Metal Culture
Idea1
One of the key projects that has come out of Metal’s early research – as well as consultation and research that Vivacity have carried out over the last two years – was the need for the development of an online resource for artists, creatives and audiences to access a wide range of arts information about the city of Peterborough.
Metal ran a series of dinners at Chauffeurs Cottage with invited artists and others from across Peterborough to help shape the content of Idea1 throughout Spring 2013. Fifty two Peterborough-based artists, designers and creative industries were consulted. Recommendations for inclusion on the site were listings, review and video postings, discussion board, and monthly profiling of companies and artists.
The development of the online platform is now well underway. Peterborough-based web developer Lee Mason at Freethinking Design has been commissioned by Metal to undertake the work which is scheduled for ‘soft launch’ in July. The full launch is on track for early September as part of Peterborough Festival, and marketing and promotional materials to support are in development.
Local resident and artist, Ruth Campbell, has been appointed by Metal to assist in the setting up of the website, and populating the site on an on-going basis, with details of all the creative and cultural activity happening in Peterborough, interviews with artists, reviews of activities, a managing a (hopefully) lively forum.
We are at the point where we would love to get some information about your events to populate the site. Do not worry if the event has passed as the content can still be used to create an archive which the public can access and find out more about you and your organisation. If you want to be part of our website, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the following information about your past and future events:
Title of Event
Start Date
End Date
Time
Venue
Cost
Contact details for more info / website / twitter feeds / facebook page etc
Short paragraph description
Images – one lead image + as many back up images as you would like – please make sure they are high resolution, unpixelated images. If you have a flyer or poster you can send this too.
Future Network
We are launching Future Network, a quarterly, informal evening hosted by Metal for artists, organisations and creative businesses working in all disciplines to come together to discuss ideas, meet others and learn new skills.
First event is on Thursday 4 July at 6pm at Metal, Chauffeurs Cottage, St Peter's Road, Peterborough PE1 1YX.
The format of each evening is:
6pm – Norfolk and Norwich Festival Bridge has a mission to connect children and young people with arts and culture across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Peterborough and Suffolk with the vision that by 2015 those children and young people, wherever they live, will be enthused by, participating in and leading their arts and culture. They are funded by Arts Council England to be a generous relationship builder between schools and arts and cultural organisations for the benefit of children and young people. In Peterborough they are working with Vivacity, Peterborough Music Partnership and Peterborough Learning Partnership alongside individual artists and organisations to develop a Cultural Partnership with a focus on children and young people’s aspirations, opportunities and achievements.
Michael Corley is Head of Bridge. His background is in theatre made by, with and for young people. Steph Hogger is Programme Manager for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. She has a background in music education working for Arts Council England and Sing Up.
Michael and Steph will introduce you briefly to NNF Bridge with examples of what they have been doing so far. They will then work with you to find some practical answers to the following question – How do we create home-grown cultural leaders?
7pm – 7.30pm: 3 Minute Wonders - Up to 10 x 3 minute ‘open mic’ spots for artists/organisations to talk about new ideas, existing projects, opportunities coming up, or calls for support etc.
If you want to sign up for a slot, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it asap as booking fast.
7.30pm: Invited guest speaker Delaine le Bas will talk about her work with opportunity for Q&A
Delaine le Bas defines herself as a ‘Romani artist’. She makes installations that are raw and intense collections of drawings, handcrafted objects, textiles, found objects and images exploring intolerance, misrepresentation, displacement and homelessness that the Gypsy, Romani and Traveller communities continue to face daily. Recently Delaine’s practice has become one of artist/activist working with NGOs in Europe to campaign, advocate and promote the recognition of GRT communities, their culture and history.
Delaine will be working in Peterborough during the autumn as part of ‘To Gypsyland’, an exhibition/road trip curated by 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, supported by Metal and Vivacity; and funded by Arts Council England Strategic Touring Fund.
