The News is kindly Supported by the Isle of Man Arts Council.
I’ve had a very self-indulgent weekend. Not only was it of course Mother’s Day yesterday but the sun was shining (it actually feels like it might be Spring) and the clocks changed. Woo hoo! Bring on the lighter nights. Add to this a full on arty weekend and there you have a perfect ‘keep Jane happy’ recipe.
On Saturday morning I attended the National Joint Arts and Culture Strategy hosted by the Arts Council and Culture Vannin with around 40-50 delegates from across a wide range of creative organisations and disciplines. This initiative was designed to get feedback on 6 core objectives:
- Inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy our arts and culture;
- Invest in the Island’s creative communities so that they are successful and sustainable;
- Promote our unique Manx culture and distinctiveness as central to our Island’s image, nationally and internationally;
- Champion the arts and culture as fundamental to our wellbeing and sense of place;
- Develop knowledge, skills and understanding about and for our creative and cultural industries; and
- Inspire people to explore new horizons through innovation, media and technolody.
The delegates were divided into 6 groups who considered each objective in turn, rotating onto the next objective after 15 mintues. It was a really interesting, engaging and fun morning with lots of lively discussion and good suggestions being put forward. The strategy will be finalised shortly and it will be really interesting to see what it looks like and what ideas are taken forward.
One person who would have been at the strategy meeting on Saturday but tragically didn’t make it was Jonathan ‘Jonno’ Gollow. Jonno was a member of the Arts Council between 2007 and 2011 and had planned to be there this weekend. His untimely passing has been devastating and many of his friends have posted the most beautiful and fitting tributes to him and his legacy of JonnoPromotions. Jonno’s funeral is today in North London near his parents’ home. God Speed, Jonno, to the Great Gig in the Sky.
On Saturday afternoon, after a quick trip to Manx Radio to record a few minutes with Sarah Hendy for her Spotlight programme (Wednesday evenings, 5.30-6.00pm), I headed off to the Hodgson Loom Gallery in Laxey for the opening of Olive Wassall and Karl Garrett’s show. Unfortunately I missed seeing Karl by a few minutes but it was lovely to meet Olive who has traveled quite extensively since retiring. Many of her paintings are of African animals. Here’s a small selection of Olive’s pictures.
Yesterday saw the opening of Jimmy Duggan’s new show at The Isle Gallery, ‘False Idols’, which unsurprisingly includes some large-scale pieces. I was particularly taken with the beautiful horse he has painted onto cardboard boxes and the large portrait. He told me he was thinking about putting the horse in an open public space and just let whatever might happen to it happen, but I could see this in somewhere like the Children’s Centre as an educational piece or a public space like the Airport or the Sea Terminal. I was chatting to artist Sally Black about it and she suggested painting the horse’s innards on the other side which could be fun.
I’d spotted on Facebook the beautiful labyrinth that has been installed in the grounds at Peel Cathedral crafted by Ongky Wijana but I hadn’t realised, until I was chatting to Sally at the show, that Ongky is actually her son-in-law. Ongky is a master stone carver and the whole thing has been made by him in Bali, Indonesia, each piece individually cut and fitted, and then shipped to the Island to be installed by Stokes Building and Restoration. It’s taken Ongky many months to carve it and it’s been no mean feat to install it either so huge congratulations to everyone involved. I think you’ll agree, they have done a beautiful job. You can see more here.
Colleen Corlett has been working on a range of clocks using her new pyrography skills having already made a few ceramic ones. Colleen said she is hoping to have an exhibition later this year – I wonder if it will be a whole exhibition of clocks? Anyway, she is a very talented lady and here are some pictures of her latest time pieces.
Am I a bit jealous? Yes, probably. Phil Kneen has been teaching his partner, Hannah Yeowell, photography and so far she’s doing a pretty good job of it. Having said that, however, I think part of the deal involves not wearing much in the way of clothing for some of Phil’s photos and I certainly wouldn’t want to subject anyone to that.
Here are a few of Phil’s recent photos from the Welsh Streets in Liverpool (and a couple of Hannah not wearing very much) ……
….. and a couple of Hannah’s recent shoot in Peel with the beautiful and talented Mae Challis as her model – pretty good eh?
Dates for your Diary
On now – From Syria with Love Isle of Man at Noa Bakehouse
29 March – Sarah Hendy’s new arts show ‘Spotlight’ on Manx Radio, 5.30 – 6.00pm (and every Wednesday)
31 March – 7.00pm – 9.00pm – Manx Wearable Art Catwalk Show at the Youth Arts Centre, Kensington Road (Doors open to public 19.00. Admission £6
To reserve tickets call 07624 437339)
31 March – Cut Off for IOM Art Festival Entries!
1 April – The Sayle Gallery – Cut from the same Cloth – Julie and Alice Fayle
6 April – 7.00pm – 8.00pm – Noa Bakehouse, Contemporary Architecture Talks – Hannah Corlett
8 April – 6.30pm – 10.30pm -Adults Pot Thrown & Hand Built Ceramic Workshop for 2 – The Isle Gallery
8 April – 21 April – Easter Treasure Hunt in the Milntown Gardens, Ramsey – another great reason to call and see Rob Jones’s Drawn Steel Through the Seasons
11 April – 2 May – Noa Bakehouse – ‘Around The Mountain’ by Graham Rider
Here’s this week’s round up of images from Social Media.
Have a great week!
Jane x
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