Royal weddings, afternoon teas and a whole lot of sunshine!

Well hello there! …  my my haven’t we been busy!!

It’s been a while! I have been rather crazily busy! We’re 5 weeks away till Cowley Xchange launch! we’re getting all the final details sorted and getting very excited and looking forward to getting going with our participants! whoop!

Well I’ve been gigging with TheVeilFalls around the local Oxford scene. Had some great reports and compliments and loved having the chance to get out there on the scene. Even got stopped in the street by a guy who saw us gig and gave us great encouragement. Getting to sing  at events and commissions which is rather cool!

Also loved getting to see Mike in his other band Praxis Bold and hear a lot of their new material. They are playing in Brighton later this month! BOOM!  was a real privilege to sing with his band at one of their gigs and be part of the action. They are great musicians!

Had some time off recently so been getting into the arty side and looking to do more painting and creating, song writing and designing. I even went back to knitting a baby blanket and going back to arts and crafts and making jewellery.. getting right into the creative juices eh?!

OoOOo – and talking of artiness- for those who have been ‘watching this space’ I did get the job at Modern Art Oxford working on their Art Trolley so I get to do lots of fun creative things with families!

Have met with my mentor recently Janine which has been very helpful. Getting me to think passed my little bubble and see my pitfalls! always helpful, never comfortable! She is a very knowledgeable woman and actually a great aid and I think that we could possibly end up having more hang out time after this project!

Have spent a bit of time with a friend talking about photography and learning the new skills for Gold Arts Award. Lots of books for reading and getting to learn the lingo!  Have let it slipped a little but do want to get this nailed with taking good pics.

what else…? I spent time working with Dancin’ Oxford and working with Miranda and her team. Went to Brighton and spent time with Moving Voices and joined in their consultation and celebration sessions. I got to share about my involvement with Dancin’ Oxford and to share what I learned from my experience.
Also talking of dance – started to do more bits with my youth group again. I think summer just brings out the fun in activities so I am really really hoping to do a regular session with the girls and do some choreography and possibly showcase later on this year! Bring it on!

so all in all it’s been a  very active few weeks but the busiest is yet to come and the fun yet to be had. I am looking forward to having a successful ‘Cowley Xchange’ project and having great workshops with our participants and showcasing at Cowley Road Carnival. This should be a great time and event to look forward to! If you are from the Cowley Road area and want to get involved then get in touch!  you can get more details from our facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_180667935313840&ap=1

sorry to have left it so long…. I’ll try to not leave it so long next time….

xx   : p

APV for URBAN III – Metz

I am in Metz this weekend for the APV (Advanced Planning Visit) for Urban III. Shockingly to date I havent eaten a single easter egg on Easter sunday, but have had a hot cross bun as part of our intercultural dinner/breakfast…so not all is lost!

Sketchy arrival from the Estonian representative who lost his card in Brussels, and a mammoth 30 hours for the poor Bulgarian representative! It makes me really appreciate how lucky I was with traveling. 6 hours door to door!

There are 5 representatives for the APV; from Estonia, Bulgaria, England, Italy and The Czech Republic; But 35 participants all together, with Poland and France co-operating in Urban III as well.   

I wasn’t too sure what to expect from the APV or exactly what we would be covering,  but we now have a good (but suitably flexible) plan for the exchange. We discussed many possible workshops that we could run as part of the 10 day exchange, but finally decided on 3. They are Communications and Documenting, Graffiti Techniques, Graffiti Animation and Graphic Design. I will be running the Communications and Documenting Workshops. This will be a great for my leadership skills as the ‘Cowley Xchange’ begins the day that I return home.

We have also planned some interactive group workshops; These are based around the issues that graffiti creates in society and how they are dealt with both by the local governments and artits themself.  Hopefully the exchange will create and develop links between participants from the different participating counties and we will be able to create a youth network of grafiti artists across europe. The Exchange should also teach participants new skills and hopefully generate a wealth of art work; both  individual and collaborative.

I have learnt some good planning techniques (especially for timetabling…an essential skill when it comes to planning workshops, and something which I have found difficult in the past to do efficiently) I’m very much looking forward to the Youth exchange itself now….just need my English participants!

Alfredo Jaar’s – ‘La Geometira de la Conciencia’ 2010

“It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there” – William Carlos Williams

 

The Chileans Artist Alfredo Jaar uses art as a powerful tool to analyse and address global issues. I was lucky enough to visit his instillation ‘La Geometira de la Conciencia’ 2010, at the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos.  The instillation acts as a memorial to the atrocities committed during the Pinochet regime (1973 – 1990) reminding the viewer of the eternal pain inflicted on Chile and its people.

To reach the instillation the viewer descends 33 steps which are walled on both sides. These walls act like a funnel forcing the viewer down in to a small confined space, limiting ones freedom. The steps lead to a preliminary room which is bathed in shadows. The viewer walks though the shadowed room and through a sliding door in to a space measuring 5m X 5m. When the door smoothly slides shut behind you the room is entirely dark for 60 seconds. Slowly the back wall begins to light up. The wall is covered with the silhouettes of nameless faces both of people who died fighting the regime in Chile, and living Chileans from Santiago’s streets. The indistinguishable mix of people both dead and alive suggests unresolved problems which the living must face. The faces become unbearably bright. Suddenly you notice the side walls are mirrors. The reflection of the faces in these mirrors seems to go on forever. This reminds us that those who fought against the regime should not be forgotten; the pain that they suffered is eternal, and continues to this day intertwined with the lives of living Chileans.

The brightness remains for 60 seconds and then once again the viewer is plunged in to darkness. However the negative silhouettes of the faces of the victims are burned on to your eyes, causing discomfort, but nothing compared to that experienced by the Chilean people from 73 to 90. Automatically your eyes try to blink away the memory of this sight, as people all over the world really did do, both during the military regime and after it ended. The darkness this time is more intense and lonely; this gives the viewer time to consider the effect of the regime on the people of Chile, both alive and dead. After a further 60 seconds the door slowly slides opens and you are allowed out to freedom; however the memory and the pain of the nameless people remain.