Lantern Parade Opportunities
Upon This Rock – Lantern Parade
Friday 6th September 7-8pm
Parades start at 7pm from:
Shamrock Park (top of Broadway)
Peterborough Museum (Priestgate)
Chauffeurs Cottage (St Peters Rd)
Culminating performance: Cathedral Square
Bring your family and friends for an unforgettably magical journey! Brought to you by Metal, 'Upon This Rock' is a visual and musical celebration of Peterborough and its people. Spectacular lantern parades peopled by hundreds of local schoolchildren and their families will start in four corners of the city and converge on Cathedral Square, filling the city centre with light, colour and sound. The event will feature a performance of a specially commissioned score by composer Jonathan Baker, performed by local musicians and musical groups. Using music and song, a number of residents of Peterborough will tell their own stories about how they and their families came to call the city ‘home’. Taking its inspiration from the idea of ‘home’ and from the city’s history of migration, dating back through the housing schemes of the 1960's and as far back as the celebrated bronze-age boats, the performance will embody the lives and journeys - great and small - that have led people to settle in Peterborough. Metal has pulled together an amazing artistic team to create this event including:
Artistic Director: Emma Bernard
Musical Director: Jonathan Baker
Lantern designers: Lantern Company plus local artists Stuart Payn, Jeni Cairns, Shashi Patel, Alex Lingford
Performance team includes (amongst others): Orton Wistow Primary School, Ken Stimpson Community School, Hampton College, St Thomas More RC Primary School
Opportunities to get involved:
PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS: Jonathan Baker has been commissioned to create a new musical score for the event and is seeking professional musicians to create a band at the heart of this open air event. Musicians will be required to be from Peterborough and the surrounding region and attend an audition. Those selected from the auditions will need to be available for rehearsals and the final performance over the full 3 day period from 4 – 6th September. The culminating performance will take place in the city centre from 6 – 8pm on 6th September.
Jon is particularly interested in recruiting the following musicians:
2 x trumpet
2 x trombone
2 x percussion
1 x keyboard/samplist
1 x bass/samplist
1 x guitar/percussion
1 x singer/fiddle player
Auditions will take place on the weekend of 15 and 16 June at Chauffeurs Cottage, St Peters Rd, Peterborough. Auditions will involve playing two short pieces of their choice, some relatively easy sight-reading, a short interview and involvement in a short workshop.
To state your interest and register for an audition please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 07908 970 424.
TELL YOUR STORY:
Are you a grandmother who has grown up in Peterborough? or
Did you or your parents move to Peterborough from another country? or
Perhaps you are a young parent with a child under the age of five?
Metal are seeking 16 ordinary people with extraordinary stories to tell, to incorporate into ‘Upon this Rock’. We are looking for people to represent the city of Peterborough, those who have a story to tell about why Peterborough is ‘home’ to them. You may simply want to tell us your story but you might also be interested in performing at the event.
To get involved drop in, have a cup of tea, meet the creative team and tell us your story:
Saturday 15 June 11am-12 noon or 2-3pm
Sunday 16 June 11.30am-12.30pm or 2-3pm
Venue: Chauffeurs Cottage, St Peters Rd, Peterborough, PE1 1YX
VOLUNTEER AT THE EVENT:
Metal are seeking a number of volunteers to assist at the event. This might be as parade manager, parade assistant, runners, wardrobe assistant or as event stewards. The event will be even more successful with the support of these valuable volunteers. It’s a great way to get involved in a community event, work towards accreditation or gives weight to a growing CV of experience. To register your interest and find out more please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
JOIN THE PARADE:
Each parade will have a theme. Watch this space for ideas on things to make, items to wear so that you can join in one of the parades.
Tabitha Moses wins Liverpool Art Prize 2013
The winners of Liverpool Art Prize 2013 were announced last night at an exciting evening at the Albert Dock. A large crowd gave a great ovation to Tabitha Moses who, for the first time in the 6 years the Prize has been running, won both the People's Choice prize and the overall prize.
Maureen Bampton, presented the People's Prize to Tabitha in memory of her son Joe Bampton and Michael Eakin, CEO of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, gave a glowing summary of the work of all four of the finalists; Kevin Hunt, Tabitha Moses, Julieann O'Malley and Laurence Payot, before presenting Tabitha with her cheque for £2,000.
Metal also announced that Sumuyya Khader had been awarded Metal's Studio Award and Manchester based artist Nicola Dale had been selected for the Metal International Residency which takes the form of a month long residency in Shanghai, hosted by Shanghai Art School.
(examples of their work can be seen below: A landscape drawing by Sumuyya Khader and '8866 Full Stops for Spinoza' by Nicola Dale.)
Photos courtesy of McCoy Wynne.
Afternoon Tea
Saturday 1 June 1-5pm
Afternoon tea for Metal volunteers at Chalkwell Hall
Volunteers Week is an annual campaign which takes place on 1-7 June and celebrates the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK.
Metal really appreciates the contribution of volunteers to the organisation. Volunteers help support and promote the work Metal does in the local community and also gives volunteers skills and life experiences to carry through with them. As well as the opportunity to meet and work alongside some interesting people!
'I worked at Village Green last year with my friend and we both enjoyed the day as well as gained experience! Everyone was very friendly and helpful which made it more enjoyable.'
