Category: My Medway

The Illustrator’s Art

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Prints by Andrzej Krauze, Lynn Hatzius and Matthew Pagett
Craft Case – Books by Kaho Kojima and Chisato Tambayashi
9. Screenprint 2012 Andrerzj Krauze
The Illustrator’s Art celebrates the work of Andrzej Krauze, Lynn Hatzius and Matthew Pagett, and explores the influence of narrative and figurative expression transferred from illustration to fine art through printmaking.

Lynn Hatzius experiments with a combination of collage and printmaking. Her recent work, inspired by the anonymity of found material, alters the physicality of her portrait subjects by adding images of nature, to suggest loss, growth and completeness.

RCA graduate Matthew Pagett received the 2012 New Graduate Award at londonprintstudio. Using new techniques at the studio, he has been evaluating new ideas through printmaking.

Andrzej Krauze, a leading political cartoonist in his native Poland, became known for his extraordinary illustrations in The Guardian. A master of producing wry, ironic, sometimes scary images, the bold paper-cut images in this exhibition represent a radical departure from his normal line-drawing style.

Craft Case

Two londonprintstudio artists Kaho Kojima and Chisato Tambayashi will be exhibiting their exquisite hand-cut, embossed and pop-up printed books in the craft cases.

Events

Free artist talk
Sat, 28 Sep, 1 – 2.30pm
Meet John Phillips from londonprintstudio to find out more about the studio and the work, inspiration and techniques of the exhibiting artists. No need to book, just turn up.

Free family printmaking workshops
Sun, 11 Aug, 10.30am – 12.30pm and 1.30 – 3.30pm
Families can try a range of simple printmaking techniques in these fun workshops led by Medway Fine Printmakers. Suitable for accompanied children aged seven years and over, free but must be pre-booked.

Adult printmaking workshops
To complement the exhibition, Medway Fine Printmakers are conducting printmaking workshops at their Rochester studios.
More information is available on www.medwayfineprintmakers.co.uk

Medway Fine Printmakers are the only open access printmaking studios in Medway, recently formed when Printed Wonders and Coalshed Press joined forces to share equipment and ideas. They provide workshops and training in silk-screen printing, lino and wood-cut block printing, solar and traditional etching and letterpress printing and fabric printing.

This exhibition has been curated with londonprintstudio a leading artist-led print studio and one of the longest established professional print studios in Central West London, known for its work with leading artists, and with different communities.

Advance booking is essential as places are limited. Phone 01634 338319 or emailarts@medway.gov.uk

For more information about Rochester Art Gallery and Craft Case please visitwww.medway.gov.uk/arts phone 01634 338319 or email arts@medway.gov.uk.

Rochester Art Gallery and Craft Case, Medway Visitor Information Centre, Ground Floor, 95 High Street, Rochester, Kent, ME1 1LX.

Moment to Moment – A Pilgrimage

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A touring exhibition of sculpture by Randy Klein

On display daily in Rochester Cathedral 3rd – 26th August

Free entry

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The Artist

Randy Klein is an artist with an international reputation; with works in collections such as at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York,the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate, and the Brooklyn Museum. He has exhibited widely in the US and Europe, with solo exhibitions at the Midland Arts Centre (MAC) and the European Academy.

Randy Klein’s work is narrative in nature, and explores the themes of transformation and transcendence. Klein’s work casts an ironic eye on daily life and our attachment to the physical world while suggesting a bridge into the world of spirituality. In his simple modern fable ‘il supermercato’ (a work presently in the collection of the Tate and the Museum of Modern Art in

New York) a journey down the aisles of a supermarket leads to a discovery of spiritual grace. In the touring exhibition ‘Images Out of Dante’. Klein explores Dante’s vision of heaven and hell in sculpture. The 10 ft. ‘Poetry Angel’ from this exhibition was acquired by the city of Ravenna, Italy, and stands in the courtyard of the ‘Classense’ next door to the Tomb of Dante.

