC: I’ve done some fashion photography in the past. I took the photographs with another girl for the RCA fashion catalogue in 2003 and have worked on a couple of other fashion shoots. At the RCA I enjoyed creating the sets and finding cheap props. I wouldn’t like to be a fashion photographer though – I don’t think I’d be very good at it. Some of my photos are quite fashion y but I prefer to take pictures alone. If I had control over clothes, make-up (or no make-up!), location, props etc, then maybe… I also don’t like to be under pressure behind the camera. A lot of my photographs happen by chance – I catch an unexpected moment and grab my camera. I often think when things are too planned, staged or set up it can ruin the spontaneity of the photo.

LouisaF

LL: How do you achieve the grainy, vintage quality in your photographs?

NC: By using an old Pentax film camera and experimenting with different films – sometimes old, out-of-date film. Also experimenting with printing techniques. I like the feeling of nostalgia so try to create old-looking photographs, so a lot of the objects and locations that I photograph and look for are old. I like to try and tell stories with my images, and I also like there to be a sense of mystery and ambiguity which perhaps gives a vintage feel.

LouisaG

LL: Windows and mirrors seem to be a recurring motif, are you aware of this and if so is there a particular reason for it?

NC: Yes I know! I think it all started in that field with Sarah. I look for ways of framing my shots, and I therefore often capture scenes using the outlining effect of door frames, windows or mirrors.  I look at the landscape through the window on a train and see it as millions of landscape paintings flashing by. I used to sit in the car when I was a child and draw the outline of what I saw – tracing it on my knee. There’s something quite intimate about a portrait of a person in a mirror, especially if they’re not looking directly at you. I like the idea of shrinking what I see into a frame – perhaps I was inspired by childhood trips to Bekonscot miniature model village, which happens also to be in Buckinghamshire! In ‘Scale’ by Will Self I found an articulation of my desire to distort scale.

LouisaH

LL: What’s the single most important thing you’ve learnt about taking a photograph?

NC: To be spontaneous and brave. I would like to be braver when it comes to photographing people, especially on the street. Sometimes I don’t have the nerve to point a camera at someone in the street close up. I need a spy camera!

LouisaI

LL: Is this the same advice that you might pass on to someone interested in getting into photography or is this specific to your working method?

NC: I’d definitely tell people to be bold and also experiment with techniques and styles as much as possible. I remember being told at college that some of my photographs were good but I should not be afraid to take hundreds and hundreds. That was really good advice because there is no point being precious about taking photos.

LouisaJ

LL: What’s the next place you’d like to exhibit your work?

NC: My last exhibition was at the Islington Arts Factory in Holloway. It’s an old converted church and you can see the dusty broken church windows when you look up from the exhibition space – very atmospheric. Last summer I showed a few photos in the Royal Academy Summer Show. Next I’d like to exhibit in a small-scale, structured space.  I really like the Victoria Miro gallery!

http://www.nataliacalvocoressi.co.uk/

LouisaDAll Photographs courtesy of Natalia Calvocoressi

Louisa Lee: When and how did you first become interested in photography?

Natalia Calvocoressi: I started to become interested in photography just before I left school where there was a darkroom. Then I picked it up again when I went to Camberwell to study graphic design. I took an elective in photography and from then on spent most of my college life underground in the dark room. I started off with black and white because I could print easily myself and did most of my projects around Peckham and Camberwell: on buses, hospital in parks, here old launderettes, and and run-down car parks; with pin-hole cameras and borrowed cameras. I then bought myself a Pentax manual film camera. I did a project with my friend Sarah Cresswell, who is now a fashion photographer, in a field somewhere in Buckinghamshire, using mirrors to distort the landscape. That’s when I became really fascinated in creating pictures that blur the lines between fantasy and reality, that seem a little out of the ordinary. One of the first photography books that got me really into photography was the work of Anna Gaskell – I find the contrast of childhood innocence with a sinister undertone, in her photographs, intriguing.

LouisaA

LL: Which people or places inspire you most?

NC: I am very inspired by Scotland. I grew up in Edinburgh and go back regularly, particularly to the Highlands. I enjoy re-visiting places and seeing how they have changed. I often return to certain themes when re-visiting a place. For instance, some of my photos have quite a nostalgic childhood feel to them, perhaps a result of returning to somewhere that meant a lot to me as a child.  I’m inspired by things every day. Often I’m reluctant to read my book on the bus because there are too many things going on out of the window I don’t want to miss. Recently, I was at the bus stop on my way to work and the morning sun was shining brightly through the trees and casting an intense glow onto the patch of grass outside a nearby block of grey flats. There were a few crows in the patch of light and quite a lot of rubbish and it looked really beautiful. I wish I’d had my camera on me! My friends inspire me – a lot of them are photographers, illustrators and designers. My younger sister is my ‘muse’ – she’s used to me pointing my camera at her. Like a lot of photographers, Antonioni’s film ‘Blow-Up’ made a big impression on me. It sparked off my obsession with discovering things in photos you don’t see at the time.

LouisaB

LL: Your work has a cinematographic quality to it. Are you mainly influenced by photographers or do other art forms influence you too?

NC: Photographers have a huge influence on me, but yes, I’m influenced by many other art forms too. I love Gerhard Richter’s paintings especially the ones which emulate snapshot photographs. One of my favourite films is ‘Morvern Caller by Lynne Ramsay – the beginning with the coloured fairy lights turning on and off, intermittently lighting up the dark room. Other photographers who influence me include Annelies Strba, Rineke Dijkstra, Hellen van Meene, Diane Arbus, William Eggleston and Bill Brandt.  I’m also influenced by Andrey Tarkovsky’s photographs, video artist Pipilotti Rist and the London School painters like Kitaj.

LouisaC

LL: Mario Testino has said he very much likes your work and is looking forward to discovering what comes out in the years to come. How do you feel about this?

NC: I’m thrilled! I once showed him my work and he was really encouraging. He really liked my photos, which was great, was extremely thoughtful and took a great interest. That was the same day I found out I got into the RCA so I was very happy.

LouisaE

LL: Would fashion photography be something you’d ever consider getting into?

NC: I’ve done some fashion photography in the past. I took the photographs with another girl for the RCA fashion catalogue in 2003 and have worked on a couple of other fashion shoots. At the RCA I enjoyed creating the sets and finding cheap props. I wouldn’t like to be a fashion photographer though – I don’t think I’d be very good at it. Some of my photos are quite fashion y but I prefer to take pictures alone. If I had control over clothes, make-up (or no make-up!), location, props etc, then maybe… I also don’t like to be under pressure behind the camera. A lot of my photographs happen by chance – I catch an unexpected moment and grab my camera. I often think when things are too planned, staged or set up it can ruin the spontaneity of the photo.

LouisaF

LL: How do you achieve the grainy, vintage quality in your photographs?

NC: By using an old Pentax film camera and experimenting with different films – sometimes old, out-of-date film. Also experimenting with printing techniques. I like the feeling of nostalgia so try to create old-looking photographs, so a lot of the objects and locations that I photograph and look for are old. I like to try and tell stories with my images, and I also like there to be a sense of mystery and ambiguity which perhaps gives a vintage feel.

LouisaG

LL: Windows and mirrors seem to be a recurring motif, are you aware of this and if so is there a particular reason for it?

NC: Yes I know! I think it all started in that field with Sarah. I look for ways of framing my shots, and I therefore often capture scenes using the outlining effect of door frames, windows or mirrors.  I look at the landscape through the window on a train and see it as millions of landscape paintings flashing by. I used to sit in the car when I was a child and draw the outline of what I saw – tracing it on my knee. There’s something quite intimate about a portrait of a person in a mirror, especially if they’re not looking directly at you. I like the idea of shrinking what I see into a frame – perhaps I was inspired by childhood trips to Bekonscot miniature model village, which happens also to be in Buckinghamshire! In ‘Scale’ by Will Self I found an articulation of my desire to distort scale.

LouisaH

LL: What’s the single most important thing you’ve learnt about taking a photograph?

NC: To be spontaneous and brave. I would like to be braver when it comes to photographing people, especially on the street. Sometimes I don’t have the nerve to point a camera at someone in the street close up. I need a spy camera!

LouisaI

LL: Is this the same advice that you might pass on to someone interested in getting into photography or is this specific to your working method?

NC: I’d definitely tell people to be bold and also experiment with techniques and styles as much as possible. I remember being told at college that some of my photographs were good but I should not be afraid to take hundreds and hundreds. That was really good advice because there is no point being precious about taking photos.

LouisaJ

LL: What’s the next place you’d like to exhibit your work?

NC: My last exhibition was at the Islington Arts Factory in Holloway. It’s an old converted church and you can see the dusty broken church windows when you look up from the exhibition space – very atmospheric. Last summer I showed a few photos in the Royal Academy Summer Show. Next I’d like to exhibit in a small-scale, structured space.  I really like the Victoria Miro gallery!

http://www.nataliacalvocoressi.co.uk/

LouisaDAll Photographs courtesy of Natalia Calvocoressi

Louisa Lee: When and how did you first become interested in photography?

Natalia Calvocoressi: I started to become interested in photography just before I left school where there was a darkroom. Then I picked it up again when I went to Camberwell to study graphic design. I took an elective in photography and from then on spent most of my college life underground in the dark room. I started off with black and white because I could print easily myself and did most of my projects around Peckham and Camberwell: on buses, more about in parks, click old launderettes, and run-down car parks; with pin-hole cameras and borrowed cameras. I then bought myself a Pentax manual film camera. I did a project with my friend Sarah Cresswell, who is now a fashion photographer, in a field somewhere in Buckinghamshire, using mirrors to distort the landscape. That’s when I became really fascinated in creating pictures that blur the lines between fantasy and reality, that seem a little out of the ordinary. One of the first photography books that got me really into photography was the work of Anna Gaskell – I find the contrast of childhood innocence with a sinister undertone, in her photographs, intriguing.

LouisaA

LL: Which people or places inspire you most?

NC: I am very inspired by Scotland. I grew up in Edinburgh and go back regularly, particularly to the Highlands. I enjoy re-visiting places and seeing how they have changed. I often return to certain themes when re-visiting a place. For instance, some of my photos have quite a nostalgic childhood feel to them, perhaps a result of returning to somewhere that meant a lot to me as a child.  I’m inspired by things every day. Often I’m reluctant to read my book on the bus because there are too many things going on out of the window I don’t want to miss. Recently, I was at the bus stop on my way to work and the morning sun was shining brightly through the trees and casting an intense glow onto the patch of grass outside a nearby block of grey flats. There were a few crows in the patch of light and quite a lot of rubbish and it looked really beautiful. I wish I’d had my camera on me! My friends inspire me – a lot of them are photographers, illustrators and designers. My younger sister is my ‘muse’ – she’s used to me pointing my camera at her. Like a lot of photographers, Antonioni’s film ‘Blow-Up’ made a big impression on me. It sparked off my obsession with discovering things in photos you don’t see at the time.

LouisaB

LL: Your work has a cinematographic quality to it. Are you mainly influenced by photographers or do other art forms influence you too?

NC: Photographers have a huge influence on me, but yes, I’m influenced by many other art forms too. I love Gerhard Richter’s paintings especially the ones which emulate snapshot photographs. One of my favourite films is ‘Morvern Caller by Lynne Ramsay – the beginning with the coloured fairy lights turning on and off, intermittently lighting up the dark room. Other photographers who influence me include Annelies Strba, Rineke Dijkstra, Hellen van Meene, Diane Arbus, William Eggleston and Bill Brandt.  I’m also influenced by Andrey Tarkovsky’s photographs, video artist Pipilotti Rist and the London School painters like Kitaj.

LouisaC

LL: Mario Testino has said he very much likes your work and is looking forward to discovering what comes out in the years to come. How do you feel about this?

NC: I’m thrilled! I once showed him my work and he was really encouraging. He really liked my photos, which was great, was extremely thoughtful and took a great interest. That was the same day I found out I got into the RCA so I was very happy.

LouisaE

LL: Would fashion photography be something you’d ever consider getting into?

