It just gets better n' better

Howl shop on Borough Road, (where Jarred's Art Shop was) and stockists of our underground Zine Making it Look Accidental are now on......yes....on line...

Check the mofu out here;

Howl

www.howlonline.co.uk

GREAT NEWS

Blu-er than a Blu-thing..............

Making it Look Accidental (our underground Art Zine) has teamed up with 'I'm Afraid of Everyone' to bring you a massive (and quite sinister) zine launch.

Friday October the 22nd, Writer's Block (95-97 Albert Road)

We have our own stage, so, look forward to performances, zine stalls, art and booze.

Lots of booze

After Party in Blu bar. :D

London Art'ery

Tate Modern Paul Gauguin 30/09/10-16/01/11

Camden Arts Centre Simon Starling- Never The Same River (Possible Futures, Probable Pasts)
10/12/10-20/02/11

London Art'ery

Upcoming Events

Frieze Art Fair, Regents Park, Primrose Hill, NW1 4NR 14-17/10/2010

Affordable Art Fair, Battersea Park Road, SW11 4NJ 21-24/10/2010

Close Encounters, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, Chelsea, SW7 2AP
25-31/10/2010

Factory Nights in Cullercoats & Berwick-upon-Tweed by Disparate Dan

I was lucky enough to be invited along to two of these artist led, commission and collaboration opportunities, organised by the people at rednile, along with another Informal Art accomplice.

The first one was at the Dove Marine Laboratory, slightly different to the usual format, as scientists were also present, therefore encouraging a new kind of interaction between artists and scientists. The Dove is part of Newcastle Universities School of Marine Science and Technology, and has been in operation for over one hundred years.

Located right on the beach, a tour was given by the Deputy Director, Dr Jane Delany, (a specialist in the study of transferrence of micro-organisms and bacteria worldwide, in ships ballast), into the research facilities, equipment and hidden spaces. Glass tanks full of creatures such as lobster's, cod and crabs, and non-native species, like the very aggressive signal crayfish, bubbled away in the dank, gloomy surroundings.

Cath Keay, former artist in residence, gave a short presentation on the work she produced during her stay in 2008, a series of terracotta text works, one of which was 'Fecundity'. This work was crated up, and placed under the pier to be washed over by many tides, which caused the sculpture to be colonised by pest organisms (such as barnacles), to be removed at a later date, then placed in tanks on the roof of the lab. All this was recorded on film. Fascinating stuff.

It is always interesting to see how your fellow artists work, so, a short session of networking followed, sadly, all too short, but very informative, with several local artists working in many different mediums. Very inspiring.

More info on the work of the laboratory at; University of Newcastle, Dove link

The second night was at Martins The Printers at Spittal, run in collaboration with Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival. This was also located right beside the seashore, with a history dating back to 1892. Originally an old ironworks producing shovels and farm implements, for shipment to the Empire, (no, not the one in 'Boro...) it now houses a family run print business.

After a some very delicious home made sausage rolls and fruit cake, the Managing Director, Chris Hardie, took all twenty of us on a very informative tour, highlighting the old parts of the building, and the modern digital equipment. One of their specialisms is 'print on demand' books, which can be literally one book, hand bound on site in a variety of finishes. Sadly, much of the mainstream printing work can be done 30% to 50% cheaper in China, and Chris thinks that e-books will gradually take over the market, as they are already being used in schools and Universities up and down the country. Currently, they produce work for English Heritage, Letts, Collins and many other special interest companies.

Afterwards, we retired to the Stage Door Bar at the Maltings Theatre in town, for refreshments and further chatter. We will shortly receive proposal forms for work, inspired as a direct result of the nights in question.

rednile have been doing inspiring working sessions for about five years now, however, this particular project has come to an end. I look forward to new initiatives from Michael, Janine and Suzanne, rumour has it that a Teesside link up is in the offing.......

www.rednile.org for further information, and www.berwickfilm-artsfest.com/artist-trail for information on the festival.

Call for Edgy Penwork and Suchlike by Disparate Dan

It's for the second volume of the well received Zine, "I'm Afraid of Everyone"
Four pages have been devoted solely to guest contributor's.....how good is that?

So, if you can scrawl about four to five hundred words on something edgy, slightly unsettling, maybe even funny or, (cleverer still) writings of a satirical nature, send them to; michael.t.hann@googlemail.com for consideration. Art work along the same lines is also sought. The pages are only A5 in size, so bear that in mind before putting pen to paper.