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Moment to Moment – a Pilgrimage

Moment to Moment – a Pilgrimage is a collection of more than 100 sculptures which together make up a single narrative. The work has been seen in public venues in Italy, first in Savona and most recently at the Palazzo Vernazza Lecce, where it was very enthusiastically received by both critics and the general public. Seeing over 100 sculptures in the heavy, worldly materials of bronze, steel, and copper gives great tactile enjoyment, whilst at the same time the journey the exhibition describes and the sheer number of the works included creates a sense of something beyond the physical world. All with a sense of irony and a lightness of touch.

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Moment to Moment – a Pilgrimage is a journey which transforms the playful depiction of the ‘stuff’ of daily life – the exuberance of childhood, family, relationships, as well as cars, trees, the doors and windows of home – into a spiritual awakening. The pilgrimage proceeds to a tranquillity, floating above, in a higher world.

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LitFest Garden Party to cap a BIG Weekend for Medway

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Medway’s Big Weekend is upon us! http://rochesterlitfest.com/the-garden-poetry-party-2012/

Jaye's avatarRochester Literature Festival

The weekend of Friday, July 12th to Sunday July, 14th will see Rochester and the wider Medway come alive for what’s being termed Medway’s Big Weekend.

RLF Garden Party poster 2013

Having made a fantastic debut at Eastgate House Gardens last year, we’re holding  our Summer Garden Party on Sunday 14th July, at the Good Intent Pub in John Street, Rochester, between 12noon and 4pm. Join us for a delightful cultural mix of performances, open mic, storytelling and a special edition of Seasonally Effected.

For the first time, the RLF is a part of the Medway Open Studios and Arts Festival, which begins on Saturday, July 13th. If you’re out and about on the Sunday, pop in to the garden of the Good Intent on your travels between the artist’s studios in and around Rochester.

We’ve ensnared those lovely folk, the ME4 Writers, who will be in situ in a new Word…

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But will it be on the jelly box?

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One of the most exciting programmes to hit Medway and Swale in recent times (quite a statement when you consider how much is going on) is Creative People and Places: Swale and Medway, a project determined to let local people shape their arts provision and give them the opportunity of taking part in activities they wouldn’t normally think were for them. Check out the awesome video and read on …

Great news then, that the first round of funding – the Small Experiment applications of up to £2000 – will open on June 17th. This is not your traditional project funding, mind, so you must be very clear about what you want to test and why, and how it will inspire a broader range of involvement from, and collaboration with, local residents and community and voluntary groups.

To find our more about the application process and eligibility, sign up at CreativePeoplePlace.info (scroll down to add your details, and to nominate a community catalyst or three) and drop in to one of the two informal events taking place this month, so you can meet new Creative Enabler and Programme Director, Steph Fuller, plus some more of the team.

Medway: Tuesday, June 18th from 7pm – 9pm at Gillingham Library, High St. ME7 1BG

Swale: Wednesday, June 26th from 7pm -9pm at Pulse Café, 29 Park Road, Sittingbourne. ME10 1DR

No booking required is required and some refreshments will be available.

If you can’t make the above dates, some one-to-one sessions with Steph will be available across Swale and Medway until at least mid-July. Check her diary and email to say “Hello, how lovely it will be to meet you.”

Creative People and Places: Swale and Medway was awarded funding by the Arts Council, after both areas were identified as having low arts engagement within their communities. It’s an action research programme aiming to engage and re-imagine the arts as a valued and integral part of local people’s everyday life.

So, if you’re a local resident, part of an arts organisation or a member of a community or voluntary group and have the motivation to make interesting things happen locally, they want to hear from you.

I’m ready for my close up …

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A new cultural event in Medway has been gaining lots of friends recently, with its eclectic mix of any and everything.

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Seasonally Effected, produced by the tireless Roy Smith, occurs on the last Wednesday of the month in Rochester, usually in the Dot Cafe but last night, sad circumstances required a switch of venue to coFWD – how well did they adapt to an extremely last minute request? With their customary awesomeness, of course.

The theme of this cultural open mic is to be the time of year, interpreted any way you like. A highlight last night, for example, was the ‘Mollusc Mayday’ film – complete with maypole dancing snails. It’s an image I won’t forget quickly for its brilliance – kudos to Chris of Hand of Stabs for that one.