NC: I’ve done some fashion photography in the past. I took the photographs with another girl for the RCA fashion catalogue in 2003 and have worked on a couple of other fashion shoots. At the RCA I enjoyed creating the sets and finding cheap props. I wouldn’t like to be a fashion photographer though – I don’t think I’d be very good at it. Some of my photos are quite fashion y but I prefer to take pictures alone. If I had control over clothes, make-up (or no make-up!), location, props etc, then maybe… I also don’t like to be under pressure behind the camera. A lot of my photographs happen by chance – I catch an unexpected moment and grab my camera. I often think when things are too planned, staged or set up it can ruin the spontaneity of the photo.

LouisaF

LL: How do you achieve the grainy, vintage quality in your photographs?

NC: By using an old Pentax film camera and experimenting with different films – sometimes old, out-of-date film. Also experimenting with printing techniques. I like the feeling of nostalgia so try to create old-looking photographs, so a lot of the objects and locations that I photograph and look for are old. I like to try and tell stories with my images, and I also like there to be a sense of mystery and ambiguity which perhaps gives a vintage feel.

LouisaG

LL: Windows and mirrors seem to be a recurring motif, are you aware of this and if so is there a particular reason for it?

NC: Yes I know! I think it all started in that field with Sarah. I look for ways of framing my shots, and I therefore often capture scenes using the outlining effect of door frames, windows or mirrors.  I look at the landscape through the window on a train and see it as millions of landscape paintings flashing by. I used to sit in the car when I was a child and draw the outline of what I saw – tracing it on my knee. There’s something quite intimate about a portrait of a person in a mirror, especially if they’re not looking directly at you. I like the idea of shrinking what I see into a frame – perhaps I was inspired by childhood trips to Bekonscot miniature model village, which happens also to be in Buckinghamshire! In ‘Scale’ by Will Self I found an articulation of my desire to distort scale.

LouisaH

LL: What’s the single most important thing you’ve learnt about taking a photograph?

NC: To be spontaneous and brave. I would like to be braver when it comes to photographing people, especially on the street. Sometimes I don’t have the nerve to point a camera at someone in the street close up. I need a spy camera!

LouisaI

LL: Is this the same advice that you might pass on to someone interested in getting into photography or is this specific to your working method?

NC: I’d definitely tell people to be bold and also experiment with techniques and styles as much as possible. I remember being told at college that some of my photographs were good but I should not be afraid to take hundreds and hundreds. That was really good advice because there is no point being precious about taking photos.

LouisaJ

LL: What’s the next place you’d like to exhibit your work?

NC: My last exhibition was at the Islington Arts Factory in Holloway. It’s an old converted church and you can see the dusty broken church windows when you look up from the exhibition space – very atmospheric. Last summer I showed a few photos in the Royal Academy Summer Show. Next I’d like to exhibit in a small-scale, structured space.  I really like the Victoria Miro gallery!

http://www.nataliacalvocoressi.co.uk/

New Wave rockers Good Shoes are set to start their four day residency at The Stags Head in Dalston

The morden four piece will be playing a matinee and an evening showing starting today at 4pm. This will run till Saturday where they will have a full days worth of bands and DJ’s.

Full details are below;

20th Jan – (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Hatcham Social and Fiction (evening show only)

DJ sets from Gang of One, treatment Silver Hips DJ

21st Jan –  (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Disappearers and Gold Sounds (evening only)

DJ sets from Pipes and Flutes (Young Knives) & Loud and Quiet magazine DJs

22nd Jan – (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Wild Palms and Othello Woolf (evening only)

DJ sets from Blood Red Shoes, prostate Amp & Deck (aka Blaine from Mystery Jets

and Kev Kev) plus Brille Records and Dollop DJs

23rd Jan – (all day)

Good Shoes with La Shark, medicine Is Tropical, Brute Chorus, The Stormy Seas,

Stricken City, Erin k and Tash

DJ sets from Maximo Park, Rory Phillps. Silver Hips with Rhys (Good

Shoes), Club The Mammoth / Islington Boys Club DJs Vs This Aint No

Disco
good shoes

New Wave rockers Good Shoes are set to start their four day residency at The Stags Head in Dalston tomorrow to celebrate the release of their new album No Hope, website like this No Future.

The morden four piece will be playing a matinee and an evening showing starting tomorrow at 4pm. This will run till Saturday where they will have a full days worth of bands and DJ’s.

Full details are below;

20th Jan – (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Hatcham Social and Fiction (evening show only)

DJ sets from Gang of One, Silver Hips DJ

21st Jan –  (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Disappearers and Gold Sounds (evening only)

DJ sets from Pipes and Flutes (Young Knives) & Loud and Quiet magazine DJs

22nd Jan – (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Wild Palms and Othello Woolf (evening only)

DJ sets from Blood Red Shoes, Amp & Deck (aka Blaine from Mystery Jets

and Kev Kev) plus Brille Records and Dollop DJs

23rd Jan – (all day)

Good Shoes with La Shark, Is Tropical, Brute Chorus, The Stormy Seas,

Stricken City, Erin k and Tash

DJ sets from Maximo Park, Rory Phillps. Silver Hips with Rhys (Good

Shoes), Club The Mammoth / Islington Boys Club DJs Vs This Aint No

Disco

Tickets are £5 for the evening shows and £3 for the matinee, available on the door.
good shoes

New Wave rockers Good Shoes are set to start their four day residency at The Stags Head in Dalston tomorrow to celebrate the release of their new album No Hope, approved No Future.

The morden four piece will be playing a matinee and an evening showing starting tomorrow at 4pm. This will run till Saturday where they will have a full days worth of bands and DJ’s.

Full details are below;

20th Jan – (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Hatcham Social and Fiction (evening show only)

DJ sets from Gang of One, Silver Hips DJ

21st Jan –  (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Disappearers and Gold Sounds (evening only)

DJ sets from Pipes and Flutes (Young Knives) & Loud and Quiet magazine DJs

22nd Jan – (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Wild Palms and Othello Woolf (evening only)

DJ sets from Blood Red Shoes, Amp & Deck (aka Blaine from Mystery Jets

and Kev Kev) plus Brille Records and Dollop DJs

23rd Jan – (all day)

Good Shoes with La Shark, Is Tropical, Brute Chorus, The Stormy Seas,

Stricken City, Erin k and Tash

DJ sets from Maximo Park, Rory Phillps. Silver Hips with Rhys (Good

Shoes), Club The Mammoth / Islington Boys Club DJs Vs This Aint No

Disco

Tickets are £5 for the evening shows and £3 for the matinee, available on the door.
good shoes

New Wave rockers Good Shoes are set to start their four day residency at The Stags Head in Dalston tomorrow to celebrate the release of their new album No Hope, viagra 60mg No Future.

The morden four piece will be playing a matinee and an evening showing starting tomorrow at 4pm. This will run till Saturday where they will have a full days worth of bands and DJ’s.

Full details are below;

20th Jan – (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Hatcham Social and Fiction (evening show only)

DJ sets from Gang of One, viagra buy Silver Hips DJ

21st Jan –  (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Disappearers and Gold Sounds (evening only)

DJ sets from Pipes and Flutes (Young Knives) & Loud and Quiet magazine DJs

22nd Jan – (4pm matinee and evening show)

Good Shoes with Wild Palms and Othello Woolf (evening only)

DJ sets from Blood Red Shoes, medicine Amp & Deck (aka Blaine from Mystery Jets

and Kev Kev) plus Brille Records and Dollop DJs

23rd Jan – (all day)

Good Shoes with La Shark, Is Tropical, Brute Chorus, The Stormy Seas,

Stricken City, Erin k and Tash

DJ sets from Maximo Park, Rory Phillps. Silver Hips with Rhys (Good

Shoes), Club The Mammoth / Islington Boys Club DJs Vs This Aint No

Disco

Tickets are £5 for the evening shows and £3 for the matinee, available on the door.
Who:  Trapese Popular Education Collective
When:  27th March 2010  to 3rd April 2010
Where:  Ragman’s Lane Farm, medications Forest of Dean, near Gloucester
Cost:  Deposit of £50 to secure a place will be requested with full amount payable before the start of the course.
Cost of course ranges from £175 – £350, depending on income.
Applications must be received by 12 noon Saturday February 27th 2010 at the latest.

reclaimpower

Trapese is a not-for-profit UK-based popular education collective.  Through workshops, film nights and training they aim to enable people of all ages to explore social and climate issues and develop practical alternatives and solutions. 

Popular education is based on values such as a commitment to transformation and freedom.  This means that rather than learning about the world and climate/social issues, participants empower themselves to actually transform their environment.  Unlike in traditional education, popular ‘history’ focuses on the history of the majority of the world (worker’s rights, peasant movements), and not uniquely on the kings and queens and military leaders whose names we had drummed into our heads in Year 9.

Popular education also aims to blur the relationship between teachers and students, instead creating an equal level at which everyone is learning from and teaching each other.  Social change is encouraged through developing critical awareness about the world and promoting social and environmental justice over economic gain, but debate is stimulated by encouraging free-thinking rather than dictating facts.

Past Trapese workshop topics have included: migration; food (history of industrial agriculture and understanding food crisis); climate justice; consensus decision making and non-hierarchical organising; reclaiming space (setting up a social centre and keeping it running); DIY, and understanding the economy (exploring the meaning of capitalism, recession and realistic alternatives).

TOOLS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE COURSE
diytrapesecollective

Providing an educational answer to the need for more grassroots social/ climate justice activity, Trapese have organised a weeklong course starting in March.  The course will aim to answer the questions: how we can move towards a more effective climate justice movement, how can we build more resilient communities and how can we achieve system change instead of climate change?

The course will provide training in grassroots organising, including tools for direct democracy, facilitation, using consensus, popular education techniques and how to plan, communicate and implement effective campaigns. It will explore how these tools can be used to set up community initiatives and ecological and social projects. 

No previous knowledge is necessary, but organisers ask that participants be committed to working co-operatively and respecting diversity.  Time to share ideas, work on practical technology projects around the farm, discuss current political debates, watch films and enjoy food together are also planned as part of the week.

The course draws on the ‘Do It Yourself Handbook’  and Trapese’s work since 2004, including their events at KlimaForum in Copenhagen.

Facilitators will include  Paul Chatterton, (MA Activism and Social Change, Leeds) Kim Bryan, (Press Officer, Centre for Alternative Technology) Alice Cutler, (Freelance teacher/ activist, Bristol).

 To register interest or ask any questions email trapese@riseup.net.

Categories ,leeds, ,leeds university, ,MA Activism and Social Change, ,Paul Chatterton, ,popular education, ,trapese

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Amelia’s Magazine | Leeds Uni Community Week

Ghost Forest in Trafalgar Square is a well-timed art-installation taking place ahead of the UN conference on Climate Change from December 7 to 18, visit web involving 11, diagnosis 000 delegates from 192 countries. Ten tree stumps selected from seven indigenous species all with delightful exotic names are represented – Denya, Dahuma, Danta, Hyedua, Mahogany, Wawa and three varieties of Celtis – and have been placed at the feet of the National gallery, right at the very centre of Western Industrialization. They are all with a rich and varied ecology and all with equally diverse uses by man; the Celtis Adolfi-Friderici is evergreen, but many of its leaves do fall during the dry season. It grows up to 100 feet tall and is of abundant forest availability. It is hard not to be moved by the contrasting sight of those stumps laid to rest on white concrete blocks close to the 196 feet-tall Nelson’s Column.

Londoners know Trafalgar Square as a rather uninspiring and barren site inhabited by a swarm of pigeons and tourists. The place is now invaded with what appears to be sculptures for posh interiors. Or is it a vast graveyard of searing beauty? The Celtis is used for interior joinery, plywood, and furniture components back in its country of origin, Ghana. In Europe, it is mostly used in the coffin industry. At Trafalgar Square, it all looks like an odd burial site. Now Ghana’s trees have the good fortune of benefiting from the Voluntary Partnership Agreement. Artist Angela Palmer says: “Having lost 90% of its primary rainforest over the past 50 years, Ghana now exercises strict regulations in sustainable and responsible forestry. Last year it became the first country in Africa to enter the VPA (Voluntary Partnership Agreement) with the European Union in an effort to outlaw illegal logging.”

Celtis and its friends do not end their epic journey in London; having traveled all the way from the tropics, they will travel to Copenhagen to remind UN employees that the removal of the world’s ‘lungs’ through continued deforestation needs to be dealt with without delay, no matter what Obama says.

