In the first of our Salon evenings at Chalkwell Hall last night, celebrated writer Iain Sinclair (Whitchapel Scarlet Tracings, Downriver, Lights Out for the Territory, Rodinsky's Room, Hackney That Rose-Red Empire) read from his unpublished work-in-progress about his search for the London Stone and his subsequent mission to actually touch it.  He talked about his connection with the River Thames, clearly visible from the veranda of Chalkwell Hall, his affection for the landscape of Southend and his mammoth walking project travelling on foot the entire distance of the A13 from London all the way to its end at the Shoeburyness Garrison in Southend-on-Sea.

The audience packed into the rooms at Chalkwell Hall, spilling out on the veranda, enjoying the talk on a series of linked screens courtesy of Southend's Digital Exploration Centre (DEC), beaming the speakers live into every nook and cranny of the old Grade II listed house - including out onto the veranda and into the public Chalkwell Park.  It was a fantastic mix of the old and new.

Our next Salon event is planned for Wednesday 2 June.  Speakers for this event include BBC oral historian Alan Dein, poet Stephen Watts and film-makers Phill Maxwell and Hazuan Hashim.  Tickets cost £5 which includes a light meal and two drinks.  The event starts at 8pm, with an opportunity to see the latest film by Phill Maxwell and Hazuan Hashim earlier at 7pm.  To purchase tickets, please click here or contact Metal on 01702 470700.  For more information and biographies on all the speakers, please click here.

Metal’s 3 Minute Wonders (a five week CPD programme for 28 artists) came to a successful end this week. As a professional development programme for artists and creative practitioners who were keen to learn how to improve their presentation skills, 3 Minute Wonders - a means of presenting work using ten slides in three minutes - proved to be really useful and enjoyable too.

Those who took part learnt how to capture the attention of the audience and put across the essence of their practice in an engaging and precise manner. 3 Minute Wonders attracted artistically diverse participants – (visual, theatre, film, graphic and lighting) – some of whom travelled from relatively afar, Surrey, Suffolk, London, to what is now becoming increasingly recognised as a cultural hub of activity, Southend on Sea.

What initially started out as a learning activity, soon turned into a support group with working relationships developed in the process. Feedback indicates that this has been a great opportunity to step out of a comfort zone and hone some new skills.

Many thanks to all those who took part. In no particular order they were:-

Sophia Simensky; Nikki Durbridge; Leezac Robinson; Lee Sullivan; Kristina Simenski; Jonathan Kipps; Katy Scott; Joanna Hartle; Ian Hurd; Tanya Knight; Hayley Lock; Gordon Flemons; Gerald Curtis; David Watkins; Andy Barak-Smith; Amy McKenny; Dan Davies; Deborah D’auria; Nastassja Simensky;

Guest speakers were:-

Mario Borza; Pat And Trevor; Lucy Harrison; Hugh Dichmont

Watch this space for future and follow-up. If you are interested in future opportunities at Metal please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

An exhibition at Edge Hill Station constructed by the First Year Fine Art Students of LJMU’s Art Academy. This collection of work from the students celebrates ‘Art in the Kensington community’, working with local residents and the location and memories of Edge Hill Station, in order to produce a captivating array of artworks.  Made as part of the 'Autonomy' project, a new module for the first year Fine Art course at LJMU.

Exhibiting artists; Rebecca Foster, Kieran Harris, Rod Laughton, Holly Nicholls, Lucy Somers and Mark Tierney.

We are looking for volunteers to fill a selection of small acting roles in the upcoming 'Ballad of Juniper Davy and Sonny Lumière'; a specially commissioned promenade performance of poetry and live music written by Rebecca Joy Sharp (Metal, Liverpool resident artist 2009) and presented in collaboration with visual artist Elizabeth Willow (Liverpool Art Prize People's choice award 2009).
It will take place from 11 - 15th May 2010 at Edge Hill Station.
Actors will each need to commit to a minimum of three days; Mon 10th May - Fri 14th May 6pm-10pm and Sat 15th May 1pm-10pm and to one or both of the following rehearsal dates; Weds 5th May 6-10pm and Thurs 6th May 6-10pm.

We need:
3 x females aged 18-40
4 x males/females aged 18-40
2 x males aged 35-50

If you are interested please fill in a volunteer form and email it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it before Thursday 29th April.
Please call (0151)7072277 for more details.

On Tuesday 16th March we held a Future Station meeting at Edge Hill Station. Each member was asked 'what is bothering you?' and we were met with a variety of responses, the group then discussed how some of these issues could be resolved creatively.
We were joined by Luciana Berger the Labour and Co-Operative Prospective parlimentary candidate for Liverpool Wavertree who wanted to know our opinions on how the government could better support arts and culture.

Below are some drawings made by Ailie Rutherford who was doing some live drawing throughout the meeting.  The three drawings represent; preparing the meal, the meeting taking place and finally us eating!

Metal has been working with Liverpool John Moores University first year students on their 'Autonomy' project. We had the pleasure of listening to their exciting plans for artworks. The Students gave wonderful presentations and were each given advice from Jenny Porter from Metal, Eliza Brittles from 20 Stories High, Vinny Lawrenson Woods from Culturepool and Visual artist Katriona Beales.   

I ended February with an exciting trip to Munich. Following on from Metal's involvement in "Open Here" www.open-here.eu which brought together artists from six european cities in 2007, Dr. Martin Rohmer from the Department of Arts and Culture in Munich has again invited Metal to participate in a project that will, pending a successful bid to the EU, bring 13 participating cities and arts organisations an exciting opportunity to explore new and innovative ways to develop residency programmes and create new opportunties for artists.

Below is an image of work made by Munich based artist, Ina Ettlinger who has a studio at the impressive 'Platform 3' www.platform3.de. I'm happy to report that the beer and bratwurst in Munich are as good as ever.
Aufweidersein.
Ian B