I made my debut at the mic, with a tiny piece about the first Oscars ceremony and first all-colour talkie, On With The Show, both premiering in May 1929, and linking in a video from the film. This I followed with the official Skyfall teaser trailer and the collaborative, much more professional home made version by coFWD (which I’m in and have shared with you before). Then I showed Richard De Soussa Silva’s Sunny Day video (which I’m in and have shared with you before!)

And that’s when I thought I could sit down and relax. But Mdhamiri decided to show his short film (which I’m in but can’t share yet, due to competition rules he’s entered into) and then up popped Stuart Turner of The Flat Earth Society with his new song and video, The Making of Landscape. And guess what? Yes, I’m in it and I can share, since it’s already out there on Youtube! The zombies come courtesy of Mdhamiri and Roy, who were making a film called Zombocity (I’ve shared a couple of photos and a very short trailer previously, see the Sunny Day link above for that) which sadly, suffered a bit of a malfunction and is now in a dry lab hopefully being recovered. Anyhoo, here’s the video:

And you’d think that would’ve been quite enough showing off for one night, but no. 2013 BBC Writer’s Prize winner, Sarah Hehir, asked if I could play one of the parts in her short play (impressed by my earlier performances, clearly ;)) so I ended up in the final piece, rounding off a cracker of an evening.

Another wonderful aspect to the night was having artist Nigel Adams respond with live art as the event unfurled. The image at the top of the post is his work from Part One; this is Part Two:

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A massive thanks to Roy for instigating this rapidly growing cultural must – check out the Seasonally Effected blog for pod casts of each event  and dates for the next. The hasty venue change means we may not have the pod cast for this month, but don’t let it stop you enjoying the rest. A full list of last night’s participants will appear there shortly too.

Call out for an MA in Doing: Collaborative Research Group

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CRATE are pleased to announce a call out for applicants for a Collaborative Research Group, an alternative education programme conceived of as an MA in Doing.

Collaborative Research Group will bring together a group of 6 regional arts practitioners (artists, curators, organisers, writers, researchers and thinkers) based in Kent who are interested in collaborative working and the pluralities of contemporary visual art practice (producing, curating, organising, writing, etc.). It is envisaged the researchers will already hold a qualification at degree level in a related subject, and have started to establish a practice post-University. This programme is proposed to be both an alternative and complimentary to post-graduate and research-based education, and places itself directly in the art-world and academia.

CRG will run from September 2013 until April 2015 and is generously funded by ICR European Regional Development Fund, Kent County Council and University of the Creative Arts.

Please refer to the website http://www.collaborativeresearchgroup.co.uk for further information about CRG and details for how to apply.

That was the weekend that was

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Last weekend, to be precise, when I got drunk on rose wine, twice. In fact, having two bottles of wine in the space of 36 hours made me a little bit wobbly, if I’m honest. But I was held steady by the wonderful friends who plied me with said wine, so that was ok.

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So on Friday, it was over to one of Medway’s not-so-hidden gems, the Cafe Maroc. It’s small but perfectly formed and once you’ve been there, you’ll be telling everyone you know about it. Not only is it different, the service is fantastic and the food gorgeous.

The owner, whose name escapes me but I’m going to call Sweayne (on account of the fact that he reminds me of both Sean Lock and Wayne Hemingway) doesn’t bother with the trivial, paper based boringness of a menu. Instead, he sits with you and verbally runs through whatever it is he’s decided to cook that evening – much more civilised than the same set meal, don’t you think? So you can ask those questions directly: “How hot is it?” “Is it crunchy or chewy” “Ketchup or brown sauce with that?”

We hadn’t actually booked, which was a bit silly, considering there are only three tables. But Sweayne was very accommodating and let us eat in the lounge area, after sending us up the road to the offie for a couple of bottles – they’re not yet licensed at the Maroc, but you can BYO. I felt like a 14 year old, stealing out to bagsy some booze to quaff round the corner …

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As you can see, I was that taken with the delights on offer, the camera wasn’t spared a thought until it was nearly all gone. With decent portion sizes at a very reasonable price, you can still top up with lovely home made lemon drizzle or fruity Guinness cake and the most heavenly minty herbal tea I’ve ever tasted. Trust me, I even texted someone about it, I was that impressed.