Angela Palmer is an artist with convictions: “Many thinkers maintain that all art is political; politics touches all aspects of our lives. Life is about politics. And art is about communication, often transmitting unpalatable truths.” Breathing In, currently at the Welcome museum from the 20th of October to the 22nd of November 2009, is another one of Palmer’s projects currently in the capital. In April 2007 Palmer travelled to Linfen in Shanxi Province, China, home to the most polluted air on Earth, and then to Cape Grim on the northwest tip of Tasmania where there’s the purest air and water on Earth. The exhibition is a straightforward display of the results of her journey to capture the physical properties of climate change. The evidence is undeniable- the previously white outfits worn for a day now blackened by the unhealthy Linfen air, the dark face cleanser pads and air pump filters…the facts are brutal. There is an uneasy juxtaposition between the pristine green luscious Tasmanian rainforest and the cloudy, polluted, dusty and overpopulated Chinese streets. Angela Palmer’s art is good medicine for anyone still wondering what all the fuss is about Climate Change. You leave the building wanting to help a worthy cause.
Ghost Forest in Trafalgar Square is a well-timed art-installation taking place ahead of the UN conference on Climate Change from December 7 to 18, page involving 11,000 delegates from 192 countries. Ten tree stumps selected from seven indigenous species all with delightful exotic names are represented – Denya, Dahuma, Danta, Hyedua, Mahogany, Wawa and three varieties of Celtis – and have been placed at the feet of the National gallery, right at the very centre of Western Industrialization. They are all with a rich and varied ecology and all with equally diverse uses by man; the Celtis Adolfi-Friderici is evergreen, but many of its leaves do fall during the dry season. It grows up to 100 feet tall and is of abundant forest availability.

Ghost forest 2

It is hard not to be moved by the contrasting sight of those stumps laid to rest on white concrete blocks close to the 196 feet-tall Nelson’s Column. Londoners know Trafalgar Square as a rather uninspiring and barren site inhabited by a swarm of pigeons and tourists. The place is now invaded with what appears to be sculptures for posh interiors. Or is it a vast graveyard of searing beauty? The Celtis is used for interior joinery, plywood, and furniture components back in its country of origin, Ghana. In Europe, it is mostly used in the coffin industry. At Trafalgar Square, it all looks like an odd burial site. Now Ghana’s trees have the good fortune of benefiting from the Voluntary Partnership Agreement. Artist Angela Palmer says: “Having lost 90% of its primary rainforest over the past 50 years, Ghana now exercises strict regulations in sustainable and responsible forestry. Last year it became the first country in Africa to enter the VPA (Voluntary Partnership Agreement) with the European Union in an effort to outlaw illegal logging.”

Ghost forest 1

Celtis and its friends do not end their epic journey in London; having traveled all the way from the tropics, they will travel to Copenhagen to remind UN employees that the removal of the world’s ‘lungs’ through continued deforestation needs to be dealt with without delay, no matter what Obama says.

Ghost forest 3

Angela Palmer is an artist with convictions: “Many thinkers maintain that all art is political; politics touches all aspects of our lives. Life is about politics. And art is about communication, often transmitting unpalatable truths.” Breathing In, currently at the Welcome museum from the 20th of October to the 22nd of November 2009, is another one of Palmer’s projects currently in the capital. In April 2007 Palmer travelled to Linfen in Shanxi Province, China, home to the most polluted air on Earth, and then to Cape Grim on the northwest tip of Tasmania where there’s the purest air and water on Earth.

Ghost forest 4

The exhibition is a straightforward display of the results of her journey to capture the physical properties of climate change. The evidence is undeniable- the previously white outfits worn for a day now blackened by the unhealthy Linfen air, the dark face cleanser pads and air pump filters…the facts are brutal. There is an uneasy juxtaposition between the pristine green luscious Tasmanian rainforest and the cloudy, polluted, dusty and overpopulated Chinese streets. Angela Palmer’s art is good medicine for anyone still wondering what all the fuss is about Climate Change. You leave the building wanting to help a worthy cause.
Ghost Forest in Trafalgar Square is a well-timed art-installation taking place ahead of the UN conference on Climate Change from December 7 to 18, approved involving 11, salve 000 delegates from 192 countries. Ten tree stumps selected from seven indigenous species all with delightful exotic names are represented – Denya, Dahuma, Danta, Hyedua, Mahogany, Wawa and three varieties of Celtis – and have been placed at the feet of the National gallery, right at the very centre of Western Industrialization. They are all with a rich and varied ecology and all with equally diverse uses by man; the Celtis Adolfi-Friderici is evergreen, but many of its leaves do fall during the dry season. It grows up to 100 feet tall and is of abundant forest availability.

Ghost forest 2

It is hard not to be moved by the contrasting sight of those stumps laid to rest on white concrete blocks close to the 196 feet-tall Nelson’s Column. Londoners know Trafalgar Square as a rather uninspiring and barren site inhabited by a swarm of pigeons and tourists. The place is now invaded with what appears to be sculptures for posh interiors. Or is it a vast graveyard of searing beauty? The Celtis is used for interior joinery, plywood, and furniture components back in its country of origin, Ghana. In Europe, it is mostly used in the coffin industry. At Trafalgar Square, it all looks like an odd burial site. Now Ghana’s trees have the good fortune of benefiting from the Voluntary Partnership Agreement. Artist Angela Palmer says: “Having lost 90% of its primary rainforest over the past 50 years, Ghana now exercises strict regulations in sustainable and responsible forestry. Last year it became the first country in Africa to enter the VPA (Voluntary Partnership Agreement) with the European Union in an effort to outlaw illegal logging.”

Ghost forest 1

Celtis and its friends do not end their epic journey in London; having traveled all the way from the tropics, they will travel to Copenhagen to remind UN employees that the removal of the world’s ‘lungs’ through continued deforestation needs to be dealt with without delay, no matter what Obama says.

Ghost forest 3

Angela Palmer is an artist with convictions: “Many thinkers maintain that all art is political; politics touches all aspects of our lives. Life is about politics. And art is about communication, often transmitting unpalatable truths.” Breathing In, currently at the Welcome museum from the 20th of October to the 22nd of November 2009, is another one of Palmer’s projects currently in the capital. In April 2007 Palmer travelled to Linfen in Shanxi Province, China, home to the most polluted air on Earth, and then to Cape Grim on the northwest tip of Tasmania where there’s the purest air and water on Earth.

Ghost forest 4

The exhibition is a straightforward display of the results of her journey to capture the physical properties of climate change. The evidence is undeniable- the previously white outfits worn for a day now blackened by the unhealthy Linfen air, the dark face cleanser pads and air pump filters…the facts are brutal. There is an uneasy juxtaposition between the pristine green luscious Tasmanian rainforest and the cloudy, polluted, dusty and overpopulated Chinese streets. Angela Palmer’s art is good medicine for anyone still wondering what all the fuss is about Climate Change. You leave the building wanting to help a worthy cause.
Ghost Forest in Trafalgar Square is a well-timed art-installation taking place ahead of the UN conference on Climate Change from December 7 to 18, information pills involving 11, stuff 000 delegates from 192 countries. Ten tree stumps selected from seven indigenous species all with delightful exotic names are represented – Denya, click Dahuma, Danta, Hyedua, Mahogany, Wawa and three varieties of Celtis – and have been placed at the feet of the National gallery, right at the very centre of Western Industrialization. They are all with a rich and varied ecology and all with equally diverse uses by man; the Celtis Adolfi-Friderici is evergreen, but many of its leaves do fall during the dry season. It grows up to 100 feet tall and is of abundant forest availability.

Ghost forest 2

It is hard not to be moved by the contrasting sight of those stumps laid to rest on white concrete blocks close to the 196 feet-tall Nelson’s Column. Londoners know Trafalgar Square as a rather uninspiring and barren site inhabited by a swarm of pigeons and tourists. The place is now invaded with what appears to be sculptures for posh interiors. Or is it a vast graveyard of searing beauty? The Celtis is used for interior joinery, plywood, and furniture components back in its country of origin, Ghana. In Europe, it is mostly used in the coffin industry. At Trafalgar Square, it all looks like an odd burial site. Now Ghana’s trees have the good fortune of benefiting from the Voluntary Partnership Agreement. Artist Angela Palmer says: “Having lost 90% of its primary rainforest over the past 50 years, Ghana now exercises strict regulations in sustainable and responsible forestry. Last year it became the first country in Africa to enter the VPA (Voluntary Partnership Agreement) with the European Union in an effort to outlaw illegal logging.”

Ghost forest 1

Celtis and its friends do not end their epic journey in London; having traveled all the way from the tropics, they will travel to Copenhagen to remind UN employees that the removal of the world’s ‘lungs’ through continued deforestation needs to be dealt with without delay.

Ghost forest 3

Angela Palmer is an artist with convictions: “Many thinkers maintain that all art is political; politics touches all aspects of our lives. Life is about politics. And art is about communication, often transmitting unpalatable truths.” Breathing In, currently at the Welcome museum from the 20th of October to the 22nd of November 2009, is another one of Palmer’s projects currently in the capital. In April 2007 Palmer travelled to Linfen in Shanxi Province, China, home to the most polluted air on Earth, and then to Cape Grim on the northwest tip of Tasmania where there’s the purest air and water on Earth.

Ghost forest 4

The exhibition is a straightforward display of the results of her journey to capture the physical properties of climate change. The evidence is undeniable- the previously white outfits worn for a day now blackened by the unhealthy Linfen air, the dark face cleanser pads and air pump filters…the facts are brutal. There is an uneasy juxtaposition between the pristine green luscious Tasmanian rainforest and the cloudy, polluted, dusty and overpopulated Chinese streets. Angela Palmer’s art is good medicine for anyone still wondering what all the fuss is about Climate Change. You leave the building wanting to help a worthy cause.

Last week was Community Week in Leeds, information pills meaning all week Leeds University Union hosted various events on their campus aimed at students and ways in which we can make a positive difference in our local community.

Kicking off rather appropriately with ‘Talking Rubbish’ on Monday, prescription wheelie bins were hot on the agenda due to the bin strike in Leeds which has amazingly reached its 12th week now because of rows over unfair pay. The vast amount of recyclable waste which had not been collected since the beginning of September when the strike began was finally shifted this week, unhealthy and residents can expect letters from Leeds City Council informing them of the changes to be made in their area.

james

Image courtesy of James Maxfield

On Wednesday it was ‘Safe in the knowledge’, a day aimed at teaching ways we can prevent burglary in the LS6 area. For example did you know that, according to the union’s ‘Knowledge’ campaign, in 2008 almost 52% of student homes burgled were due to open doors or windows? So first step: Shut your windows, lock your doors! It is pretty easy to pop out or even just upstairs and forget to lock the front door. Most of the burglary stories I’ve heard happened to people who were in the house at the time, for instance last year someone wandered into my friend’s house in the middle of the day, pinched their underwear and left a ‘surprise’ in the middle of the carpet. The Knowledge website offers practical advice on preventing burglary and making your student home a more secure place.

 Reszie_Knowledge_1

Images courtesy of Leeds University Union

Thursday was concerned with volunteering. The Union runs a great volunteering service which supports students who want to give a little back locally and abroad. For instance why not become a Carbon Ambassador? Sounds pretty impressive and you receive FREE training in energy efficiency practices, and what’s more you can then share your new skills by giving talks in your area and teach others ways they can cut carbon emissions.

unionbuilding

Image courtesy of Leeds University Union

The week finished off on Friday with Representation, which gave you the chance to chat about anything community related that may be worrying you, such as poor street lighting, recycling, suspicious take-aways, anything. Community Week may be over but Leeds students can still get down to the Union at any time. Go meet the student representatives and find out how you can get involved in local campaigns and make your neighbourhood just a little bit lovelier.

Categories ,Burglery, ,community, ,leeds, ,recycle, ,students, ,Volunteer

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Amelia’s Magazine | Zine Symposium Review

Well well well the kids certainly know what they’re doing at Graduate Fashion Week this year. Sunday kicked off day one of shows for the creatively minded at our very own Earl’s Court and believe me these are the McQueens of the future.

UWE Bristol showcased some beautiful structured puffball dresses from Georgina Kitchen teamed with knee high socks and see-through metallic partitions. Jessie Potter had a clear vision too, viagra order cheap showing off an appliquéd felt and wool collection in a 70s pallet of mustard and burgundy with pom-pom headdresses. Jessica Hart clearly had the most funm however – showing a pastel based range of graphic prints that Lady Gaga would feel sheepish in. Necklaces were gigantic, order cialis 40mg as were pockets, in what was a playful and crisp collection, complete with bow headbands of course. (Read more about UWE Bristol’s show here – with even MORE illustrations!)