My suggestion is you buy a copy of Vol. 1, (for a lot less than it costs for a beer and a burger), from either the Arc in Stockton, or the nice people at Writer's Block, who currently reside at the We Are Open Pop-Up Studio, opposite the Town Hall in 'Boro. That way you can tune in to the flavour of the Zine, before starting your masterpiece.

Oh, and the deadline is on Bonfire Night, which is handy, so you can burn all your failures as well.

Check out the blog at: imafraidofeveryonemh.blogspot.com, for even more info.

Things this week

Hey everyone,

Things to look out for this week are:

Wednesday 22rd:
Teesside University fine art MA show! Which starts at 6pm, is in the Athena building, and should be amazing.

Thursday 23rd:
An informal meeting in mima at 4pm to discuss getting studio spaces together in Middlesbrough. Anyone who is interested is welcome to come along.

Friday 24th:
New opening at the Python gallery! Starts at 5:30pm.

'Apples' Northern Stage review by Disparate Dan

Right after the lush starter, the Teen Commandments, my compatriots and I went up to Stage 2 for the main event,Stage 2 is a much larger space with banked seating one would normally expect in a theatre, whilst still retaining an air of intimacy with the cast. Two rows from the front, we stared in anticipation at the six painted chairs set out on the Stage before us. Whatever it was going to be like, we were about to get a very up close and personal experience of it, for sure.
Three fifteen year old girls and three lads, set about showing life, Adam and Eve style, with drugs, sex, party rape, OCD, violence and the harsh reality of being a mam way too young. Eve was the try anything girl (played by Therase Neve), under age Empire goer, experimental drug taker and party animal supreme (even when her mam was dying). Adam (played by Scott Turnbull) was the obsessive compulsive ( "I had to shut me mam's drawer seven times..."), sometime dirty book loft lurker, completely smitten with Eve. Gary, (played by Louis Roberts) was the archetypical chav thug, complete with bicce'd baldy head and tucked in trackie bottoms. He was going to have his way with the girls, conscious or not..... Claire (played by Jodie Byrne) was the one who gets caught with the kid, curtailing her Ibeza ambitions. Debbie (played by Abagail Moffatt) doubled as Eve's clubbing mate and Adam's mam. Ben (played by Dylan Edge) teamed up with Adam in his 'walk on the wild side' in pursuit of Eve, and also played his violent dad. Grittily portrayed, with genuine emotion and laughter in equal measure, no punches are pulled in this snapshot of reality involving our teens of today.Set in 'Boro, but it could be any where in the UK, as the same issues are present. The ending? for some, too sudden, but then again life often ends abrubtly, so I thought it was perfect. Go and see it, it's on until the the 25th of September, worth every penny of the £8.50 ticket price.

The Teen Commandments Review by Disparate Dan

The Teen Commandments was a summer long project designed as a response to Richard Milward's critically acclaimed play, 'Apples', by mima's voluntary youth group, The Modern Times.
Members of the group have a close affinity with the same region in which the play was set, our very own 'Boro. Part of the response was to produce artwork, costumes,photographs, films and material for the stage. The Teen Commandments was an incredibly brave undertaking, seeing as none of the participants had done any acting before. It was my first visit to the Northern Stage venue in Newcastle, so, after a delicious duck in hoisin sauce sandwich, washed down with my favourite Czech lager, my compatriots and I headed downstairs to Stage 3, a lovely intimate space with an informal seating arrangement.
The following short play involved planning for a night out in the 'boro (a serious business, I can tell you) and other dialogues worked around the 'Apples' theme, followed by a short film put together by members of the group. Judging by the laughter, it worked. A tremendous amount of creativity was achieved in a relatively short time frame. "What about the Hairy Lemon?"......you may well ask........The reality was........ it was ALL amazing, (obviously)....

Northern Stage TMT performance

Hey everyone,

mima have been working with Northern Stage through their youth group TMT to produce artwork and material to accompany the play 'Apples'. Their performance is on Tuesday 14th September at 7pm, and can be seen on stage 3. Admission is free.

MILA will be available for sale on the night as well as other zines. Free copies of 'Guide to Living Life Dangerously' will be distributed to the audience.

http://www.northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/the-teen-commandments

Thursday 9th Sept

Hey everyone,


We'll be meeting in Writers Block HQ on Albert Road for an informal chat and to take part in activities there from 2pm until 4pm


Afterwards we'll be talking official business in the mima cafe from 4pm till 6pm


From there we'll probably be going to the nocci networking event and the new gallery opening at TS1!


Busy night.