the rope: alittle bit about it

 i was going to call the rope, fairy tale or even more specifically, Rapunzel.  that is the feeling it gives me...of a dark fairy tale. well fairy tales are very dark but we are so used to them we have become immune to their dark secrets.but i liked the sound of THE ROPE.
this piece  is about a journey from one problem to another, one dilema to another, from pillar to post.
it is also an exploration of what it means to be naked 
and exposed, which was one of the things Franco and i touched on, in my one-to-one with him. 
that too is a kind of dilemma. on the one hand we have innocence on the other we have lust.
how can the body with its face made up, its civilized shoes on get itself about in the dark corridors of memory . following a thread/rope of thought.
on a deeper level i am wondering about dualism too.
.
the image of the rope etc and the foreboding sense of trying to get unlost would, i hope, be the strongest element of the piece, however one may look at it. 

performance piece 1: the rope

a long (20 feet) piece of thick black rope is laid
on the floor
of a dark, square, windowless room.
at either end of the rope stands an enormous man-
alpha male.
the men are completely covered in latex,
except for their eyes.
they face each other - two burly eunuchs,
legs apart, arms folded.
there is eerie,
rather than aggressive,
industrial music playing.
there is the sound of hearts beating
and wind blowing like deep breathing.
the lighting is dim and red tinted.
My face is covered in thick,
almost clowny makeup.
i walk unsteadily along the rope
in impossibly high heels. apart from them
and stockings, i am naked and exposed.
when i get to
the end the eunuch standing there turns me
violently around and i proceed to hobble
towards the other end.
the same thing happens of course,
each time i get to the end of the rope.
i fall more and more often
and get so tired, i have
to eventually crawl along.
when i am so exhausted,
that i can barely move
the eunuchs take their leave.
i am left alone with the rope.

5 Minutes For The Planet

hi everyone... sorry that i haven't been in touch lately, i have been sick and also working hard. thank you steven for the email, now i can finaly log in without any problems.

i would like to invite you all to participate in the "5 Minutes For The Planet". i received this from a friend in amsterdam and according to him, a big part of western Europe is participating. So don’t feel left out!!!

>Turn everything off
>On February 1st between 7:55 p.m. until 8 p.m.
>Five minutes, not to save energy, but to
>
>Urgent: action against climate change
>
>On February 1st you can participate in the worldwide greatest
>action
>against
>
>climate change!!!
>
>Various environmental organizations are asking the peoples of this
>planet to hold 5 minutes of silence:
>Everyone should turn off all lights, electricity etc. between 7:45
>until 8
>p.m. to bring attention to other inhabitants, the media and
>politicians
>about the daily waste of energy.
>An act which takes only 5 minutes, which cost nothing, but shows
>the
>governments that climate change should be on the top agenda of
>world
>politics.
>Why this date?
>On February 1st the United Nations is publicizing the newest
>results
>and
>knowledge base on climate change.
>
>SO...TURN OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my friend, the marshall arts expert, Master Takeda.

 

good evening.just started a new office job and I'm already feeling a bit frustrated at how uncreative this lifestyle is , hey ho, it's money.
I've decided to channel this frustration into being more creative.
I'm loving all the work on teh blog at the moment. it's really alive.
Tom, your drawings are wonderful. The obsession and visual process, with the swear words are beauifully fetishistically detailed . I really love the way it can be read as a diary and a history of time.
Ninax

heat

no worries...i can stand the heat ok! 

i write intuitively

 the poem below is about having the leather hood laced and sealed onto my head and face, of my own free will. I was also gagged. it is of course to be read on diferent level and is metaphoric. i write intuitively but have developed skills, for instance a feel for image, over the years, which have become almost intuitive though they are learned...the beauty of experience.

the leather hood

 i felt as if i was being suffocated
a stifling tropical night enveloped me-
total blackness
panic welled in my groin but
the biggest fear was that i would not be able to endure it
and in my shame i had to be unlaced

'Halo' - construction & design

Hello blog,

these are (very basic) designs that I am having made in collaboration with a neon specialist called Laszlo. The idea is the neon Halo will be strapped to my body and used in performances/videos/ and or photographs. It could also stand alone as a sculpture, or an archive piece intervening in a museum setting.

This is in keeping with my ideas of 'body-morphing' using religious symbolism and mythology as a blueprint. Let me know what you think of the design for the prototype, it will be built by the end of Feb, and feel free to drop suggestions, or if you think it could be made/designed differently etc...

click on the images to get a bigger pic

Birmingham Trip

Ok, here it goes again,

i propose sun 25th for you all to visit Birmingham. I'm hoping this is enough notice. I'd say everyone should arrive by 2-3 in the afternoon. You are all welcome to come to the warhouse; the address is:

38 Freeth Street
Ladywood
Birmingham
B16 0QP

it is a £4-£5 taxi ride from the centre, if you are cabbing it tell the driver it is just off Icknield Port Road.

Anyone who needs to stop over feel free, i have plenty of room. there is nothing especially on on this night, so we could all bring some food in the day, and then go out in the evening (sunflower lounge i'm thinking).

Let me know soon as either on the blog, by email or by phone:
07737244166
mindajudge@hotmail.com

if the kitchen get to hot and you don't like , get out ...

dear zaza , honey if you are not open to a dialogo and even challenge regarding your practice , then don't waste my time . please ring me and i we will talk if you don't want to talk here ..
i believe that this is a brilliant oportunity to grow and develope toghether , this is not some private club you join just because it suite you , either you really challenge us and engage with us or do not bother . please don't talk about 3 for the price of one in this context because is really damm.
i want to talk to you . please ring me franko

why i do what i do

because that is me 

attack

there seems to be some confusion around my contributions to this blog.
i thought the whole idea was to link up the personal  blogs with the de-mentored blog.makes more sense to me, i was offering two for
the price of one here, in fact three. i have opened one for zaza, one for Venus  and make all my writing and photos accessible to all here on de-mentored.  how this can be seen as a lack of generosity i do not know. i seem to be leaving myself open to a lot of criticism which i am not enjoying. i am trying to open up debates here, not myself, to attack.
i would like to point out that i keep six blogs on the net, two of which are on this site, set up specifically for this site. if you want to know what i do, why i do it, what the process is have a look.if not, dont ctiticise me for not delivering the goods.

where is harminder ?

harminder we are waiting ,,,,

LECTURE AT FREUD MUSEUM...

Tuesday February 20th 7.00 pm
Franko B
Artist's Talk

Best known for his challenging 'body art' Franko B was born in Milan and has lived in London since 1979. He has been creating work across video, photography, performance, painting, installation, sculpture and mixed media since 1990. He has performed and exhibited his work worldwide, and lectures widely. Having discontinued bleeding in performances, his recent work includes large scale paintings, two of which are shown in the PARANOIA exhibition at the Freud Museum. Introduced by Predrag Pajdic, curator of PARANOIA.