I was not expecting the standard of design as seen at UCA Epsom University’s show after though. Think of Pilgrim’s, 50s housewives, teddy boys, Julia Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile and a dash of kids TV and you’re half way there. This was a serious clash of icons creating a surprisingly good statement for the University.

But amongst the host of talent there were some definite faces of the fashion future to watch, and a surprising amount of menswear. Remember you heard it here first.

Lucinda Ailes: One so patriotic, not to our fair Blighty mind, but all things American were emblazoned on everything through an array of stars and stripes. Models sported devoted shorts, leggings and maxi dresses but all was kept thoroughly wearable by grey mix-and-match pieces to wear back with the collection.

Katie Barret: A different kind of heritage was displayed in Barret’s show of menswear pieces. Thoroughly Scottish and proud of it, models sported full kilted dresses as well as the traditional skirts. The whole feel was very rugged using natural fabrics and even slightly drab colours. But each look was spiced up with a hint of tomato red, whether it be in a top or the waist detailing of said kilt instantly adding an extra something to the look.

Antonia Lloyd: Another one for the boys but this time not quite so manly. Lloyd made sure the boys sparkled in glittered tuxedo style shirts and knickerbockers to be proud of. There was something quite romantic about the look, with buttons done up to the neck and a palette of muted greys and navies.

Beata Gebka: I told you there were pilgrims and it came from Gebka’s show. Models sported traditional style long dresses accessorized with cloches and capes. As unwearable as it sounds, the pieces were surprisingly covetable, finished off with black ribbon detailing and even bib fronts. This may just be the new look come autumn and one that features heavily around the key muted pallet of greys and navies again.

Stency Kidega: Frills frills and more frills was what Kidega must have been dreaming of. They were added to the shoulders of jackets and the necklines of coats but wherever they were placed they looked beautiful. Kidega pulled off a very tailored collection, which isn’t always the most interesting, but the corset detailing on the dresses and the aforementioned jackets made sure that it was. Delicious.

Eve McDonald: McDonald definitely has a 50s housewife buried inside her otherwise she wouldn’t be able to produce such stunning floral shirts. But she’s also hiding a Teddy Boy too, as pieces were mixed with checked trousers and long shorts. Finished off with floral headscarves tied in oversized bows I almost wanted to pull on my espadrilles and listen to some good old Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Anna Piercy: It’s Piercy who brought the piece de résistance of the whole night for me. Piercey managed to create a collection based entirely around oversized letters. Seriously. Not that much to hear but the fabrics still flowed into beautiful a-line dresses with cut-out detailing. Even more intelligent was the use of panelling and sequins to create letters from the arms and body of a dress. And the finale – Piercey’s models came together to spell out the word ‘RANDOM.’ It was and yet I still liked it.

How nice though that we got to see the faces behind the fashion as each designer (embarrassingly for most but certainly not all) walked the catwalk with one of their models. It was cheers and ovation all round from the crowd and do you know what…. they thoroughly deserved it.

Hear, hear!

Anna Piercy, drugs UCA Epsom, try Illustrated by Lisa Billvik

Well well well the kids certainly know what they’re doing at Graduate Fashion Week this year. Sunday kicked off day one of shows for the creatively minded at our very own Earl’s Court and believe me these are the McQueens of the future.

UWE Bristol showcased some beautiful structured puffball dresses from Georgina Kitchen teamed with knee high socks and see-through metallic partitions. Jessie Potter had a clear vision too, showing off an appliquéd felt and wool collection in a 70s pallet of mustard and burgundy with pom-pom headdresses. Jessica Hart clearly had the most funm however – showing a pastel based range of graphic prints that Lady Gaga would feel sheepish in. Necklaces were gigantic, as were pockets, in what was a playful and crisp collection, complete with bow headbands of course. (Read more about UWE Bristol’s show here – with even MORE illustrations!)


Jessica Hart, illustrated by Jenny Goldstone

I was not expecting the standard of design as seen at UCA Epsom University’s show after though. Think of Pilgrim’s, 50s housewives, teddy boys, Julia Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile and a dash of kids TV and you’re half way there. This was a serious clash of icons creating a surprisingly good statement for the University.

But amongst the host of talent there were some definite faces of the fashion future to watch, and a surprising amount of menswear. Remember you heard it here first.

Lucinda Ailes: One so patriotic, not to our fair Blighty mind, but all things American were emblazoned on everything through an array of stars and stripes. Models sported devoted shorts, leggings and maxi dresses but all was kept thoroughly wearable by grey mix-and-match pieces to wear back with the collection.

Katie Barret: A different kind of heritage was displayed in Barret’s show of menswear pieces. Thoroughly Scottish and proud of it, models sported full kilted dresses as well as the traditional skirts. The whole feel was very rugged using natural fabrics and even slightly drab colours. But each look was spiced up with a hint of tomato red, whether it be in a top or the waist detailing of said kilt instantly adding an extra something to the look.

Antonia Lloyd: Another one for the boys but this time not quite so manly. Lloyd made sure the boys sparkled in glittered tuxedo style shirts and knickerbockers to be proud of. There was something quite romantic about the look, with buttons done up to the neck and a palette of muted greys and navies.

Beata Gebka: I told you there were pilgrims and it came from Gebka’s show. Models sported traditional style long dresses accessorized with cloches and capes. As unwearable as it sounds, the pieces were surprisingly covetable, finished off with black ribbon detailing and even bib fronts. This may just be the new look come autumn and one that features heavily around the key muted pallet of greys and navies again.

Stency Kidega: Frills frills and more frills was what Kidega must have been dreaming of. They were added to the shoulders of jackets and the necklines of coats but wherever they were placed they looked beautiful. Kidega pulled off a very tailored collection, which isn’t always the most interesting, but the corset detailing on the dresses and the aforementioned jackets made sure that it was. Delicious.

Eve McDonald: McDonald definitely has a 50s housewife buried inside her otherwise she wouldn’t be able to produce such stunning floral shirts. But she’s also hiding a Teddy Boy too, as pieces were mixed with checked trousers and long shorts. Finished off with floral headscarves tied in oversized bows I almost wanted to pull on my espadrilles and listen to some good old Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Anna Piercy: It’s Piercy who brought the piece de résistance of the whole night for me. Piercey managed to create a collection based entirely around oversized letters. Seriously. Not that much to hear but the fabrics still flowed into beautiful a-line dresses with cut-out detailing. Even more intelligent was the use of panelling and sequins to create letters from the arms and body of a dress. And the finale – Piercey’s models came together to spell out the word ‘RANDOM.’ It was and yet I still liked it.


Illustrations by Lisa Billvik

How nice though that we got to see the faces behind the fashion as each designer (embarrassingly for most but certainly not all) walked the catwalk with one of their models. It was cheers and ovation all round from the crowd and do you know what…. they thoroughly deserved it.

Hear, hear!

The London Zine Symposium, more about held last week at the Rag Factory, medical was full to the bustle with a variety of cheery people, all sharing in the spirit of DIY; flicking and chatting, perusing and purchasing. Every struggle past skinny jeans and plaid shirts to arrive at each table was well worth the few minutes spent avoiding elbows and backpacks, as each stall held an array of crafty delights; carefully screen-printed A2 fold-out works of typography, pretty necklaces, vegan lemon cupcakes and, of course, the zines. Some full of doodles, some full of words, most an arrangement of both. Hundreds of thousands of words caught up in photocopied pages bound with staples and thread, heaped on the rickety wooden tables just waiting to be flicked through and absorbed; their art appreciated and ideas assimilated.
I bumbled in and dropped my last pennies into the ‘£2 Suggested Donations’ pot, thankfully leaving me bereft of coin and therefore not prone to the madness of trying to choose between all the amazing zines on offer.


Beginning with a leisurely stroll around the halls before the Creating Our Own Culture discussion, I checked out the monstrous creations and was suitably scared then hung out at the Zineswap table for a little while, having to turn down the offer to buy one of their freshly screen-printed canvas bags, and shuffled through their archives. Zineswap are aiming to be a resource through which people can swap their zines (bit of a clue in the name), as well as becoming an archive of contemporary zine publishing. They also happen to be jolly decent chaps, helping find the girl whose zine I was admiring but which was not in their swap box. Not actually being able to buy it, however, I glanced over her stall of zines about solidarity camps and living in trees, made a mental note to come back with cash, and scampered to the workshop space to hear Melanie (Colouring Outside the Lines), Em (The World’s a Mess and You’re the Only Cure), Patrick (Ricochet! Ricochet!) and Debi (Self-Publishing and Empowerment) chat about the subversive measures it takes to sidestep mainstream media, engage with like-minded people, form communities and get out there – even if you’re not sure where ‘there’ is.

The main themes which permeated the discussion were connection and visibility. Em started The World’s a Mess and You’re the Only Cure with a view to thanking empowering people, and also made fliers searching for anyone interested in making things happen, which she put around Sheffield. A few people got in touch (which makes me both despair at general apathy and be glad that there are those out there who do want to get involved!) and they then began setting up gig nights, organising little known bands from across the country to come and plays. She gets emails from all over about her zine, full of grateful and excited words, and says that once you put a zine out there, you don’t know how far it’s going to go, or who it might reach. Debi encouraged being visible; making your talents known to the wider world and skill sharing at every opportunity. The cover of her book was designed in return for guitar lessons. Finding mentors and creating networks can help no end and she recommends doing what you’re not supposed to do and going where you’re not supposed to go, and perhaps finding other people already there! The story of Patrick’s gallery is a great example of lodging where you already are and engaging in community. They found the space because he walked past it everyday on his way to work, and attended the local Resident’s Alliance meetings to promote their events and to find people to borrow ladders from.

Diy culture isn’t all share and share alike, kittens and roses though. Em mentioned that she sometimes pays the excess of gig costs from her own pocket and Patrick emphasised his lack of social life and the possibility of burn out if taking on too much. They both work a variety of part-time jobs to scrape the cash together for their ventures, but were very clear on that fact that they’re happy to do so because their diy projects are the best possible reason to go hungry or poor. (Patrick also steals stationary from his paid work. Handy!) The overall message of the discussion was ‘Get Out There!’ Connect with people via whatever means available and don’t be afraid to start something, offer something, ask for something. There are others out there who want to build communities, publish books, create art spaces and take back media; the trick is to find them.

Feeling thus empowered, I took another circuit around the stalls and introduced myself properly to Miss Tukuru who runs Vampire Sushi distro with Mr Carl, and from whom I had ordered a satisfying pile of zines earlier in the month. They stock mostly perzines of a feminist and/or queer slant, dealing with depression, sexual awakenings (or not) and just, getting along in the world. We talked briefly about my kodame tattoo and the Moomins before she whirled off to take a turn about the room. After browsing the Active Distribution stall, I had to run to a cash point. Apparently I can’t deny myself a good anarchist zine, so I bought three, as well as ‘zine and the politics of alternative culture’, a book exploring the history and theory of zines and how effective they really are in rebelling against the consumer society which tends to appropriate and recycle all forms of culture jamming and subversive media back into advertising (a form of recycling I’m against!). The friendly anarchist presiding over the stall loaded me up with flyers for the infoshop 56a and Pogo Café, a social centre in Hackney, currently looking for summer volunteers.

Having already spent more money that I really had, I decided to leave before getting sucked into the screen-printed beauty of the TBA table, the full colour photos and tales of adventure in Girl Photographer, the cute pony necklaces and the hundred and one other beautiful bits and pieces of display.