Open as a cafe during the day, and a bistro restaurant in the evening, you can find Cafe Maroc at the Chatham end of Rochester High Street.

Moving on to Saturday and it was meeting up time with my bessie mate who sadly lives in Essex. Consequently, we normally meet up halfway, at Lakeside. Not today! I said – we’re going Up West … but only as far as the East. A quick stop at Chez Sue to meet the family, with new addition Robbie (the lovely Schnauzer) and then a side stop at Westfield to view the Olympic Park (I’ve now seen it from afar when being constructed and de-constructed) thanks to Sue’s friend, who rescued us at Buckhurst Hill station when we learned the Central Line was buggered (techy term, won’t bore you with the details).

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A spot of lunch thrown in (where the other bottle of rose was consumed) and we headed out on the Docklands Light Railway down to my old home, the Isle of Dogs. We didn’t misspend our youth there, really, we had an awesome time, mainly drinking and dancing and being chatted up with the same chat up line every time: “Are you two sisters?” No?! No, we’re not – I’m four inches taller and we look nothing alike. But even the waitress in Westfield asked if we were related, which cracked us up. (Sue’s the one in middle of the group shot, at the front – see for yourself!) Does everyone else get that, when you’re sat with someone with the same hair and eye colour? I think not. I can understand it when we were little because we were always together – our mums used to park us in our prams, side by side outside the shops. Now, not so much!

Our final destination was The George pub, on the corner of a street I used to live in, where my dad and brother played darts, and where I’d buy a big bottle of coke and a few bags of cheese and onion crisps for me and my mum to share while we watched M.A.S.H. Funny the things you remember so vividly, isn’t it?

One of our school friends, Jayne, decided to put a call out to our school year, thinking half a dozen of us would turn up. Cue about 50! It was rammed and great to find out what everyone has been up to and how they’ve changed. And play ‘Guess Who?’ At which point, as soon as the name was said, there was instant recognition – eyes never change, I’ve decided.

Back home the next day, for a final flurry in a busy weekend, watching my eldest in his cup final. It started so well – one – nil down to a penalty after a minute *rolls eyes* but back came the Medway Lions, with said eldest rising like a hot air balloon in a helium factory to head home the equalizer. 3-1 up with five minutes to go but he doesn’t like to let us relax – the last cup final he was in, they went 4-0 up just to be pulled back to 4-4 before running out 6-4 winners – this time, their opponents got one back to leave us all biting our nails before the whistle finally went. I still maintain it was 3-1 though, since their second goal was from their number 5 who should’ve been sent off in the first half …  don’t get me started.

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This weekend, I’m planning a quiet one. Apart from the theatre on Saturday night. Oh, and cricket on Sunday. Maybe next weekend?

Hear that lion roar!

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Yep, that would be me! I recently took part in a sweding workshop at coFWD,  the coworking space at 161 Rochester High Street, and brilliant fun it was too! The awesome Sophie and Mdhamiri led us through it, overseeing roles such as Director and Location Manager, although we all mucked in with props and sound effects. This is the result – you can also see photos on the coFWD blog.

Sweding is becoming more and more popular – basically taking your favourite movie or trailer and remaking it from scratch, sourcing all your own props and creating your own scenery and locations. This is the Skyfall teaser trailer we used – why not get a bunch of mates together, take your pick from all those fantastic movies out there and give it a go?

If you’re in Medway and you don’t have a bunch of creatives to hook up with, you’ll find some of the coFWD community at the Deaf Cat in Rochester High Street on Monday morning, from 9.30am. Otherwise known as Tuttle, it’s a chance to mingle with a bunch of like minded souls, bounce a few ideas around over a coffee and otherwise chill out in company who might just spark a few ideas inside you. See you there 🙂

Photo Gallery: Rochester Sweeps Festival – Wolfshead and Vixen

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As a member of Wolfshead and Vixen (in training), I did rather go overboard with photos of them – specially Vixen dancing ‘Vixen’s Revenge’ since that’s the one dance I know!

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Photo Gallery: Rochester Sweeps Festival 2013

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