'I volunteered at Village Green last year and really enjoyed it, which is the main reason I want to work there again this year.'
'I would love to help out in the running of an event which I've always enjoyed attending, as I feel this is very rewarding to me as a person.'
To thank past volunteers and bring on board new volunteers for the future, Metal is holding an event on Saturday 1 June. This fun event is being held at Chalkwell Hall in Chalkwell Park from 1-5pm. We are offering a chance to come and find out about the volunteering opportunities, have afternoon tea and, if you want, to take part in creating something unique for volunteers which we will display at Village Green 2013!
See our Volunteering page for more information about this year's opportunities.
(image courtesy: Getting Back Brahms blog)
Simon Fowler
The White Wall Space present 'Thames', an exhibition of local photographer Simon Fowler at Cafe Valise, Leigh Community Centre, Elm Road, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 1SP
Opening: Friday 16 May 2013
The exhibition will be open from 17 April - 14 June.
People's Choice Award in Memory of Liverpool Artist Joe Bampton
The 2013 Liverpool Art Prize, 'People's Choice Award' will be presented in fond memory of the Liverpool artist, Joe Bampton.
Joe, who in recent years lived in London, was an accomplished artist, attended Slade School of Fine Art and exhibited in places such as London, Paris and Berlin, as well as the Bridewell & the 'International' exhibition at the CUC in 2008, in Liverpool. Joe was tragically killed in February of this year in a hot air balloon disaster at Luxur, Egypt, Joe's partner Zsi also died in the incident.
Joe regularly returned to Liverpool to catch up with friends and spend time with his Mum, Maureen who is known to many lovers of art in Liverpool as the director of the Bluecoat Display Centre, supporting the sale of artists' work for over 25 years.
Joe would have been very keen to see artists in the city rewarded and for their careers to flourish. We want to honour his memory by presenting this year's 'People's Choice Award' in his name.
Metal is very grateful to Maureen Bampton for her kind donation to the Liverpool Art Prize.
Macoto Murayama
In May, Japanese artist Macoto Murayama is coming to Chalkwell Hall for his artist-in-residence stay.
His work is concerned with cultivating inorganic flora. First, he chooses the plant and finds the real flower, for example the exquisite Lathyrus odoratus L. Second, he dissects the flower cutting the petal and ovary with scalpel and observes it with magnifying glass. Third, he makes sketches and photographs the parts of dissected flower. Forth, he models its form and structure using 3ds Max (3DCG software). Fifth, he renders separate parts and creates a composition using Adobe Photoshop. Sixth, he imposes admeasurements, parts names, scale, scientific name etc. Seventh, he prints out Lathirus odoratus L. at large scale printer and frames it...
Here it is, The Flower of Totalitarian Scientific Conscious: properly fixed, totally measured, strictly nominated and distinctly shown. It is not only an image of a plant, but representation of the intellect’s power and its elaborate tools for scrutinizing nature. The transparency of this work refers not only to the lucid petals of a flower, but to the ambitious, romantic and utopian struggle of science to see and present the world as transparent (completely seen, entirely grasped) object. Paradoxically, this scientific challenge to measure the Universe might eventually become one of the sources where art of Murayama draws its strength of fantasy and odor of romanticism, becoming a part of Botech Art, symbiosis of Botanical Art and Technology.
For more information, see the Frantic Gallery's website.
Lathyrus odoratus L digital c-print, 100x100cm, 2012, Ed.8
front view - b
front view - ow
side view - b
side view - ow
top view - b
top view - ow
ecology view - b
ecology view - w
Liverpool Art Prize 2013 at The Grand Hall, Albert Dock
Liverpool Art Prize 2013 has got off to a really exciting start.
Metal managed to secure a space at The Albert Dock for this years’ exhibition and four hundred people packed into the historic venue on Thursday 25th April. Family and friends of the four shortlisted artists, Kevin Hunt, Tabitha Moses, Julieann O’Malley and Laurence Payot were joined by previous winners, David Jacques, Brendan Lyons, Imogen Stidworthy and Robyn Woolston and a whole array of personalities from Liverpool’s art scene alongside members of the public, creating a wonderful atmosphere. The exhibition is open Tues-Sat 11-5pm until Sat 8th June. The winners will be announced at 6pm on Wednesday 29th May.
The Art Prize now becomes the reference point to the wider Liverpool Art Month which showcases Liverpool’s artists across the city throughout the month of May and which includes bus tours to an exciting range of studios, exhibitions and talks
Images Courtesy of McCoy Wynne
Page 2 of 27