FREUD MUSEUM
20 Maresfield Gardens
London NW3 5SX
tel: +44 (0)20 7435 2002
fax: +44 (0)20 7431 5452
email: info@freud.org.uk

films as a way of feeding....

 

strictly bondage

hector let me down again. said he was coming then didnt. he is the dominant one but he is always letting things get on top of him. i am not supposed to disagree with him but i cannot help it. he is supposed to be in control. 

art is

art is about turning shit into gold. 

relinqishing the right to comment

 

I don't knowwwwwhat is it...

hello.

I just finished typing this banner, and wanted to share it. it took a long time to do it, and now my mind is muffled. There is a lot of frustration at the beginning of it - i started typing the letters with a pattern, and in between letters, I typed swear words to vent some of my frustration with the process. then, when I was about half way through, I started to make the letters out of words instead - I just typed whatever came into my mind, which I found a bit more interesting, because it was difficult to follow my train of thought at the same time as making sure that all of the characters went in the right place. After doing that for a while, I went back to the pattern, this time with much less frustration. I feel quite good about it now.

It's about 3 and a half metres long.

What does anyone think about it?

Tom x

p.s. - click on the pictures to see more detail

hello everyone
new and old people....
i ve been terrible at keeping in touch...going through a weird phase in my life.....
will be better in the next few months.....
just wondering if anyone has got myspace pages...mine is
http://www.myspace.com/roxani

i ll update it soon...but the to-do list is too long right now.....

peace

roxani

insomnia and meds

the early hours of the dawn I see
cause of anxious mind
spiralling
tumbling
disassembling
if only i could sleep
peacefully
restfully
longingly
would I wake a better person?
what rhyme or reason is upon my shoulders?
as I sit here thinking
as the tobacco smoulders
in the ashtray
in the early hours of the dawn
why do I not sleep at night?
thanks to my meds!
I try to shut out humanities fight
I lay my head against the pillow
counting aimlessly
listening to the wind blowing
and the patter of the rain
whilst i try to shut down the insomniac brain

what can we do about it

So frustrated am I!
with this illness
it makes me want to scream
to shout
all this angst
all this doubt
what is my life all about?

who am I?
inside the lost soul,
a shadow of myself?
trapped in "gaol" of the inner mind
trying not to worry about human kind.

pent up emotions?
caring devotions?
I hate this planet and all that is going on.
I am so scared and frightened they will be dropping the bomb!

I do not ask for all of these troubles.
can humanity not sit down and rest?
are we to reek the future?
what future is there ahead of us?
a turbulent world with all the fuss!

How can I make amends?
the hypocrisy is sending me around the bend.
I dislike the news I hear
humanities insane plight makes me tremble with fear
it tears us apart from limb to limb
as I struggle along trying to be human

it enrages me so and feel belittled i do!
that in 36 years there is nothing new.
what has been done
has been brought about by GREED
GREED is the seed the homo sapien sows
my worry is...

WHEN WILL IT ALL IMPLODE

I can put up 2 people during residency week..

I can put up 2 people during the residency week in London - one on a comfortable sofabed and another in my small studio/office. I live in Hackney and quite near to Artsadmin...

Lisa
x

Hello everyone! I am here!

Hello to everyone...and belated new year wishes!

It's Lisa - I haven't disappeared!!! I never received any of the emails about the first group meet of the year or any others - they were sent to the wrong address!! aaaargh! I was wondering what had happened - but being slow to get going myself during January I did not follow it up until I got a call from Franko yesturday.. I think i have some catching up to do with you all and I hope that I am using the blog right - i think i may have been given Rachel's username and password - please let me know.

Birmingham sounds good - I could possibly go on 30th. Is everyone staying the night? where are we meeting at other end? If we don't decide to go on tuesday I could go at any other time in Feb except Sat 3rd and Sat 10th and Sat 24th...

I'm trying to get going with my work...been having more fun than work though recently (but the two should be entwined..) baring my teeth to procrastination...looking forward to getting to know you all...and to being brave... will try to upload some images - but not sure how...will try..

Big kisses,

Lisa
xx

selfportrait. to see more go to zaza's blogspot.

 

a bondage session today 25/1/07 with snakeman. to view more go to Venus's blog page and please leave comments and ask questions to help me to develop

 

kind of proves the point - discrimination on all fronts is still rife

This has been sent through to us - please take part.

Subject: Petition ~ Exemptions for religious organisations from the Goods, Services and Facilities regulations!

The No 10 Downing Street website runs a petition section where you can sign petitions you feel strongly about. Right now one of the most popular(over 8,000 signatures) petitions on the 10 Downing Street site is the anti-gay petition aimed against the introduction in Northern Ireland of the Goods and Services Sexual Orientation Regulations (SOR) to to be introduced in the rest of the UK. It is the law that the certain religious right campaigners tried to get the Lords to throw out two weeks ago - but failed

As you will be aware here in mainland Britain we have the opportunity to end discrimination concerning refusal of provision of goods and services to lesbians, gay men and bisexual people to become unlawful.

Please check out http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/GSFRegs/ and add your support to this petition.

It has a end petition date but we are informed you may disregard the 17th January end date.

Full Text of the intention of the petition is -

"Exemptions for religious organisations from the Goods, Services and Facilities regulations, are of great concern and entirely unjust. The use of services, goods and facilities that heterosexuals take for granted, should be allowed to those from the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities; the protections that minorities and religious groups have in law should be granted to the lesbian gay and bisexual communities also; the end of a two-tier system which denies justice in the provision of goods, services and facilities to the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities should be implemented with no further delay and at the earliest point possible throughout the entirety of the UK."

Please spread the word, pass on the link, so that as many people as possible can sign.

this may or may not interest some of you, it follows on from what I was rambling about.

Jon

in response to rachel and zaza

Rachel

Hi there, what can I say...

Firstly, I have never mentioned - I thought your video work at wysing was powerful and if developed in the week whilst there I remain amazed and look forward to seeing some more of your art work.


Furthermore, I sympathise, if that comes across as patronising do not take it to be. I feel we live in the same world. this kind of abuse goes on across both genders. I been aware of this situation on the side of male prostitution and pornography whilst travelling the globe. having been offered young male escorts in developing countries all in the pledge of "he needs to support his family". One only has to read both the underground press and consume mainstream media to hear how the LGBT communities suffer from societies hands across the globe.

In my life I have seen/read about homophobic violence. Hangings in North Africa for being Gay. Murders, GBH and bombings in the LGBT community in this country. I have often looked at the missing persons list in many countries to see the amount of young women and men that are still unaccounted for. Recently there has been media coverage regarding sexual abuse and violence in this countries own residential care homes. What of the news about representatives in this country having committed acts of genocide across the globe.