I’ll leave the last words to Em who reminded us all that ‘Zines offer an amazing opportunity to get your feelings out. You can put anything you want in a zine. Anyone can do it, in their bedroom. Zines create links with people all over the world, and bring a community to you, instead of looking to others.’
So check out all the links above to start making connections with a world of opportunity and a pool of skills for you to add to and draw from. Head to the Woman’s Library Zine Fest on the 12th June, check out Brighton Zine Fest and Leeds Zine Fest and GET INVOLVED!

http://www.zineswap.com/
http://vampiresushi.co.uk/
http://www.activedistribution.org/
londonzinesymposium.org.uk
brightonzinefest.co.uk
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/services/learning/learning-projects/zinefest.cfm
http://wemakezines.ning.com/
56a.org.uk
http://www.eleanorjane.co.uk/ (Girl Photographer)
http://www.myspace.com/zinefest (Woman’s Library zinefest)
http://tba-online.org/

Categories ,Brick Lane, ,brighton, ,community, ,Feminist, ,illustration, ,leeds, ,Queer Culture, ,The Women’s Library, ,women, ,zine

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Amelia’s Magazine | Zine Symposium Review

Well well well the kids certainly know what they’re doing at Graduate Fashion Week this year. Sunday kicked off day one of shows for the creatively minded at our very own Earl’s Court and believe me these are the McQueens of the future.

UWE Bristol showcased some beautiful structured puffball dresses from Georgina Kitchen teamed with knee high socks and see-through metallic partitions. Jessie Potter had a clear vision too, viagra order cheap showing off an appliquéd felt and wool collection in a 70s pallet of mustard and burgundy with pom-pom headdresses. Jessica Hart clearly had the most funm however – showing a pastel based range of graphic prints that Lady Gaga would feel sheepish in. Necklaces were gigantic, order cialis 40mg as were pockets, in what was a playful and crisp collection, complete with bow headbands of course. (Read more about UWE Bristol’s show here – with even MORE illustrations!)

I was not expecting the standard of design as seen at UCA Epsom University’s show after though. Think of Pilgrim’s, 50s housewives, teddy boys, Julia Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile and a dash of kids TV and you’re half way there. This was a serious clash of icons creating a surprisingly good statement for the University.

But amongst the host of talent there were some definite faces of the fashion future to watch, and a surprising amount of menswear. Remember you heard it here first.

Lucinda Ailes: One so patriotic, not to our fair Blighty mind, but all things American were emblazoned on everything through an array of stars and stripes. Models sported devoted shorts, leggings and maxi dresses but all was kept thoroughly wearable by grey mix-and-match pieces to wear back with the collection.

Katie Barret: A different kind of heritage was displayed in Barret’s show of menswear pieces. Thoroughly Scottish and proud of it, models sported full kilted dresses as well as the traditional skirts. The whole feel was very rugged using natural fabrics and even slightly drab colours. But each look was spiced up with a hint of tomato red, whether it be in a top or the waist detailing of said kilt instantly adding an extra something to the look.

Antonia Lloyd: Another one for the boys but this time not quite so manly. Lloyd made sure the boys sparkled in glittered tuxedo style shirts and knickerbockers to be proud of. There was something quite romantic about the look, with buttons done up to the neck and a palette of muted greys and navies.

Beata Gebka: I told you there were pilgrims and it came from Gebka’s show. Models sported traditional style long dresses accessorized with cloches and capes. As unwearable as it sounds, the pieces were surprisingly covetable, finished off with black ribbon detailing and even bib fronts. This may just be the new look come autumn and one that features heavily around the key muted pallet of greys and navies again.

Stency Kidega: Frills frills and more frills was what Kidega must have been dreaming of. They were added to the shoulders of jackets and the necklines of coats but wherever they were placed they looked beautiful. Kidega pulled off a very tailored collection, which isn’t always the most interesting, but the corset detailing on the dresses and the aforementioned jackets made sure that it was. Delicious.

Eve McDonald: McDonald definitely has a 50s housewife buried inside her otherwise she wouldn’t be able to produce such stunning floral shirts. But she’s also hiding a Teddy Boy too, as pieces were mixed with checked trousers and long shorts. Finished off with floral headscarves tied in oversized bows I almost wanted to pull on my espadrilles and listen to some good old Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Anna Piercy: It’s Piercy who brought the piece de résistance of the whole night for me. Piercey managed to create a collection based entirely around oversized letters. Seriously. Not that much to hear but the fabrics still flowed into beautiful a-line dresses with cut-out detailing. Even more intelligent was the use of panelling and sequins to create letters from the arms and body of a dress. And the finale – Piercey’s models came together to spell out the word ‘RANDOM.’ It was and yet I still liked it.

How nice though that we got to see the faces behind the fashion as each designer (embarrassingly for most but certainly not all) walked the catwalk with one of their models. It was cheers and ovation all round from the crowd and do you know what…. they thoroughly deserved it.

Hear, hear!

Anna Piercy, drugs UCA Epsom, try Illustrated by Lisa Billvik

Well well well the kids certainly know what they’re doing at Graduate Fashion Week this year. Sunday kicked off day one of shows for the creatively minded at our very own Earl’s Court and believe me these are the McQueens of the future.

UWE Bristol showcased some beautiful structured puffball dresses from Georgina Kitchen teamed with knee high socks and see-through metallic partitions. Jessie Potter had a clear vision too, showing off an appliquéd felt and wool collection in a 70s pallet of mustard and burgundy with pom-pom headdresses. Jessica Hart clearly had the most funm however – showing a pastel based range of graphic prints that Lady Gaga would feel sheepish in. Necklaces were gigantic, as were pockets, in what was a playful and crisp collection, complete with bow headbands of course. (Read more about UWE Bristol’s show here – with even MORE illustrations!)


Jessica Hart, illustrated by Jenny Goldstone

I was not expecting the standard of design as seen at UCA Epsom University’s show after though. Think of Pilgrim’s, 50s housewives, teddy boys, Julia Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile and a dash of kids TV and you’re half way there. This was a serious clash of icons creating a surprisingly good statement for the University.

But amongst the host of talent there were some definite faces of the fashion future to watch, and a surprising amount of menswear. Remember you heard it here first.

Lucinda Ailes: One so patriotic, not to our fair Blighty mind, but all things American were emblazoned on everything through an array of stars and stripes. Models sported devoted shorts, leggings and maxi dresses but all was kept thoroughly wearable by grey mix-and-match pieces to wear back with the collection.

Katie Barret: A different kind of heritage was displayed in Barret’s show of menswear pieces. Thoroughly Scottish and proud of it, models sported full kilted dresses as well as the traditional skirts. The whole feel was very rugged using natural fabrics and even slightly drab colours. But each look was spiced up with a hint of tomato red, whether it be in a top or the waist detailing of said kilt instantly adding an extra something to the look.

Antonia Lloyd: Another one for the boys but this time not quite so manly. Lloyd made sure the boys sparkled in glittered tuxedo style shirts and knickerbockers to be proud of. There was something quite romantic about the look, with buttons done up to the neck and a palette of muted greys and navies.

Beata Gebka: I told you there were pilgrims and it came from Gebka’s show. Models sported traditional style long dresses accessorized with cloches and capes. As unwearable as it sounds, the pieces were surprisingly covetable, finished off with black ribbon detailing and even bib fronts. This may just be the new look come autumn and one that features heavily around the key muted pallet of greys and navies again.

Stency Kidega: Frills frills and more frills was what Kidega must have been dreaming of. They were added to the shoulders of jackets and the necklines of coats but wherever they were placed they looked beautiful. Kidega pulled off a very tailored collection, which isn’t always the most interesting, but the corset detailing on the dresses and the aforementioned jackets made sure that it was. Delicious.

Eve McDonald: McDonald definitely has a 50s housewife buried inside her otherwise she wouldn’t be able to produce such stunning floral shirts. But she’s also hiding a Teddy Boy too, as pieces were mixed with checked trousers and long shorts. Finished off with floral headscarves tied in oversized bows I almost wanted to pull on my espadrilles and listen to some good old Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Anna Piercy: It’s Piercy who brought the piece de résistance of the whole night for me. Piercey managed to create a collection based entirely around oversized letters. Seriously. Not that much to hear but the fabrics still flowed into beautiful a-line dresses with cut-out detailing. Even more intelligent was the use of panelling and sequins to create letters from the arms and body of a dress. And the finale – Piercey’s models came together to spell out the word ‘RANDOM.’ It was and yet I still liked it.


Illustrations by Lisa Billvik

How nice though that we got to see the faces behind the fashion as each designer (embarrassingly for most but certainly not all) walked the catwalk with one of their models. It was cheers and ovation all round from the crowd and do you know what…. they thoroughly deserved it.

Hear, hear!

The London Zine Symposium, more about held last week at the Rag Factory, medical was full to the bustle with a variety of cheery people, all sharing in the spirit of DIY; flicking and chatting, perusing and purchasing. Every struggle past skinny jeans and plaid shirts to arrive at each table was well worth the few minutes spent avoiding elbows and backpacks, as each stall held an array of crafty delights; carefully screen-printed A2 fold-out works of typography, pretty necklaces, vegan lemon cupcakes and, of course, the zines. Some full of doodles, some full of words, most an arrangement of both. Hundreds of thousands of words caught up in photocopied pages bound with staples and thread, heaped on the rickety wooden tables just waiting to be flicked through and absorbed; their art appreciated and ideas assimilated.
I bumbled in and dropped my last pennies into the ‘£2 Suggested Donations’ pot, thankfully leaving me bereft of coin and therefore not prone to the madness of trying to choose between all the amazing zines on offer.


Beginning with a leisurely stroll around the halls before the Creating Our Own Culture discussion, I checked out the monstrous creations and was suitably scared then hung out at the Zineswap table for a little while, having to turn down the offer to buy one of their freshly screen-printed canvas bags, and shuffled through their archives. Zineswap are aiming to be a resource through which people can swap their zines (bit of a clue in the name), as well as becoming an archive of contemporary zine publishing. They also happen to be jolly decent chaps, helping find the girl whose zine I was admiring but which was not in their swap box. Not actually being able to buy it, however, I glanced over her stall of zines about solidarity camps and living in trees, made a mental note to come back with cash, and scampered to the workshop space to hear Melanie (Colouring Outside the Lines), Em (The World’s a Mess and You’re the Only Cure), Patrick (Ricochet! Ricochet!) and Debi (Self-Publishing and Empowerment) chat about the subversive measures it takes to sidestep mainstream media, engage with like-minded people, form communities and get out there – even if you’re not sure where ‘there’ is.

The main themes which permeated the discussion were connection and visibility. Em started The World’s a Mess and You’re the Only Cure with a view to thanking empowering people, and also made fliers searching for anyone interested in making things happen, which she put around Sheffield. A few people got in touch (which makes me both despair at general apathy and be glad that there are those out there who do want to get involved!) and they then began setting up gig nights, organising little known bands from across the country to come and plays. She gets emails from all over about her zine, full of grateful and excited words, and says that once you put a zine out there, you don’t know how far it’s going to go, or who it might reach. Debi encouraged being visible; making your talents known to the wider world and skill sharing at every opportunity. The cover of her book was designed in return for guitar lessons. Finding mentors and creating networks can help no end and she recommends doing what you’re not supposed to do and going where you’re not supposed to go, and perhaps finding other people already there! The story of Patrick’s gallery is a great example of lodging where you already are and engaging in community. They found the space because he walked past it everyday on his way to work, and attended the local Resident’s Alliance meetings to promote their events and to find people to borrow ladders from.

Diy culture isn’t all share and share alike, kittens and roses though. Em mentioned that she sometimes pays the excess of gig costs from her own pocket and Patrick emphasised his lack of social life and the possibility of burn out if taking on too much. They both work a variety of part-time jobs to scrape the cash together for their ventures, but were very clear on that fact that they’re happy to do so because their diy projects are the best possible reason to go hungry or poor. (Patrick also steals stationary from his paid work. Handy!) The overall message of the discussion was ‘Get Out There!’ Connect with people via whatever means available and don’t be afraid to start something, offer something, ask for something. There are others out there who want to build communities, publish books, create art spaces and take back media; the trick is to find them.

Feeling thus empowered, I took another circuit around the stalls and introduced myself properly to Miss Tukuru who runs Vampire Sushi distro with Mr Carl, and from whom I had ordered a satisfying pile of zines earlier in the month. They stock mostly perzines of a feminist and/or queer slant, dealing with depression, sexual awakenings (or not) and just, getting along in the world. We talked briefly about my kodame tattoo and the Moomins before she whirled off to take a turn about the room. After browsing the Active Distribution stall, I had to run to a cash point. Apparently I can’t deny myself a good anarchist zine, so I bought three, as well as ‘zine and the politics of alternative culture’, a book exploring the history and theory of zines and how effective they really are in rebelling against the consumer society which tends to appropriate and recycle all forms of culture jamming and subversive media back into advertising (a form of recycling I’m against!). The friendly anarchist presiding over the stall loaded me up with flyers for the infoshop 56a and Pogo Café, a social centre in Hackney, currently looking for summer volunteers.

