Arts news

Milton Keynes' Arty Party

5/6/2008

Arty Party! Friday 30th May 2008, 6pm - 8pm @ Inter-Action MK, The Old Rectory, Waterside, Peartree Bridge, Milton Keynes, MK6 3EJ

start, Inter-Action MK, Milton Keynes Gallery, Milton Keynes Theatre, Adult Continuing Education, MK Arts for Health and Artworks-mk are to co-host an arty-party for artists and creatives living or working in Milton Keynes and surrounding areas. The party is a celebration of the creative industries in Milton Keynes and promises to be a truly fun-filled night. It is an ideal opportunity to meet other creative people and share experiences, get advice and show-off what you do!

The co-hosts want to promote opportunities for artists in educational and community settings locally, and are keen to meet creative people working in this area, or looking to expand their practice. This exciting collaboration is ongoing and we'll be putting together seasonal events over the course of the next year to get to know local artists and arts groups and to cross-promote activities and opportunities.

There will be an opportunity to book a speed surgery with start - a 10 minute advise session on whatever questions you may have around developing your practice or creative business.

There will also be an opportunity for local artists to showcase their work through an electronic exhibition that makes use of the stunning Inter-Action site at Peartree Bridge. To submit an image of your work for inclusion email a jpeg image to start@artworks-mk.co.uk with 'Arty Party Exhibition' in the email header. Please include details of medium, dimensions (if applicable), and title in the email.

Live music and fantastic food will be provided. To rsvp email start@artworks-mk.co.uk or call 01908 608108.

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'Regrettable' snub for giant Caro sculpture

4/29/2008

A sculpture by Sir Anthony Caro, intended as a gift to the nation for permanent public display, has been rejected by council officials and could now be sold abroad for £2.5m.
Millbank Steps is made of more than 100 tonnes of rusted steel. Caro wanted to donate it to London. Parliament Square was among the mooted locations but it was turned down by Westminster City Council, the Art Newspaper will report this week.

ONE WEEK TO GO - Archway Wrapped Up! Design Competition

4/18/2008

Have your design seen by over 20,000 people a day and win 4 x £250 prizes!

Islington Council and The Rowan Arts Project have launched a brand new competition to bring colour and vibrancy to the town centre.

Design a pattern to wrap around Archway Street ’s kiosks and win a prize of £250 for each design commissioned.

The kiosk pattern could be a graphic image, print, or photo: the only requirement is that entries should be supplied digitally as a high resolution jpeg or PDF.

For more information and to download an artist brief and competition entry form, go to or email info@therowanartsproject.com

The deadline for entries is 9am Friday 25 April.

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YBA artist Angus Fairhurst dead at 41

3/31/2008

Damien Hirst and others pay tribute to 'brilliantly inventive' founding YBA, who has taken his own life


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Winner Announced for the MaxMara Art Prize for Women in Collaboration with the Whitechapel

3/26/2008

Iwona Blazwick, Director of the Whitechapel Gallery and Chair of the MaxMara Art Prize for Women, has announced artist Hannah Rickards as the winner of the prize.

The winner Hannah Rickards (b.1979) is the youngest of the short listed nominees. She was born and lives in London where she completed a BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins School of Art in 2002. Rickards’ sound installations translate a sound or occurrence in nature, re-interpreting it back into language or music.

Hannah Rickards was nominated for work including Birdsong, 2002 and Thunder, 2005. In Birdsong, 2002, Rickards recorded songs from six different birds, before lowering the pitch and replicating them with her own voice. In Thunder, 2005, commissioned by Media Art Bath for the Central United Reformed Church in Bath, she stretched an eight second recording of a thunderclap to eight minutes. The score was then transcribed by composer David Murphy to a musical score for six instruments, recorded and then reduced back to the length of the original thunderclap.

Hannah Rickards, winner of the second MaxMara Art Prize for Women comments “I am very pleased to be offered the chance to spend time on my work in Italy, and I very much look forward to having the opportunity of that time and space to develop my work further.”

Crouch End Open Studios 2008

3/25/2008

EXCITING NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Having successfully established Crouch End Open Studios as a stimulating and enjoyable local annual event, achieving over 1800 visitors last summer, in our 4th year we have decided to look outwards to include new media and venues. As well as showing our selected, high quality professional artists’ work in venues all over Crouch End, this year the Hornsey Town Hall will be specially opened for us to show a variety of work comprising installation, site specific work, sculpture, and artists’ films.

This listed 1930’s building will be a wonderful venue to show the work of CEOS sculptors and artist filmakers, alongside invited artists Jane Wildgoose and Damian Llambias, and a series of minute–long artists films, curated by Kerry Baldry .

The newly refurbished Gallery in the Hornsey Library will also be open to accommodate our extended opening hours: this year the Crouch End Open Studios 2008 weekend will include the preceding Thursday and Friday afternoons and evenings.

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Art forgery operation broken up by FBI and Spanish police

3/20/2008

· At least 1,000 collectors duped into buying fakes
· Fraudsters used eBay to target victims worldwide

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Major Arts Events in 2008

3/2/2008

Major arts world events coming up in 2008 include;

06 Mar 2008 - 01 Jun 2008 Whitney Biennial New York
27 Mar 2008 - 30 Mar 2008 Volta New York
27 Mar 2008 - 30 Mar 2008 Armory Show
05 Apr 2008 - 15 Jun 2008 Berlin Biennale
11 Apr 2008 - 14 Apr 2008 Circa Puerto Rico
16 Apr 2008 - 20 Apr 2008 Art Cologne
18 Apr 2008 - 21 Apr 2008 Art Brussels
23 Apr 2008 - 27 Apr 2008 European Media Art Festival
24 Apr 2008 - 27 Apr 2008 ViannAfair
24 Apr 2008 - 28 Apr 2008 Cige Peking
03 May 2008 - 11 Jan 2009 Carnegie International Pittsburgh
14 May 2008 - 25 May 2008 Festival de Cannes
15 May 2008 - 18 May 2008 Swab Barcelona
22 May 2008 - 24 May 2008 Loop Barcelona
03 Jun 2008 - 08 Jun 2008 Liste Basel
04 Jun 2008 - 08 Jun 2008 Art Basel
18 Jun 2008 - 07 Sep 2008 Biennale of Sydney
19 Jul 2008 - 02 Nov 2008 Manifesta 7 Trentino - Alto Adige
05 Sep 2008 - 09 Nov 2008 Gwangju Biennale
16 Oct 2008 - 19 Oct 2008 Frieze London
31 Oct 2008 - 03 Nov 2008 Art Forum Berlin
04 Dec 2008 - 07 Dec 2008 Art Basel Miami Beach

New museum dedicated to quilting and textile arts open in York in June 2008

2/26/2008

Europe's only museum dedicated to quilting and textile arts opens its new facility on 7 June 2008, in historic York’s medieval St Anthonys Hall. The Quilt Museum and Gallery will become the national headquarters of the Quilters' Guild of the British Isles and its world-famous Heritage Collection.

From 7 June, visitors young and old will be able to enjoy not only the wonderful colours, textures and patterns of quilts and textiles ancient and modern on display, but also be encouraged to find out more, and even try their hand at this traditional, and hugely popular, range of crafts.

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Banksy; new never-seen-before works go on sale

2/20/2008

Street satirist Banksy's work goes on sale
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