I could ramble forever...
what saddens me is that we can hold on to this anger but I ask the question "ARE WE ALL NOT RESPONSIBLE IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER?" Here we are using the blog as a means of communication adding to the global warming situation; sitting in our boxes of carbon consumption surrounded in unnecessary ephemera and a huge lump of plastic and poisonous toxins near our fingertips. Humanity is raping the planet... much as you describe in your text about prostitution and pornography. We are all responsible for the use of oil, drugs (both pharmaceutical/recreational) chemicals, nuclear waste etc

I ask here do we not all in a sense prostitute ourselves. We desire to be artists, to be known, to be involved in one way or another. This conversation means we're selling ourselves to capitalism/mass consumerism

Your anti consumerism carols made me smile. We rant abpout consumerism, then we use a video to document the process and then put it on the world wide web. This is mass consumption buying into it's capitalists market while the fat cats that benefit sit there in glee rubbing their hands with the cash that we are expending.

My last poem on the blog are my feelings in lesser words. Society as a whole seems to have to alienate for many different reasons.

Zaza, you write well about Franko's talk, few words but powerfully edited. I enjoy our conversations about BDSM and other matters; your poetry moves me and makes me think and if it is to come with performance... I look forward to seeing/reading more.

To both of you and the rest of the group (06/07) I have enjoyed my time so far and feel that joining the scheme has already begun to achieve what i hoped...

To be fired up by a group of like minded individuals who use the arts in all of it's genre as a way of communicating in general.

i would like to see response to posted stuff.

we need to support each other but also challenge each other ,
i personaly think that the discussion jon and rachell where havin briefly regardy the use of the word WHORE whas good . also i would like to see the whole group response on zaza and rachel latest offering , i think they are both chanllenging , and instead of felling just [ don't know what to say or the old people and the new people debate ] , we should be responding to it we our hearts and minds . and i believe they demand this . x x thank you

Florence Trust Open Studios

Will, I hope to see you some time on Saturday.

Is there any one from either group heading to this event and interested in going for a some food or coffee before or after?

Jon

URGENT ATTENTION Accommodation for the residency

hello FBers 2007

Following a conversation I had when we met at Franko's on the day of Paranoia i have been in touch with Frances @ artsadmin regarding accommodation for us all in London the week of the residency.

Frances has kindly given me a few leads to chase up but also suggested that we use the artsadmin digest to find some accommodation where we can all stay together. I need to put together a lonely arts column to express our requests in terms of dietary, toiletry, daily requirements.

This will enable us to communicate with one another (similar to wysing). I am happy to try to get something going but I really need an urgent response as I am out of the country for the first part of March and then have 4days back at home/studio before we are due on the residency.

you can pick up my e-mail direct from the e-mail Frances sent out about the web site or leave me your thoughts on the blog. I feel it would be good if we could share this experience together.

hope to hear from some of you soon.

Is there any one interested in helping track down the accomodation as I have a few things to get ready for Franko visiting my studio. Most of you have my mobile number so feel free to give me a call in the day as I'm in my studio most days of the week.

jon x

WHAT IS EVERY BODY DOING?

WE SHOULD ASK THIS QUESTIONS EVERY WEEK'S.
X X X

birmigham and things ..

hello my friends where are all of you gone ?
regarding birmigham HARMINDER this is too short notice .. PLEASE OFFERS US A NEW DATE.
\ ALSO I HAVE DECIDED NOW TO OPEN THIE NEXT DAYS OUTING TO EVERYONE ON THE MENTORING SCHEME [ LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR . i think it is very important that we all talk to each other and engage with each other . WICH I DON'T THINK WE ARE DOING ?

SO WHERE IS EVERY ONE ? WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO ?
WHERE IS LISA ? SHABZ ? NINA ? KATHERINE ? ROXANI? EVANGELIA . HARMINDER ? BIGGI? WILL? JACOB ? REACHEL ?
STEVEN ? TOM ?
REMMEMBER THIS IS OUR TOOL .
LOVE FRANKO

Birmingham

Ok guys, I know it is slightly short notice, but how does next tuesday sound (30th) for people to come up to brummingham?
There is a Richard Deacon private view at the Ikon which would be good to go to as most of the brum glitter arty will be there. If anyone needs a place to stay they can kip in the WARHORSE, but bring layers...it will be cold!

I thought, it could be a day thing (food and dink) and then on to the p.v. Let me know if this is do-able soon as. You can get return train journeys to Birmingham Snow Hill from London Maralybone for £9.60!!!!

Hope everyone's well,
Minda

Letters from a War Zone

In this country where I live, every year millions and millions of pictures are being made of women with our legs spread. We are called beaver, we are called pussy, our genitals are tied up, they are pasted, makeup is put on them to make them pop out of a page at a male viewer. Millions and millions of pictures are made of us in postures of submission and sexual access so that our vaginas are exposed for penetration, our anuses are exposed for penetration, our throats are used as if they are genitals for penetration. In this country where I live as a citizen real rapes are on film and are being sold in the marketplace. And the major motif of pornography as a form of entertainment is that women are raped and violated and humiliated until we discover that we like it and at that point we ask for more.

In the country where I live as a citizen, there is a pornography of the humiliation of women where every single way of humiliating a human being is taken to be a form of sexual pleasure for the viewer and for the victim; where women are covered in filth, including faeces, including mud, including paint, including blood, including semen; where women are tortured for the sexual pleasure of those who
watch and those who do the torture, where women are murdered for the sexual pleasure of murdering women, and this material exists because it is fun, because it is entertainment, because it is a form of pleasure, and there are those who say it is a form of freedom.

Certainly it is freedom for those who do it. Certainly it is freedom for those who use it as entertainment, but we are also asked to believe that it is freedom for those to whom it is done.

Then this entertainment is taken, and it is used on other women, women who aren't in the pornography, to force those women into prostitution, to make them imitate the acts in the pornography. The women in the pornography, sixty-five to seventy percent of them we believe are victims of incest or child sexual abuse. They are poor women; they are not women who have opportunities in this society. They are frequently runaways who are picked up by pimps and exploited. They are frequently raped, the rapes are filmed, they are kept in prostitution by blackmail. The pornography is used on prostitutes by johns who expect them to replicate the sexual acts in the pornography, no matter how damaging it is.

We see a major trade in women, we see the torture of women as a form of entertainment, and we see women also suffering the injury of objectification--that is to say we are dehumanized. We are treated as if we are subhuman, and that is a precondition for violence against us.

I live in a country where if you film any act of humiliation or torture, and if the victim is a woman, the film is both entertainment and it is protected speech. Now that tells me something about what it means to be a woman citizen in this country, and the meaning of being second class.