Having already spent more money that I really had, I decided to leave before getting sucked into the screen-printed beauty of the TBA table, the full colour photos and tales of adventure in Girl Photographer, the cute pony necklaces and the hundred and one other beautiful bits and pieces of display.

I’ll leave the last words to Em who reminded us all that ‘Zines offer an amazing opportunity to get your feelings out. You can put anything you want in a zine. Anyone can do it, in their bedroom. Zines create links with people all over the world, and bring a community to you, instead of looking to others.’
So check out all the links above to start making connections with a world of opportunity and a pool of skills for you to add to and draw from. Head to the Woman’s Library Zine Fest on the 12th June, check out Brighton Zine Fest and Leeds Zine Fest and GET INVOLVED!

http://www.zineswap.com/
http://vampiresushi.co.uk/
http://www.activedistribution.org/
londonzinesymposium.org.uk
brightonzinefest.co.uk
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/services/learning/learning-projects/zinefest.cfm
http://wemakezines.ning.com/
56a.org.uk
http://www.eleanorjane.co.uk/ (Girl Photographer)
http://www.myspace.com/zinefest (Woman’s Library zinefest)
http://tba-online.org/

Categories ,Brick Lane, ,brighton, ,community, ,Feminist, ,illustration, ,leeds, ,Queer Culture, ,The Women’s Library, ,women, ,zine

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Amelia’s Magazine | Nous Vous: We, You, and Everyone we Know.

The ICA has always struck me an odd gig venue; with it’s white lights and shiny floors, viagra 100mg symptoms but on Friday 22nd May, pilule something exciting was rumbling in it’s deep dark underbelly and I went home prepared to eat my hat…
I didn’t know too much about Comet Gain before the gig, viagra 40mg and expected them to be over-shadowed by the rest of the line-up, but they held their own in spectacular fashion with their unique blend of Northern Soul and lo-fi, to create a danceable but refreshing rock n’roll.

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The Bats

Putting age before beauty, the Bats were on right before young whipper-snappers Crystal Stilts; the most magical inhabitants of New Zealand since hobbits. Having been around since the early 80s and having released a string of consistently good records they seemed to have avoided become publicly known and are quite the cult institution. The crowd at the ICA, myself included, are, blown away by their awesome crashing and soaring folky rock, with Crimson Envy going down like a treat. They have the look of the modern day Pixies (kinda old), with a sound that veers towards early Yo La Tengo or Low.

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The Bats

Whilst loving the Crystal Stilts’ debut album, I’m always sceptical of hype bands, but Crystal Stilts most definitely deserve their hype. From the first note, their post-punk, melancholic wall of bassy noise and murmur vocals enrapture the audience. Their single ‘Love is a Wave’, the second song played is a butterfly in the stomach shoe-gaze fest of blurry noise and the rest of the set follows to form.

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Crystal Stilts
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It is perhaps over easy to compare Crystal Stilts to My Bloody Valentine and their shoe-gaze peers, (it seems that a lot of Brooklyn bands at the moment are being shoehorned into a neo-shoe gaze poor fit) and whilst an element of that is present; mostly from Jesus and Mary Chain‘s Psychocandy, Crystal Stilts are more indebted to the Velvet Underground in their sustaining of a glorious continous noise, and the tuneful grumble of Brad Hargett’s voice is not dissimilar to Lou Reed. Whilst having roots buried in a deep and fruitful musical heritage, Crystal Stilts manage to create something unique to themselves. A band not to be missed.

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Crystal Stilts
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Photos appear courtesy of Roisin Conway and Cari Steel

Last week I wrote about skate brand CTRL, what is ed and Finnish streetwear is making us giddy all over again with Daniel Palillo, viagra a Helsinki based designer who has recently hurtled into the fashion world. His designs are distinctively relaxed, salve and when I interviewed him he said simply that he likes that “people actually wear the clothes”, citing street style sites as a really positive influence on fashion.

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Daniel’s designs are curious, seeing an emphasis on ease and comfort coupled with often a dark and strange aesthetic. The focus is on oversized silhouettes, cut-outs and graphic prints, and there’s a lot of interest in wearability. I think it’s a hard thing to couple both notions of fashion and comfort without sacrificing one for the other, and it’s a delicate balance to strike.

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Daniel’s designs, like the CTRL boys, extract the relaxed and unselfconscious element of sportswear as well as making them stylish and progressive. Daniel says that “it’s important for me to feel cosy” and I think it’s an enjoyable philosophy in terms of an aesthetic, seeing clothes that look familiar and worn, but simultaneously edgy.

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In a post-Beckham universe with the media heralding the triumph of the metrosexual male, skinny jeans, brogues and hair gel, it’s refreshing to see a designer who sends his models down the runway in beaten up pairs of sneakers. Daniel believes that “clothing should be more than a collar shirt and chino pants”, instead making way for the wardrobe for the moody younger brother who has emerged from his room, tousle-haired and sore-thumbed from too much videogaming, only to head off down the street to cause some trouble somewhere. The graphic prints recall 90s videogames like PacMan and Frogger, juxtaposed with relentlessly modern silhouettes. His Spring/Summer ’09 collection was inspired by ice hockey players and sailors, but equally he says his ideas can be generated by the epic act of hitting search into Google Image.

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This younger brother has got a black side, though. The sense of familiarity is complicated by the movement into the darker realms of nightmarish fairytales, aliens, ghosts and monsters of the videogames themselves. It’s a darkness that Daniel says is influenced by Finland itself, maintaining “we are very pessimistic people here. It’s dark for all the winter, so I guess it affects the way we work.”

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I think the pessimism is countered by something else, and a lot of people have found the tragicomic element of Daniel’s clothing one of the most extraordinary facets, as with the print of the eerie skull with a bouffant hairstyle, an example of two totally non-sequitar ideas that are difficult to respond to with any clarity about how it makes you feel. This is an idea reflected in his interest in playing with proportions of the human body, with his models often striking unnatural poses that impress the sense of distortion from the garments themselves.

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The humour certainly throws the melancholy into focus, and he says that “thats definitely the way I look at life. You can find so many funny things in the saddest things in life”.

You Look Cold left me hot under the collar, viagra buy this debut album from 24 year-old, patient Irish Patrick Kelleher is awe-inspiring in it’s genre-bashing brilliance and refreshing take on a myriad of musical references. Swinging from Vincent Gallo‘s most whispery nonchalance to thumping electro beats circa Talking Heads with David Byrne/ Ian Curtis shouty vocals (‘He Has to Sleep Sometime’) via an obvious interest early 90s hip-hop, perhaps A Tribe Called Quest most noticeably, no small feat for one man!

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There is a vulnerable innocence to Kelleher’s music, it would be too easy to pigeon-hole him as a Sufjan Stevens/ early Patrick Wolf troubadour figure. He consistently avoids being fey or folky by a unique drum loops, his sheer vocal range and spooky sampling and unexpected rhythm pattern worthy of Animal Collective, this is particularly noticeable on the wonderful ‘Coat to Wear’ and ‘Finds You’ . ‘Multipass’ whilst a midpoint interval from the Avey Tare-esque bumps and bangs, stands out as a personal favourite, with it’s quiet electronic epicness.

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This album whilst crammed with diverse reference points and orchestral density avoids convolution or verbosity by having the defined structure of a true masterpiece, with leitmotifs that re-occur, like the Casio keyboard or drum machine. Kelleher clearly has the talent, intelligence and sound knowledge of lo-fi production (most noticeably cassettes although this is never the focal piece of the sound production) to create something that is not in anyway derivative and totally unique to himself.
Kelleher deserves a lot of recognition for this intelligent, spookily erratic and starkly beautiful record.

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You Look Cold’ by Patrick Kelleher is released on 13th July on Osaka Records
Good things come in fours. The Beatles, cost leaves of clovers, aces in a pack and now boys from Leeds. The quartet go by the name Nous Vous (French for “We You”) and are equal parts Tom Hudson, William Edmonds, Nicolas Burrows and Jay Cover. They work individually and they work collectively, producing astounding work that has paraded walls and spaces around the country including Shoreditch’s Jaguar Shoes, Edinburgh’s Analogue and Leeds’ Project Space.

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In their own words the framework of the collective allows them to be a ‘responsive, amorphous entity, embracing new and diverse projects from graphic design commissions for a range of clients, to launching publishing projects and record labels, exhibitions, curating and teaching.’ I pinned them down for a bit of question time in order to get to know them just a little better.

Hey, Nous Vous, what makes you so awesome?
The fact that someone might think we are awesome makes us feel pretty awesome

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Is there a story behind the name?
It came from the phrase ‘Nous Vous Apprecions’ which is ‘we appreciate you’ in French. The sentiment is the important thing, ‘Nous Vous’ (We/You) looks and sounds better, and applies to lots of ways in which we work.

Where, when and how did you guys all meet?
Jay and Tom studied at Leeds College of Art & Design and started working together. Nic and Will studied at the university of Leeds and started collaborating as well. Then we all met through friends and other stuff, had an exhibition and went from there.

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What backgrounds do you all herald from? Are they similar?
Yeah they are all pretty similar in terms of education. We all studied Vis Com or Graphic Design. None of us in actually from Leeds and we all came here to study.

What advantage is there to working in a collective rather than putting yourself out there solo?
Support, pooling of resources, broader skillset, lower costs, bro-time…

How does Leeds compare to London in terms of creativity and opportunity?
Well having never lived in London we’d find it hard to fairly compare, but from our experiences London has a larger network of people interested in the things we are doing, though there are opportunities in Leeds as well, and we are always looking to take advantage of those.

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Is there any plans to expand the group?
No, we don’t work like a conventional studio, taking on extra staff. We work together because of the strong dynamic we have and we wouldn’t want to jeapordise that.

Which illustrators/artists do you most admire?
Kim Hiorthoy, Olle Eksell, Stefan Marx, David Hockney

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If you weren’t artists, what would you be doing?
Sitting on a mountain

What advice would you give to up and coming artists?
Try hard every day

Who or what is your nemesis?
Apathy

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If you could travel back or forward to any era, where would you go?
We’d rather stay here. We’d probably be pretty useless anywhere else

What piece of modern technology could you not live without?
Dolby 5.1 surround sound and 96-inch plasma screens…

Tell us something about Nous Vous we might no know already.
Jay was in the film ‘Stormbreaker’ starring Mickey Rourke. Fact.

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What would be your pub quiz specialist subject?
Jurassic Park (1 and 2. Not 3)

What band past or present would provide the soundtrack to your life?
Ivor Cutler

I say Modern art is rubbish, you say..?
Some is, some isn’t

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Who would be your top 5 dream dinner guests?
Will Oldham, Nick Cave, Stephen Fry, Adam Buxton, Joe Cornish

What is your guilty pleasure?
39p fizzy straws from Morrisons

What’s next for nous vous?
More exhibitions, more zines, more books, more…

These boys are super supreme. Who would you form a collective with?

Categories ,Illustration, ,Jay Cover, ,Leeds, ,Nicolas Burrows, ,Nous Vous, ,Tom Hudson, ,William Edmonds

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Amelia’s Magazine | Our Broken Garden: The making of the Garden Grow video with Broken Pixel

Ashley Dean by Russty Brazil
Ashley Dean, adiposity as depicted by Russty Brazil.

I recently reviewed the superb second album from Our Broken Garden, information pills so when Ashley Dean got in touch to tell me he was making their latest video Garden Grow I couldn’t resist taking a peek… it’s a delightful lo-fi Fraggle Rock inspired few minutes that should tickle even the coldest of hearts, and here’s the story of how it was made…

What inspired the treatment for the video? 
The starting point for this video was a suggestion by Simon Raymonde of Bella Union. He said he’d love to see Anna of Our Broken Garden performing in a Muppet Show style set. It was this video that inspired him, so we started off from there… I love the Muppet Show, but my favourite Jim Henson creations are Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. They were big inspirations for the look of this video and it was a challenge to do justice to these great fantasy works, but lots of fun at the same time.