When your rape is entertainment, your worthlessness is absolute. You have reached the nadir of social worthlessness. The civil impact of pornography on women is staggering. It keeps us socially silent, it keeps us socially compliant, it keeps us afraid in neighbourhoods; and it creates a vast hopelessness for women, a vast despair. One lives inside a nightmare of sexual abuse that is both actual and potential, and you have the great joy of knowing that your nightmare
is someone else's freedom and someone else's fun.

answers by franco b to unrecorded questions on aforementioned night

 we all bleed; get over it.

anything can be read into anything.

i am not frustrated i wasnt bleeding as a woman monthly...i bleed as a human being.

to bleed is to give.

i am here because you are here.

my fucking body is my canvas.

i do what the fuck i want.

i face life with equilibrium and integrity.

i would like to thank every body.

from a talk and video show that Franco B gave with Kamal Ackarie on 22/1/07 at Queen Mary College

 so many people turn up some have to sit on the floor. the room has never been so full!
Franco says he is a visual artist who performs...

three videos and a set of stills-

O Lover Boy

the body is painted white...the thumb twitches...the fist clenches...a stream of blood pulses...drips...drop by drop...drips...a river of blood pours down the tilted canvas...the naked cock lies flaccid still...piano music floats...the blood drips...a river...it carves a river bed on the surface of the white arm...forever following the same route...o lover boy...the same route ...from the head... to the heart...to the feet...bleeding...bleeding...o lover boy...flow...red...violet.

Still Life

people are sleeping on the streets...in a room...on a table...covered with a white cloth...lit from below...the body painted white lies still...an audience bubbles...it lies still with dignity...unprotected from its own desires...it screams...the body is my fucking body i do what the fuck i want...the white sheet...snowy white splodged with blood seeping from the body turns red...it cries...i give birth to the body.
people are still sleeping on the streets.

I Mss You

a body painted white slowly walks up and down a canvas catwalk...blood drips from the arms...walks slowly up and down...cameras click and clack...walks slowly up and down a canvas catwalk...i miss you...i am alone and afraid and i walk slowly bleeding up and down...i am observed and am afraid of being abandoned...the feet of the body move steadily over the blood splodges...red footprints line the catwalk.

Dont Leave Me THis Way

a lone chair poised neath a set of powerful electric lights...
a man seated in the chair...an endurance of dark space and 
white noise...a dazzling confrontation ensues...a blinding...
an after image of the body burned on the retina...
dont leave me this way...the loud noise of the music stops and the hearts of the audience breath in time...the space is full of breathing...and the body enters the body of the audience and views it.

corruption ruined the planet

the world keeps on spinning
humanity fights wars
who is winning
the blood is still spilling
into the ruined ground
all around

they are still killing
rapeing
abusing
on all shores
my mind weeps
while the blood pours

pours into the ground
that is all around
our feet where we stand
with one another
my guts rench for those that suffer
because of the hatred of the bretheren

What will be left of the homosapien?

when are we due to go to birmingham?

hi there,

I missed out on the date for Birmingham? When are we due there? Is there any cheap accomodation which could be recommended?

Florence Trust Studio Winter Open

Hi,

The Winter Open at the Florence Trust Studios is taking place on the 27th & 28th January, 12pm- 6pm.

Address: St Saviour's, Aberdeen Park, Highbury, N5 2AR, a map and directions can be found on the web site: www.florencetrust.org

Nearest tube is Highbury & Islington, Buses 4,19,236

I've attached an invitation, I hope you're able to make it along

Best wishes, Will

does any body know where is lisa ?

looking for lisa , not heard or seen her ? i she ok ? i she droped out ? i wrote to her 2 time but i havent heard from her .. x x

Blogger access

Thanks Zaza, your are invited, the email I had for you was wrong, sorry!

Anyone left without their own login for the blog from the group?

post here or email your details: info@stevenpaige.com

Hope it is all going well!

My advice about Franko, if anyone wants it, is use him and artsadmin, because the time goes quicker than you realise...also get to know your group. Some of the best dialogues and inspiration I have had last year were with the rest the 2006 possy, and I am still expecting more this year, and the next...

hi stephen, please invite zazaginz@yahoo.com

hi stephen 
please invite 
zazaginz@yahoo.com

 

 

 

i will wait for you

in the dark room i will wait for you
the candle already diminished
my makeup smeared across my face
by my naive tears
i will pull at my hair
and bite my lips
and the blood will form in the deep
of the scratches
on my forearms

why i will ask
do i keep waiting and waiting
when the milk is already sour

 

hello every one ,

how is every body ? the other day was fanteastic [[ for me ] ] it was good to get to know each othere litle by litle , it was a great afternoon , thank you , the next meeting it will be in birmigham , i will sugest that this is also just for the new group only and then the next montly meeting will be with every body else .. what you think my dears ?
PS the photo as nothing to do with our day toghrter , but is of my dear friend and collaboretor kamal, ttooken on crixmass day.. as nobody took any photos of us. x x

Hi all

Hey. I can't believe. I have finally done it and sorted out the blogging thingy.
Sorry, I am quite a bit of a scatterbrain these days. Have too much on my plate.
Sorry as well that I missed today. Hope it was great and am looking forward to hear what you all have been doing. Would have loved to be there...
2007 seems to bring some early changes and I am looking forward to an exciting year on all levels - especially to March.
Now that I have figured the blogging out I will try to download some images.
Hope to see you all soon.
xxx Biggi

Looking for a long-term place to live

Gentle, well behaved and bubbly 5 years young cat (Mousy) with professional, creative 38 year old female owner (Biggi) are looking for easygoing and friendly flatshare, with an exciting garden and warm hearted flatmates. A cat flap would be great but is not essential.

In an ideal world the place would have access to Broadband, (Sky TV), and have a washing machine besides the usual mod cons. Mousy is used to sharing with others of her furry species, but it’s not essential. We have been living in the current house for over 5 years and would like to find a place on a long term basis, where we can feel homely. We would like the place to be smoker friendly. We can pay up to £80 incl. Area of interest is around East Zone 3, East Ham, Forest Gate, Stratford, Manor Park, Hackney or anywhere within 1-2 miles. Am looking forward to hearing from you.
Biggi

invite only

steven- or whoever knows about this blogging stuff- it has come to my attention that a few of us have not been invited to join the blog so can't post anything- i don't seem to be able to do anything about it as i am not in control of the blog. please send out invites to:

nybeat1@yahoo.com
venus_von_flytrap@yahoo.co.uk
frankob2000@yahoo.co.uk

hello 2007

hiya--

i was hoping to put up an image- but i seem to be unable to??

it is lovely to read all of your messages, post, blogs!?? what ever they are called. feel like i want to be more involved, but it feels a bit odd communicating through the internet for some reason. i will have to get used to it i guess, and just start posting some messages. so this one might be a bit crap, as i just wanted to get involved! was gonna share some images but it wouldn't let me. so its a bit of nothing really. anyone else using safari on mac having trouble uploading images?

I am loving 2007 so far. i am full of beans and ready to go! something has defiantly shifted in my mind, some cloud moved and the light is coming through.

will attempt a more satisfying installment soon i promise...

- love -

he didnt make a sound

he worked my head with his hands 
he didnt make a sound
'deeper' he said
'take it deeper'

when it was over and the sperm ran 
over my chin down 
onto my breasts
i went to kiss him 
but he pulled away

he doesnt like the taste of his own spunk  

THUESDAY THE 11 JAN 2007. meeting up

hello for all the 2007 group , the address is 16a edward henry house , cornwall rd ,SE1 8YF see you around 12/ 12.30 bring some snack food [ preferbly not fish ..
franko x x

late in the night i think of you asleep
and i despise you
feel like ramming a pencil in your eye
through the lid
into the squassy eyeball
and i despise you because i desire you
and i want you to penetrate me
to punish me for these thoughts 
 

as he said

as he said
i am the drama queen
i am
waiting for the right stage to stride
waiting for the right time
and the right place
for the drama to begin
waiting for the right man to take the lead
to hold the leash
to shake the chain
waiting for the right man
to bind me and gag me and slap me and tug at me

i am the drama queen
as he said
and i am waiting for the right tune to sing to
the one that resonates with trust and respect
and i will wear a collar but i will not bend in humiliation
or be treated as a fool

 

i will tell you

i will tell you that i do it because i like to dress to please.
if i am told to wear nothing but a leather coat, stockings and suspenders and boots and gloves i will.
i will paint my mouth scarlet and outline it in black because he tells me.
when he tells me , Look at me! i do it because he has commanded me.
when he tells me, suck my tongue! i do it because he has commanded me.
when he tells me, suck my cock! i do it because he has commanded me.
he forces his gloved hand inside of me then puts his fingers in my mouth and i enjoy it
because he commands it.
it is he who is in control.
i submit to his domination.
i am a sapling tossed this way and that
by the october wind
by the march wind
his breath sweet as he slaps my face. 

and for every body

Paranoia News
November 10, 2006

GET READY!!!

Paranoia is coming to London from 11th January - 11th March 2007.

Primarily at the Freud Museum, the exhibition will also spread to other venues around town, including Swiss Cottage Public Library and the Centre for Drawing at Wimbledon College of Art.

Dates for your diary:

Opening at The Freud Museum with live art performances by Oreet Ashery, Doug Fishbone & Emilia Telese.

Thursday 11th January 2007, 6.30 - 8.30pm
The Freud Museum
20 Maresfield Gardens, London NW3 5SX
www.freud.org.uk

Tuesday 16th January 2007, 6.30 - 8.30pm
Opening at Swiss Cottage Public Library
88 Avenue Road, London NW3 3HA

Wednesday 17th January 2007, 6.30 - 8pm
Open evening at The Centre for Drawing
Wimbledon College of Art, Merton Hall Road, London SW19 3QA

Additional dates and times for talks, conferences, seminars and special film screenings to be published soon.

for the new group

hello remmember the 11 january at my flat , in vaterllo at 12pm, bring some food [ no fish if you can help it ] hahah.

opportunityes ? ?

03 January 2007
No. 51

COMPETITION
2007 Houston Center for Photography (HCP) : Photography Fellowships
DIGITAL UNESCO Digital Art Award 2007 in association with the Sharjah Biennial 8 (4 April - 4 June 2007, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates)" Still Life - Art, Ecology and the Politics of Change”
EXHIBITIONS
Our Man in Havana - Gallery Aferro, Newark NJ
JURIED PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION - Photographic Resource Center (PRC), Boston, MA
PERFORMANCE
In the Mix, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA)
POSITIONS Executive Director: Society for Photographic Education, Eugene, OR
Curator : Tate Britain, London, UK
Paid Internships : Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, NY
PROPOSALS
Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK
SOIL Art Gallery, Seattle WA
apexart, New York, NY
RESIDENCY
Studio XX, Montreal
Elsewhere Artist Collaborative, Greensboro, NC,
Transart Institute
GIBRALTAR POINT ON TORONTO ISLAND, TORONTO, CANADA
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE








COMPETITION



2007 Houston Center for Photography (HCP) : Photography Fellowships
Deadline: Monday, January 22

Houston Center for Photography (HCP) announces the 2007 Photography Fellowship Competition. Two fellowship recipients will be awarded $1,000 each, with one Houston-based artist designated as a recipient of the Carol Crow Memorial Fellowship. Lynn McLanahan Herbert will jury the fellowship selection. Each winner will have a solo-exhibition at HCP in the summer of 2007, based on the work submitted (work- in-progress is acceptable.)

Notification Letters Sent: Friday, February 16
Accepted Work Due: Wednesday, July 25
Exhibition: August 10 - September 9, 2007

More information

Houston Center for Photography, 1441 West Alabama, Houston, TX 77006 | Ebony@hcponline.org








DIGITAL



UNESCO Digital Art Award 2007 in association with the Sharjah Biennial 8 (4 April - 4 June 2007, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates)
" Still Life - Art, Ecology and the Politics of Change”
Deadline : 16 February 2007

The total award money is US $10.000, which could be divided and delivered to more than one laureate. It is provided by the Higashiyama Fund, managed by the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan (NFUAJ), and given by the Director-General of UNESCO. The prize winners will also be invited to the Sharjah Biennial 8 to lead the training workshops within the framework of the Education programme of the Biennial with a selected number of youth and educators from across the globe to probe in depth into how creative digital practises and expressions can foster global conversation and gestures of respect towards the sustainable development of our environment.

This year's edition of the UNESCO Digital Arts Award 2007 is at the heart of the global dialogue on the role of art as a vital force for positive change to how we shape our environment, whether determined by physical properties (spatial, geographical, climatic, etc) or by social relevancies, and how we respond to our surroundings, immediate and global.

Young artists are invited to reflect on how urban spaces and city environments could be transformed into creative outlets cultivating artistic innovation and new form of expression. Potential applicants to the award are asked to conceive and design their creative projects that are integral to the theme of sustainable urban development.

The award is especially in conjunction with the UNESCO Young Digital Creators(YDC)- http://www.unesco.org/culture/digiarts/ydc - Programme and, therefore, applicants will use the online YDC application "Scenes and sounds of my city" - for submitting their creative projects.

More information, guidelines and application

The Sharjah Biennial 8 (SB8) website








EXHIBITIONS



“Our Man in Havana” - Gallery Aferro, Newark NJ
Deadline : February 15, 2007

Call for art in any and all media dealing with:

Vacuum cleaners
Vacuum cleaning
Small appliances and women
Women’s work (do only women do it?)
Industrial and consumer design
Appliances as commodities
Commodities, marketing and consumer desires, fears
Fear of dirt (disease, chaos)
Fear of being dirty What gets vacuumed (or resists being vacuumed)? Dust, dirt and
Hair, once it isn’t attached to our bodies
The microscopic world: the unseen, critters and other things (see The Secret House)
Labor of housecleaning: who does it, for free or for money?
The idea of a “vacuum”

Please see our submission guidelines on the website

Gallery Aferro 73 Market Street Newark NJ 07102







JURIED PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION - Photographic Resource Center (PRC), Boston, MA
Deadline : February 10, 2007