The little beasties are great… where did you get the idea from them from?
The three main puppets (the Spider, the Bird and the Tree Beast) were based on the Guitarist, Bassist and Drummer from Our Broken Garden; Søren, Moogie and Poul. My collaborator, Kevin Roper did some great concept sketches of the guys as animals and we ended up making the models pretty close to those original drawings. The little white things in the mines (we called them ‘Pale Moles’) were inspired by the Doozers from Fraggle Rock. I wanted to create a rich and detailed world for Anna to perform in; these creatures were a another layer of the eco-system, and an excuse for me to do some animating..!


The video for Garden Grow by Our Broken Garden.

Who made the little knitted spider monsters?
The jumper that the Spider wore was knitted by my Mum over 20 years ago! I thought it would look great on Søren so Kev cut it up and re-made it with 8 sleeves. I sculpted Søren’s face in clay and cast it in latex, then we used all kinds of techniques to bring the puppets to life. I like to use recycled materials in my work; Moogie is a big bundle of old clothes coated with feathers from a discarded pillow. 

How did you make the video, and where was the studio set? 
We worked in a old flax mill in Leeds called Temple Works. It is an amazing, vast place and they have big plans for the future of it. 
It took myself, Kevin and my parents a week to construct the set. The trees took a long time, with Kev spending several days coating the skeletons I made with wall paper paste and brown paper. We bought out the entire stock of gaffer tape at the local Maplin, I think we got close to consuming a mile of the stuff! On the last day of the set build, Graham Pilling from Army of Cats came to the set and painted the background scenes then my wife, Lydia helped me finish everything off on a final, exhausting Saturday. There were so many details that had to be designed and manufactured on site, I was amazed when we were finally ready to light and shoot the video! I brought in Danny North to be Director of Photography (a long time collaborator with Amelia’s Magazine:Ed) and Tim Blackwell was my assistant director and puppeteered Søren. My parents were in charge of the catering. There was a great community feel during the whole process.

What was it like to work with Anna?
Anna Bronsted came over from Denmark to star in the video. She was a pleasure to work with and was willing to try out any of the shots and effects we had planned. We she feints amongst the apples, she is leaning against a step ladder that I gradually let fall backwards… That required a lot of trust from Anna and there are a lot of out-takes where I was a bit too enthusiastic with the simulated fall. 

Any funny stories from the shoot that you can tell us about?
Although Kev didn’t find it at all funny, it was a very peculiar atmosphere on set when everyone was operating their puppets. My Dad was making Moogie bounce around on his branch, Tim was hidden behind a tree, straining to put his hand up the back of Søren, and Kev was dressed in the Poul Costume, crouched behind another tree in a horribly painful position. When all the puppets came to life, it was a magical sight and we shot dozens of takes of the ‘band’ all playing together. Eventually we took a break so that everyone could relax, but as we were getting a coffee, an anguished groan came from the set. I had totally forgotten Kev was still in his costume and he had almost passed out from the pain he was in and couldn’t move (or take his mask off, which was tied on to his head). His legs didn’t work properly for days afterwards and he cursed the day he offered to go in the Poul suit. He didn’t like it when I became Poul for a scene in his absence though, so I get the impression he was at least quite proud of his exertions…

Garden Grow Group shot
The whole ‘Garden Grow’ crew on set with Anna Bronsted of Our Broken Garden.

Do you have any plans to work with Our Broken Garden again?
I would love to. It will depend on both our schedules, but the rest of the album is great and Anna is a fantastic creative force to work with. She did mention that she wanted to make some more trees and characters to take with her on tour, but they will have to be a lot less fragile than the ones we made for the shoot!

You used to be in iliketrains, which I love (and were featured in the printed version of Amelia’s Magazine many a moon ago). Why did you leave the group?
It was the band’s decision. Our label Beggars Banquet had recently dissolved and they wanted a new start, and I think they thought it was a bit of a luxury to have a projectionist as a full time member of the group. I was quite relieved when we had the final conversation; I would have never had the heart to leave, but my film making ambitions were starting to clash with the schedule of the band and in the end, it was the best option for us all. I still have a good relationship with the guys, and I’m pleased to see how well their recent Pledge campaign (to raise money for the new album) went. I’ll just be sorely jealous when they play Glastonbury or shoot a video in the Bahamas…

Are you still making your own music?
My cornet is gathering dust under a table, just like it did in the years between school and joining the Trains… But I do have a couple of (barely) musical projects on the back burner. One involves making my own instruments and singing in Japanese. Me and Guy from iLT recorded 3 songs together years ago and I would love to bring the idea back to life one day…

What other stuff are you working on with your company Broken Pixel?
My next project is with Napoleon IIIrd. We are going to make some crazy, mashed-up projections using all kinds of old technology. I’ll be trying to bring my Super8 projectors back to life and we’ve got some old OHPs to play with. It should be a fun day out. I’ve got a couple of long term film projects in production and I’m always interested to work with new bands. I recently got a part time job as a chocolate taster (seriously!) and I’m about to launch a range of miniature sets, built into the back of canvases and inscribed with a fragmented, intertwined narrative.

My brain doesn’t sleep.

You can catch Our Broken Garden live in London on Thursday 17th November 2010: listing here.

Categories ,Anna Bronsted, ,Army of Cats, ,Ashley Dean, ,Bella Union, ,Broken Pixel, ,Danny North, ,Doozers, ,Fraggle Rock, ,glastonbury, ,Graham Pilling, ,iliketrains, ,Jim Hensen, ,Kevin Roper, ,Labyrinth, ,leeds, ,Muppet Show, ,Napoleon IIIrd, ,Our Broken Garden, ,Pledge Campaign, ,Russty Brazil, ,Super8, ,Temple Works, ,The Dark Crystal, ,Tim Blackwell

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Amy Lord and Rebekah Whitney of Lord Whitney

Lord Whitney by Liam Henry
Lord Whitney by Liam Henry.

Lord Whitney are not your average design team: within the space of just a few years, this unique partnership between trained graphic designers Amy Lord and Rebekah Whitney has carved out an eye-catching niche within the worlds of set design, art direction and prop making – all from their base – an old mill in Leeds. They have just relaunched their website and are busy preparing for an exhibition created with the help of illustrator Jack Hudson: an entire back catalogue of LP covers designed to promote the sounds of fictitious musical artists. ‘The exhibition will launch you into a sonic time warp where only the best bits from an era rich in music and visuals are permitted. Doves will cry. Hair will spontaneously perm.’ I decided to find out more…

Lord Whitney. Photo by Liam Henry
Lord Whitney. Studio photography by Liam Henry.

How did you two meet and decide to work together, and what creative (and other) parameters did you decide on when you created Lord Whitney?
We met at University studying Graphic Art and Design in Leeds where the first project we ever worked on together was creating a giant 3D theatre set, combining our skills in photography and illustration. As well as a distinctive style we shared a sense of humour, a vision of what we wanted to do and big dance moves! It was the first time that either of us had worked in this way and we never looked back.

Lord Whitney_ELECTRIC BOY
In 2009, Lord Whitney was formed with the enjoyment of creating, working for ourselves and constant curiosity in mind as key elements. We consider the last 4 years to be the biggest adventure of our lives, it has taken us to some weird and wonderful places and we have had some great experiences.

Lord Whitney Skeleton
Your work encompasses illustration, photography and set design: how do you balance the various elements, especially when responding to a brief from a client?
Essentially when we work on a commission basis, the brief generally dictates the most suitable response, so the balance can vary a lot. It’s nice on a day-to-day basis to have that variation as we never do the same thing twice. For our own briefs it’s much more about playing around, being instinctive and having fun with creating work. It’s a very natural process that’s usually determined by what we get most excited about that day.

Lord Whitney Skeleton
What narrative or symbolic elements keep reappearing in your work and why?
Our work often involves elements of our childhoods – whether conscious or subconscious. We enjoy the escapism, child-like-ness, playful and enjoyable elements, which is part of us not taking life too seriously! Other themes do seem to creep into our work regularly – fairytales, nonsense, magic, the surreal. We’re always keen to take people outside of their normal world.

Lord Whitney - Anatomy of a Lion
Do you have other people working with you full time or do you bring various creatives in to work with you on different challenges? What kind of things do you look for from a team member?
Over the years we’ve worked with a lot of different people, generally something just clicks with certain people, which is why we enjoying collaborating. We’re surrounded by so many skilled people, including other artists and studios, which really enriches the quality of all our work.

Lord Whitney_LIAM_HENRY
We recently have had two additions to our little team. A project manager and assistant are with us part time who support the everyday running of the studio, allowing us to focus on the creative side of our work. We also have a good relationship and contacts with students and graduates, as the support and experience we can offer them (as well as vice versa) is something we feel strongly about. Leaving University as an artist is a daunting prospect.

Mock 'n' Roll by Lord Whitney and Jack Hudson
You have recently collaborated with illustrator Jack Hudson, how did that come about and where can people see the results?
Jack has been a friend of ours for a while and we have always admired his work. So when he suggested a new challenge we jumped at the chance. Jack came up to our studio last October for four fun, paint-fuelled days, which was so great just to get stuck into something of our own. I think it really fired something up in us both. Jack has just come up again to work on a new project with us, ‘Mock ‘n’ Roll‘. Together we have created an entire back catalogue of LP cover designs for a series of fictitious musical artists. This will be exhibited at the Leeds Gallery from 27th April – 7th May. This exhibition will launch you into a sonic time warp where only the best bits from an era rich in music and visuals are permitted.

Lord Whitney_LIAM_HENRY
Can you describe your studio set up?
We are surrounded by collections of weird and wonderful objects, paint palettes, old junk, props we’ve made, and always with a cup of tea at hand.

Lord Whitney_Studio
In 2011 we were lucky to find and take over the top floor of an old leather mill just out of Leeds city centre. Partly due to financial and practical reasons, but mainly from our own curiosity, we searched empty buildings high and low before falling in love with the place we now call home. This year we are hoping to open the studio to more events, exhibitions and getting other artists into the space, which is something we’re really excited about. We also intend to complete our vision of turning part of our studio into a real life tree-house!

Lord Whitney_Christmas
Thanks for your Christmas postcard set, which comprised of a variety of photos depicting possible christmas disasters: what inspired this alternative Christmas message?
Creating Christmas cards every year is one of our favourite projects. This years concept came from talking about past Christmas quiz’s (a staple event in both the Lord & Whitney households) and remembering some absurd, but true, facts about christmas accidents. Once we’re in stitches (no pun intended!) it usually means we have the right concept. We figured that if we found it funny and surprising, other people might too. A lot of our work relates to our playful interest in dark humour and how slightly sinister situations can be funny.

Lord Whitney_Christmas
You are based in Leeds and are firm advocates for creative talent based in the North – why and how has this become integral to your work?
A lot of it comes down to stubbornness! We really love living in the North and it was a conscious decision to stay here post-Uni. Not a lot would happen here if everybody decided to go to London, which seems to be the natural step/what most graduates veer towards. The art scene in Leeds is really starting to evolve and we love being a part of that. On a practical level it also means there isn’t as much pressure financially, which allows us more freedom creatively and in our decision making.

Lord Whitney_Portrait
I hear you have some exciting new plans to launch a new bar called Society of Sorts: can you tell us a bit more about it?
It’s in the early stages at the moment but is something we’re really excited about. The uniqueness of the bar will be down to it being a cooperative run by creatives. The concept focuses on bringing together a group of people with very different backgrounds and talents to work together on a new venture for us all. We love working collaboratively so this is a dream project for us.

Essentially Society of Sorts is a bar where music and arts events are key to push for the bar to become a truly cultural venue; evolving from day to evening, seasonally and through the variety of events. There will be a whole range of things happening – from live music based nights with specialist DJs or bands to talks and screenings. We can hold gatherings and parties but also exhibitions, food based events, secret nights and even bedtime stories. We’re all keen for it to have a sort of secret society vibe offering a very different bar experience, especially from what we are used to in the North. Keep an eye out for some intriguing visuals and symbols popping up all over the city of Leeds and beyond!

Lord Whitney_MOOSE
Which festivals and events will you be doing this year? Any top tips for those still undecided about what to attend?
Body & Soul in Ireland is one of the best small independent festivals we worked at last year. It’s one of those festivals that’s great if you are looking for something different, which we love. We’re really into those smaller festivals where you feel like you could discover anything, and fits in with our love for experiences out of normal life. Beacons in Yorkshire is a great little festival which is local to us and is growing and becoming more ambitious each year, we’re sure to be there!