Each year, the Photographic Resource Center (PRC) hosts an eagerly-anticipated and critically-acclaimed juried exhibition of contemporary photo-based work. The PRC is honored to announce that Jen Bekman, founder and director of jen bekman, a pioneering fine art gallery in New York City’s burgeoning Bowery arts district, will serve as the 2007 juror. Those selected will exhibit several works each in EXPOSURE: The 12th Annual PRC Juried Exhibition (May 25-July 1, 2007), on display in the PRC gallery. Reproductions and information on all artists will be also published in the May/June issue of the PRC newsletter, in the loupe, distributed nationally. The PRC invites entries regionally and nationally—including traditional and non-traditional approaches to photography and related media

More information

About the 2007 Juror, Jen Bekman
Jen Bekman is the founder and director of jen bekman, a pioneering fine art gallery in New York City's burgeoning Bowery arts district. Since March of 2003, the gallery has attracted the attention of critics, museum curators, and collectors alike, with its focus on emerging artists and innovative group shows. Visit jenbekman.com to learn more and be sure to check out the gallery's fast-growing quarterly photography competition, Hey, Hot Shot! at heyhotshot.com. Gallery artists and exhibitions have been featured extensively online and in publications such as The New York Times, W Magazine, The Village Voice and New York Magazine and in art-related publications including Art in America, ARTFORUM, Photo District News, and Photograph. Bekman is also the editor of the popular weblog, www.personism.com, bringing the gallery and its artists to the attention of an even broader audience of designers, architects, and magazine editors.

PRC Juried Exhibition History
In celebration of the PRC's 30th anniversary and the future of photography, and to reflect more accurately the mission and function of our annual photography competition, we are changing the name of the PRC Members' Exhibition to EXPOSURE: The Annual PRC Juried Exhibition. Since its inception in 1996, over 230 photographers have shown in PRC member exhibitions—representing established artists and those cited as "ones to watch". Invited outside jurors are esteemed curators, gallerists, and photography professionals.

Brief Notes on Submission Process
Artists can reside anywhere, as long as applicants are valid PRC Members through July 1, 2007 (or join the PRC at the time of submission) and, if selected, be able to ship their work, ready to hang, to and from the PRC. Along with the required entry form, interested artists are asked to send 10 slides or jpegs (formatted to specifications on required form) on cd, image checklist list, resume, statement, self- addressed packet with adequate postage (if materials are to be returned) postmarked on or before the deadline of Saturday, February 10. Entry fee is $25 (and if applicable, membership fee through July 1).

PRC, 832 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, (617) 975-0600, prc@bu.edu










PERFORMANCE



In the Mix,
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA)
Deadline : February 15, 2007

In the Mix is a gallery based performance series focused on live video mixing and its improvised intersection with music. It will take place August 24-26th, 2007 at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) in Toronto, Canada.

The three-day series will feature:

* Live video mixing performances during the evenings.

* A curated program of short video works by artists working with live video mixing as part of their artistic practice. Works that are representative of each artist's approach to live mixing will be displayed with audio in a separate viewing space as loops - each a maximum length of 15 minutes.

* An audio/video midi-drum-circle open to public participation in the daytime.


Interested artists need not have formal artistic training or come from the contemporary arts community. Clubbers, scientists, bedroom-based independents, commercial media makers, collectives and interactive audio/video groups, all will be appraised from an open and curious perspective!

If you would like to be considered for this series, please submit a short video (15 minutes or less) on VCD, DVD, VHS or MiniDV, or on CD (quicktime movie format), along with a completed submission form. The submitted piece should either be a live recording of a section of a video mix or strongly representative of your live work.

Get your submission form here

Please note: as the scope and nature of the event are dependant upon submissions and secure funding, final dates and definitive confirmation of the event are still pending. Confirmation of the event and the participants will be announced by May 4, 2007










POSITIONS



Executive Director: Society for Photographic Education, Eugene, OR
Position Deadline: Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.
Position Start Date: February 1, 2007

The Society for Photographic Education (SPE) invites applicants for the position of Executive Director. Founded in 1962, SPE is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing photographic education in all its myriad of contemporary visual expressions. A vibrant and growing organization, SPE counts 2000 members including visual artists, educators, historians, curators and graduate and undergraduate students. It maintains close alliances with academic institutions, other visual arts organizations and foundations, and industry and trade partners.

The Executive Director provides intellectual leadership and vision in the development and management of a vital arts and cultural organization. This position is administratively responsible for overseeing the operations and promotion of the organization in fulfillment of SPE’s mission and in accordance of the established SPE By-Laws and Policy and Procedure Manual. The Executive Director is also responsible for the care and custody of physical and financial resources, oversight of membership records, publications, printed material and national conference. In collaboration with the board, the Executive Director is involved with long-range planning, development and public relations. The position also manages a staff of six professionals, including fulltime, part-time and contract labor. The Executive Director is a full-time salaried position and reports to the executive committee of the board through the chairperson of the society, communicating directly with board committee chairs when appropriate. Salary package is commensurate with professional experience. SPE’s national office is located in Oxford, Ohio and the organization is willing to consider highly qualified candidates who would be located elsewhere.

Specific competencies include a strong ability to communicate and collaborate; keen verbal and writing skills; financial and budgetary knowledge; and computer programs such as Excel.

Send letter of application, CV, contact information for three professional references, and SASE to: Terri Warpinski, Chairperson, Society for Photographic Education,1258 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403. Inquires may be directed to members of the Society’s Executive Committee: Vice Chair, Richard Gray, rgray@nd.edu; Treasurer, Therese Mulligan, mtmpph@rit.edu; Secretary, Cass Fey, cass@ccp.library.arizona.edu.

The Society for Photographic Education values diversity and is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer.









Tate Britain: Seeking Curator
Deadline: 26 January 2007

Who's making a difference in contemporary British art today? Who's influencing others? And how do you make sense of it? Taking up a prominent new, senior role within the Tate Britain team, you'll answer these questions with authority, intellectual depth and visionary flair, and have a highly visible impact at the heart of Tate. As the Curator of the 2009 Triennial exhibition, you'll frame the zeitgeist in a thought- provoking yet accessible way to create an agenda- setting show of national and international significance. You could currently be working anywhere in the world, but your exemplary curatorial record and experience of leading large-scale projects will speak for itself.

For an informal discussion, please contact Judith Nesbitt, Chief Curator Tate Britain at +44 (0)20 7887 8960. For a full job description and to apply, visit our website









Paid Internships : Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, NY

Paid Internships Available Check out our paid internships while they're still hot.

We've got openings in Communication/Marketing
Development/Corporate Sponsorship
Events and Membership
and Swing Space
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
125 Maiden Lane, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10038
(212) 219-9401
Fax: (212) 219-2058










PROPOSALS



Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK
Deadline : 05 February 2007

Cornerhouse Projects, Call for Proposals
An exhibition for a 6 week period between June and August.

Cornerhouse Projects is the regular exhibitions programme in the café and bar areas of Cornerhouse, dedicated to emerging practitioners based in the North West. It is one of the regional programmes run by Cornerhouse, existing alongside those of international art and film.