Lord Whitney Spirit Animal
You are planning a big exhibition based on Folklore and traditions in the north: why do you find these so intriguing and what is the most outrageous custom we might not know about?
We’re interested in reminiscing on the past, and unfortunately not that many people widely take an interest in history. We think it’s important to know about where you come from, but the topic is also very visually exciting to us (vivid imagery, eccentric British, nonsensical, which we love). Historical aspects and traditions developing as folklore is an intriguing subject to us. Especially when it can include anything from a ‘long sword dance’ to a Yorkshire pudding boat race!

Lord Whitney with JackHudson - A Step Into The Third Dimmension
Lord Whitney with Jack Hudson – A Step Into The Third Dimension.

Your new website has just launched: what does it feature?
We’ve had our heads down working hard for over a year, so we thought it was definitely time to showcase our most up to date work. Expect to see Nonsense, giant eyeballs and steps into new dimensions!

Lord Whitney with Jack Hudson – A Step Into The Third Dimension
Lord Whitney with Jack Hudson – A Step Into The Third Dimension
Lord Whitney with Jack Hudson – A Step Into The Third Dimension.

What would you say sets Lord Whitney apart from other creatives working in a similar realm?
Location is one thing, as there isn’t really anyone doing the same thing in this region. Also our process of working – collaborative, inclusive, playful, fun, friendly and not taking ourselves too seriously. There’s a big cross-over of different techniques and mediums which means we are not limited to one way of working, making us adaptable to each project rather than specialised in just one field. We’re artists with a studio mentality.

Categories ,3D Design, ,A Step Into The Third Dimension, ,Amy Lord, ,Art Direction, ,Beacons, ,Body & Soul, ,festival, ,Graphic Art and Design, ,interview, ,Jack Hudson, ,leeds, ,Leeds Gallery, ,Liam Henry, ,Lord Whitney, ,Mock ‘n’ Roll, ,Rebekah Whitney, ,Set Design, ,Society of Sorts

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Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Preview: Latitude

Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Viveka Goyanes
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Kim Seoghee
All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Kim Seoghee may not be Flemish (I’m gonna bet he isn’t) but his work sure as hell feels the touch of Belgium. With a team of skinny stoney faced pretty boy models and ethereal girls, visit web Kim showed us a classic example of the sulky European genre. Eyes emphasised with kohl, visit this the models lined up to show Another 7th Day, prescription a pick ‘n’ mix collection in black, grey and cream. Amongst the upbeat surroundings of Alternative Fashion Week their cool collective attitude stood right out, but they’d fit right in at Paris or London fashion weeks proper.

Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Kim Seoghee
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Kim Seoghee
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Kim Seoghee
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Kim Seoghee
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Kim
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Kim Seoghee
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Kim Seoghee
Kim Seoghee with his models.

Laura Panter showed a clever collection – ‘This collection cries adolescent’ – God knows what being a teenager had to do with it though. The clothes were a curve enhancing mix of pastel chiffon and wool with bondage inspired straps and belt features.

Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Laura Panter
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Laura Panter
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Laura Panter
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Laura Panter
Laura Panter.

She was followed swiftly by the work of another Laura. Laura Fox had put together a cute series of outfits inspired by ‘British Heritage, Harris Tweed and Oilskin’ – with the aim of promoting manufacturing in the UK. Her love for classic British designers such as Christopher Bailey for Burberry were clear in what I thought was a sweet and mature collection, and that was before I discovered that Laura is wheelchair bound. She has a good web presence with a Carbonmade website and a twitter feed so she clearly hasn’t let a little thing like a disability stop her from keeping busy. And my friends over at Creative Boom have also blogged on her here. Dead impressed.

Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Laura Fox
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Laura Fox
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Laura Fox
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Laura Fox
Alternative Fashion Week Day 5 2010 Laura Fox
Laura Fox had business cards to hand: the way it should be done!

Sarina Hosking showed a couple of pieces titled Beauty and the Beast. I have to say I’m not surprised by the title – during a week when titles often bore abstract relevance to the collections they were attached to (at best), this did exactly what it said on the tin. The girl that really got all the photographers salivating was a sexy grown-up version of Little Red Riding Hood, complete with red lacy veil. An elegant gent in wolf mask looked on. They were a distraction from the rest of the collection but heck, why not mix and match your fairytale references? According to her myspace Sarina is principally a theatrical designer, so it all begins to make sense.

Transform by Elizabeth Wilcox was described as ‘Sportswear creating capsule wardrobe’. It was certainly sporty but I am not sure I was feeling the marl grey highlighted with neon sculptural thing.

Viveka Goyanes put together cutesy cream printed shirts with carefully styled black and white tailoring to present a mature collection called Brummella the Dandella. I particularly loved all the little touches, like the ripped and accessorised socks. It always pays to look down!

The first festival I ever had the fortune to attend was Latitude 2007. Still a fresher at university, page still fresh-faced and just a little naïve; a small hatchback, viagra order four friends, and every nook and cranny jammed with our camping equipment. We were green, and we didn’t know that you wouldn’t need six sets of clothes, nor a full foldable mattress, nor (as one of our group, bizarrely, thought) a full set of crockery. It was only due to our general keenness that left us arriving early and managing to snag a camping spot both close to the site entrance and (crucially) within 600 yards of the car park. That was, I discovered, exactly the limit of my stamina for being able to carry my own weight in paperbacks and camping stoves (three!) and several pairs of shoes. Oh, idle youth! These days I can take five nights of living in muddy squalor like a medieval serf in my stride, but that’s only down to training myself; I had to ween myself off such modern luxuries as soap, razors, and fresh underwear.

But I digress – this is meant to be a preview of Latitude 2010. The background: Latitude occurs every year in July in Southwold in Suffolk, and operates under the banner of Festival Republic (formerly Mean Fiddler), that gargantuan promotions company with fingers in many pies and still perhaps best know for the carnival of the damned that is the Reading and Leeds Weekender. Latitude is something of a pet project for Festival Republic, who felt that British festivals had lost track of what made them so culturally important in the first place – not just the bands but the atmosphere, the vibe, the performers on stilts and the chance meetings in the dark under the boughs of some off-to-the-side willow. Glastonbury has become something of a behemoth, but it used to be a small and intimate affair; Latitude’s raison d’être is to mimic what Glastonbury is suppose to once have been. My verdict, taking my experiences of 2007 into account, is that they have succeeded admirably, though it would be churlish to say that it’s exactly as the same. Many of those ideals that the hippies celebrated at the solstice three decades ago – appreciation of the earth, appreciation of humanity – have arguably seeped into the larger (regular) festival-going public, but these days we’re much, much better at recycling.

Capacity is relatively small, as far as festivals go these days, capped at 25000 since 2008, and the wondrous thing about Latitude is that you can go the whole weekend without seeing a single band. There’s a strong lineup of comedy acts, theatre performances, literature talks and other cultural oddities that mark it out as unique in the British festival scene. I’ll run through some of the things to look forward to this year, for those that are going, and if you’re not then be quick, because it’ll sell out soon.

There are several music stages scattered about the site. The largest is the main Obelisk Arena, this year headlined by Florence & the Machine, Belle & Sebastian, and Vampire Weekend. Other artists worth seeing include folkster Laura Marling, indie legends Spoon, insanely talented Mexican acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, gorgeous melody act Dirty Projectors, and even a recently-reformed James. They’ll probably sing that song about sitting.

Move across to the second stage and you’ll find the Word Arena, headlined by the National, the xx, and Grizzly Bear. The first is one of the best bands in the world, without question, and if you go you’ll probably find me there too, undergoing some kind of trembling transcendental spasm attack. I love that band. Oh god how I do. The xx are an interesting choice of headliner as their music, so heavy with meaning and yet so utterly minimal, might struggle to hold a headlining slot on a festival stage. I’ve seen them live before and they were bloody fantastic, so I’m sure they’ll be fine; I won’t be seeing them at Latitude, though. My reasons involve a broken heart, a worn mixtape, and shattered promises – I won’t burden you any further than that, but know that it was horrid. Grizzly Bear are sick, and will absolutely suit the beautiful site that Latitude is situated within. Also playing the Word Arena are Wild Beasts, Richard Hawley, the Horrors, and Yeasayer, etc. etc..

Then you’ve got your Lake Stage, which is (no surprises here) situated next to a lake, as well as the Sunrise Arena deep in the woods on the edge of the site. Exactly who shall be playing where on these stages hasn’t been announced yet, but what is know is that artists and bands such as the Big Pink, Black Mountain, Girls, These New Puritans, Tokyo Police Club, and a bunch of others. I’ve been looking back through past years and Latitude 2010 looks like being potentially the best ever with regards to the music acts (though 2009 was also pretty sick – Nick Cave!). But it’s not all about the music, of course, otherwise it wouldn’t be quite as sweetly unique as it is.

In the Comedy tent there are sets from Richard Herring, Emo Philips, Rich Hall, Phill Jupitus, Mark Watson, but also many smaller acts such as Mark Oliver and Doc Brown. In previous years this tent has had a propensity towards overcrowding when the bigger names have appeared, but hopefully they’ll have ironed out the creases there. We’ve already covered the Literature tent on Amelia’s Magazine, somewhat, but I’ll add that Jon McGregor is also giving a talk. He’s the author of If Nobody Speaks Of Remarkable Things, a novel that is in itself extraordinarily remarkable and one of the finest examples of prose-poetry I’ve read in the past decade. Also of note here is that Dan Kitson, who probably blushes when he gets described as, “perhaps the finest standup comic of his generation,” all time, will be telling a story for an hour every night at midnight on the Waterfront Stage. His work is rarely available on video as he doesn’t like the idea of his shows being pirated, so please take this opportunity to see him in the flesh.

John Cooper Clarke is in the Poetry tent – one of the towering figures of modern performance poetry in this country should be reason enough to raise some curiosity there, but there are also appearances from important figures on the British poetry scene like Luke Wright and John Stammers. Eddie Argos, of Art Brut fame, will also be doing a set – if you’re familiar with the man then you’ll know that’s an intriguing prospect.

I’ve barely scratched the surface here – there’s a Cabaret tent that parties on into the early hours of the morning, there’s the Film & Music Arena showcasing some unique new audiovisual shows (as well as more irreverent stuff from the likes of Adam Buxton and the Modern Toss crew), and there’s also a chance to wander into the woods to find both the opera performances and the In The Woods area, a woodland clearing set up for late night raving. There are numerous plays put on at the Theatre Arena, including performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company and Everyman Playhouse. There’s a huge childrens’ area that’s almost like a playground.

Hell, the whole thing is like some gaudy carnival from the middle ages transported through time for our enjoyment. There’s a parade at some point, there’s giant painting projects, you can row boats in the lake, you can watch a jazz band play all day on a floating stage on the lake, and so on, and so on. The beauty of the site just completes the package, and thankfully the Latitude team are very good at maintaining it. They’ve got a well-developed set of environmentally-friendly policies that have managed to recycle most of the waste from past festivals, including designated recycling bins, bags handed out to campers for sorting their recycling, and everything you can buy on site is sourced so that it won’t damage the environment both getting there and if it’s thrown away. Sorted.

So that’s Latitude 2010. Three days almost doesn’t seem enough, does it?

Categories ,2010, ,Adam Buxton, ,Art Brut, ,Arts, ,Belle & Sebastian, ,Black Mountain, ,Cabaret, ,comedy, ,Dan Kitson, ,dirty projectors, ,Doc Brown, ,Eddie Argos, ,Emo Philips, ,environment, ,Everyman Playhouse, ,festival, ,film, ,Florence & the Machine, ,girls, ,glastonbury, ,grizzly bear, ,ian steadman, ,James, ,John Cooper Clarke, ,John Stammers, ,Jon McGregor, ,latitude, ,Latitude Festival, ,Laura Marling, ,leeds, ,Luke Wright, ,Mark Oliver, ,Mark Watson, ,Modern Toss, ,music, ,Nick Cave, ,opera, ,Phill Jupitus, ,rave, ,Reading, ,Rich Hall, ,richard hawley, ,Richard Herring, ,rodrigo y gabriela, ,Royal Shakespeare Company, ,Spoon, ,Standup, ,the big pink, ,the horrors, ,The National, ,The XX, ,These New Puritans, ,Tokyo Police Club, ,Vampire Weekend, ,Wild Beasts, ,Yeasayer

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