Cornerhouse is seeking proposals from artists, curators or other creative individuals/groups who wish to explore the space and its context. There are a huge number of opportunities for exhibiting in cafes and bars all over Manchester, but Cornerhouse Projects is not simply a cheap or free way of decorating our spaces. We commission work that engages with our space, our audience and our position as a meeting/social space for visual art practitioners.
We are particularly interested in artists who would take this opportunity to look past the wall space and consider other possible, but feasible, ways to exhibit in the café. There is a modest budget to assist with the production of new work. If this interests you, and you are based in the North West we would like to hear from you.

Please send examples of past and current work (photographs or a CD), a proposal of no more than 500 words detailing your ideas for the space; the work; size, medium, layout, how it would be hung/attached etc, CV, and a covering letter. (Enclose an S.A.E for return of work)

Please send proposals to Rebecca Keating, Cornerhouse Projects, Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 5NH.

For more information email rebecca.keating@cornerhouse.org

Cornerhouse Projects








SOIL Art Gallery, Seattle WA
Call for Show Proposals
Deadline: Open call

SOIL is now accepting proposals for 2007 exhibitions

We are particularly looking for strong group shows and shows that feature diverse media, including but not limited to installations, performance, video, digital media, etc.

CALL FOR SHOW PROPOSALS
We take submissions for curated shows on a continual basis. All proposals are viewed by the membership and accepted or declined on a 2/3 vote. If you are proposing an idea for a curated show it is imperative that your statement of intent, concept and background research on the topic be clear and leave us with a strong impression. Images are crucial to our understanding of your proposal. We are, for the most part, a visual group and strong images backed with a strong statement will impress needed membership. All accepted proposals are dependent upon open slots in our exhibition schedule. If you have a specific month in mind, please indicate it on your application.

All shows are one month in length. Proposals should be of new work not shown previously in Seattle.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Project description – including project title, contact name, phone number and e-mail, names of participants, detailed description of the project including why SOIL Art Gallery is the gallery of choice. For scheduling purposes, please indicate your first and second choice of months to show in.

Work Samples – up to 15 digital images on CD, which should include samples of work by all participants. An Image Description list must accompany this and should be numbered and include artist's name, size of work, materials used and date executed. Digital image files should be numbered according to the Image Description, and sized at approx. 1200 pixels on the longest dimension. For video samples will accept DVD and CD-ROM formats.

Other Support Materials – résumés, background research, and any other supplemental materials you see fit to include. It is very important to us in our vote that you are able to leave us with a strong impression of what to expect from the proposed exhibition. We may ask you to come to a meeting and share with us your ideas verbally.

Proposals are accepted anytime, in person or by mail. In person submissions will be accepted during gallery hours, Thursday - Sunday, 12-5 pm.

Mail to: SOIL Art Gallery, Attn: Curations, 112 3rd Ave South, Seattle WA 98104

Proposal materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope.









apexart, New York
Deadline : 15 February 2007

apexart, a non-profit arts organization in NYC, will be accepting 1-page "idea-based" exhibition proposals from Jan 1 - Feb 15, 2007. From these submissions, two will be selected to become exhibitions in the 07/08 season.

Proposals are evaluated by twelve past apexart curators and affiliates in a "blind" numerical process with no discussion and no input from apex staff.

Key to the intent of apexart's Unsolicited Proposals program is providing an opportunity for the expression of new critical voices and ideas. We welcome and encourage proposals from all interested individuals. Previous curatorial experience is in no way required, and will not factor into the selection process. apexart provides complete administrative support and assistance to bring the selected exhibitions to fruition.

Complete guidelines and submissions procedure

For any questions please contact us at info@apexart.org.










RESIDENCY



Studio XX, Montreal
Deadline : 01 April, 2007

Founded in 1995, Studio XX is Montreal’s foremost women’s digital resource centre. Through a variety of creative activities and initiatives, the Studio works with women to demystify digital technologies, to critically examine their social aspects, to facilitate women’s access to technology, and to create and exhibit women’s new digital art.

Studio XX receives on-going submissions for its residency and coproduction programs, however the selection of projects is in april of each year.

Studio XX redefines its residency program in keeping with the diversity of approaches that have been brought about by new and multiple methodologies and processes being practiced by artists working with new media and the Web as creative platforms. Residencies are offered each year through three major axes identified below. This in order to offer an improved context in which Quebecois and Canadian women artists may conceptualise, act and create, and to better accommodate the evolving realities of contemporary networked practices.

MORE INFORMATION

Submit a proposal - Online registration

. thematic residency –: Mobility
This year, Studio XX engages in the phenomenon of mobility and its effects on individuals and communities. The space created by cellular technologies, by radio, by satellites, exists and is supported thanks to the carrier waves that increase the density of the invisible. These spaces are made of microwaves –- transmitting radiations that create transparent and coded environments. In a world of extreme individualism and new forms of solitude, we are initiating a move towards togetherness, towards the acknowledgement of others by displacing ourselves, by projecting ourselves in this communicative, ubiquitous space. Via opto-electronic equipment we connect with the rest of the clan, the family, the diaspora. These are the means of recognising and understanding each other through the circulation of words and voices tracing the paths of hope and solidarity. Paradoxically these tracking devices also give birth to other ways of dealing and seeing –- surveillance, detection and espionage. The bipolar reality of mobility turns each of us into a traceable object.









Elsewhere Artist Collaborative, Greensboro, NC,

Elsewhere, a living installation, museum of process, and art production space in downtown Greensboro, NC, is seeking artists- in-residence for its Spring, Summer, and Fall 2007 residency seasons. Set within a former thrift store housing a 58-year inventory of American surplus, thrift, and antiques, Elsewhere invites artists-in- residence to utilize the immense collection of objects to pursue site-specific material, conceptual, and/or technologically-based projects. Elsewhere's building- two full stores on the ground level, a 14-room boarding house on the second, and warehouse on the third-provides dynamic architectures for the creation and installation of works. Artists live and work within changing installations, engaging interactive environments for re-conceptualizing the theory and practice of art-making.

Experimenting with museum-as-medium within a store where nothing is for sale, Elsewhere offers an unparalleled framework for merging art practice and everyday life.

The complete call for artists

Email George Scheer, Collaborative Director, at wanderingzoo@elsewhereelsewhere.org for a residency brochure and application.
Elsewhere is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.









Transart Institute
Winter Residency and Open House 2007:
February 1-4, 2007, Point B, Brooklyn, New York

The Transart Institute in cooperation with Danube University Krems offers an international low residency two year graduate art program leading to a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in New Media. The program is intended to lift the boundaries between applied and fine arts, traditional and new media, artists and scholars.

Students are free to pursue work in any media art- related genre and to create their own course of study, working independently and with the support of faculty and self-chosen artist mentors. Short periods of intensive residency permit students to continue with their professional work and keep a balanced personal life while participating in the program.

Students are free to pursue work in any media art- related genre and to create their own course of study, working independently and with the support of faculty and self-chosen artist mentors. Short periods of intensive residency permit students to continue with their professional work and keep a balanced personal life while participating in the program.

An international MFA in New Media program for working artists to develop a sustainable creative praxis:

— Three summer residencies (two weeks each) in Linz, Austria; optional winter residency in New York.
— One-on-one mentorships during two school years - wherever you work and live.


Students are free to pursue work in any media art- related genre and to create their own course of study, working independently and with the support of faculty and self-chosen artist mentors. Short periods of intensive residency permit students to continue with their professional work and keep a balanced personal life while participating in the program.

The program is intended to lift the boundaries between applied and fine arts, traditional and new media, artists and scholars. Students are free to pursue work in any media art-related genre and to create their own course of study.

MORE INFORMATION









GIBRALTAR POINT ON TORONTO ISLAND, TORONTO, CANADA
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM
Deadline: February 21st, 2007,

Artscape is currently accepting applications for the Gibraltar Point International Artist Residency Program, taking place June 1-30, 2007.

ABOUT THE GIBRALTAR POINT INTERNATIONAL ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM
The Gibraltar Point Residency transcends political, aesthetic and geographic boundaries, welcomes diversity and provides a spawning ground for unique cultural alliances. The program is open to Canadian and international artists who are engaged in the development or creation of work. Emerging, mid- career and established professional artists are invited to apply. Participants in the residency program receive accommodation, a private work studio and all meals at no cost. Travel and material costs are the responsibility of participating artists.

The residency program aims to further the professional development of artists by: enabling the creation and production of new work; fostering an exchange of ideas and influences; encouraging the sharing of expertise; inspiring new works of art and creative collaborations; and building relationships between artists working in different media. The program is designed and managed by Artscape and takes place for a single 30-day term each calendar year at the Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts on Toronto Island.

MORE INFORMATION, APPLICATION FORM AND GUIDELINES

ABOUT THE GIBRALTAR POINT CENTRE FOR THE ARTS AND TORONTO ISLAND
Situated on Toronto Island, The Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts owes its name to its location marked by Toronto's oldest landmark - the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, which was erected in 1808. Operated by Artscape, this 30,000 square foot unique facility provides permanent studio space to more than a dozen artists and a Retreat Centre, which can be rented for a variety of functions. In addition to hosting the Residency Program, the Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts features Artscape Lodge, a short- term rental service with accommodation and work studios for up to 13 visiting artists.

Toronto Island is a peaceful 230-hectare natural park in Toronto's harbour, a short 15-minute ferry ride from the thriving downtown core of Canada's cultural capital. The Island is part of the Carolinian Zone which includes flora and fauna not found anywhere else in Canada. Naturalized areas and wildlife reserves make it a popular stopover point for southern song birds. The Island is also home to approximately 800 people whose remarkable community boasts one of the highest per capita populations of artists in Canada and is the largest urban car-free community in North America.

For questions regarding the Gibraltar Point International Artist Residency Program please contact by e-mail only: residency@torontoartscape.on.ca









Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
Period : January 2008 - June 2008
Deadline : February 28, 2007

Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts- Visual Arts Residency Program Few programs exist either on the national or international level where the sole mission is to support the creativity of artists. From the beginning, the art-making process has been the highest priority at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, where both the atmosphere and environment offer ideal situations for creative growth and experimentation. We address the practical aspects of this mission by providing well-equipped studio spaces, living accommodations and monthly stipends. Located in two urban warehouses totaling 110,000 square feet, our facilities are designed to foster creativity and the productive exchange of ideas. Artists from around the world come to the Bemis Center to work in this supportive community and confront new challenges. Are you ready for your residency?

Because Exceptional Talent Deserves to be Supported...........
Celebrating 25 Years of Supporting Exceptional Talent!

Applications can be downloaded from our website at www.bemiscenter.org . Bi-annual application deadlines for 3 month residencies are September 30 and February 28.

Contact: Cary Tobin, Residency Director email- cary@bemiscenter.org

Cary Tobin
Residency Program Director
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts
724 So. 12th St.
Omaha, NE 68102
402-341-7130 ext.12

a happy new year to all
from
Mme VEnus_von_flytrap

excitement trip.....

Hello, Happy New Year!!!

Well, normally it is here that I would apologise for this being a long email, because I know it will be, but as I am trying not to, then sod it- this is going to be long, because I haven’t shared anything on the blog for what feels like ages and I feel excited and I have lots of things I want to share with you…..

For the first time in ages, I am happy. This is such an easy thing to say, but on so many occasions recently I have thought to myself that actually I am happy…and often this is followed by one of those, ahh if I say that I will somehow curse myself and something shit will happen, but in actual fact, life isn’t perfect, but I feel more able to deal with, take the shit with the good stuff- I feel more alive than I have done over the past four or five years…. Probably due to a shitty relationship ridden with guilt, but I feel empowered by the relationships I have, the positive, honest (and more often than not gutsy and heartfelt), genuine things that are given and shared in and through those relationships. I don’t want to bang on about it as such, especially because I do not in any way want to exclude everyone who is on the mentoring scheme now who I do not know so well yet, but the past year and the relationships that have started to grow have played a big part in that.

I keep finding books that I want to read, people mention things – websites, people and artists etc that get me on this excitement trip, in which I feel like suddenly I am being given this outlet to live my life in a way that is so much more expansive than I have ever thought it to be. I just started reading this book about godless morality. I saw a guy reading it in the train a while ago on my way home from London and asked for it for Christmas. I guess because I grew up going to church and that defined my ‘morals’, the way I lived my life and saw it, and now I am slowly defining my own life. That sounds so crap….not how I want it to, but, yes, I am beginning to define my own life I guess. I keep having this fractured conversation with people about it…in random conversations that hold so much meaning and insight for me, even if the other person doesn’t realise it.

Something that came out of the past year was about my not having anything to say…or at least feeling that, (yes, I keep coming back to this, I know, but it’s like the plug that was pulled out and now things are falling out from it, trickling into bigger pools and that feels really exciting… and although it sounds so grand – what do I believe and why the hell do I believe it…most of the time because I have been told that’s how it is, or how it should be and now I am waking up I am more able to think these things through for myself. I realise that maybe this all sounds so abstract, but I think it is something that will become more clear, hopefully, and articulate itself better over time.

Why is it that I get into this kind of excitement trip late at night, when there is so much I want to get out, but there’s always that consciousness of needing to also get some sleep at some point, so I have time for it again tomorrow? Anyway, I feel excited, and I guess more so because I am starting the year feeling alive and excited.

I might actually break this up into more than one post, otherwise it will end up consuming the entire bloody page of the blog…so I will post the rest of my wandering thoughts as comment to this I think.

Carol singing

You can check out a video of our anti-capitalist carol singing adventure by following this link.
www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/london/2006/12/359039.html?c=on#c163641

SLACERS (south lonodn activist choir) will be making further appearences in the new year!
Franko, I hope you appreciate the special guest appearance!
R xx

Having problems with link so cut and paste
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/london/2006/12/359039.html?c=on#c163641