April's Art Diary 2008

Fisrt published in Art & Soul Magazine in April 2008
http://www.artandsoulmagazine.com

April's Art Diary

This is the second of my art diaries, a quick look at what has happened in the month past and what will be happening in the month ahead.
Thanks for all the feedback from last months column, please don't hesitate to get in touch and get involved, I want this column to be an open dialogue with you guys as well. Five years ago we, the creative people of Peterborough, didn't have resources such as this magazine, the Unity club nights, Eco Arts, the various projects of Muddy Promotions & Muddy Arts, and the Glass Onion. Please grab hold of these opportunities and breathe your life into them as all of them thrive on your involvement, and Peterborough is a much richer city for the myriad endeavours of it's creative populace.
If you wish to have an item included or comment on anything then please contact me using the details below.

Right, now let's get down to business, this month sees the 30th Birthday of Sainsbury's Centre of Visual Arts. Based in Norwich they have contributed to the arts in East Anglia tremendously, providing a large space for exhibitions including a large sculpture-garden. Their collection has big numbers, with several thousand items which span over 5000 years of human history. Pretty awesome. They also provide a regular programme of events and workshops throughout the year. The current show, “Cloth & Culture Now” runs until 1st June and features work by 35 artists from Estonia, Finland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania and the UK.
www.scva.org.uk

Kettle's Yard has an inspiring exhibition lined up for us this month called “Beyond Measure: conversations across art and science”. This show explores how geometry is used by artists, physicists, astronomers, engineers, surgeons, architects, molecular biologists and mathematicians - among many others - to interpret, explain and order the world around us.
Beyond Measure will explore both historical and up-to-the-minute aspects of geometry moving from the origins of geometry on the banks of the Nile to interactive computer visualisations.
The show includes work by the man who launched a thousand psychedelic ships, mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, and the sculptor (or 'fabricator' as he prefers to be called ) Richard Deacon. Top class stuff. I will hopefully be visiting this show and will bring the raw review live and direct from the mind of Mr Payn.
www.kettlesyard.org
Geometry in art links us quite nicely with “Art Islam” which is an organisation dedicated to the development and exhibition of Islamic art and culture. This group will be hosting an introduction to their work which will include live Qawwali music performances, food, talks, plus loads of arts and crafts stalls. It takes place at the John Clare Theatre, (above the library), entry is £5 and starts at 7pm. For more details contact Ollie on 07708 921045.
Karen from Angles Theatre (on Alexander Rd, Wisbech) tells me that she is still accepting entries for Atelier East's 3rd Annual Summer Exhibition (6th July - 1st Aug) This is a group show, so if you would like to get your work exhibited then email her on info@atelier-east.co.uk. Angles Theatre's current show opens on April 6th , runs 'till the 2nd May and is dedicated to the textile work of Helen Free.


And bringing it back to the city of Peterborough Space4 this month sees the work of Ana Maria Pacheco, simply titled “prints”. This is the first solo show at Space4 for nearly four months, and looks to be a change of pace for the gallery with a selection of drawings & sketches in ink, charcoal and similar materials. opening on March 22nd and runs until April. This exhibition has been organised by the South Bank Centre as part of the 'Haywood Touring' project. Check out Ana's work on her website www.anamariapacheco.co.uk for a great selection of her work. Impressive and otherworldly images that occur somewhere on the psychic borderland. Can't wait!

Space4 is apparently closing down in September, so there will only be three or four more shows before it is gone for good, I will endeavour to find out more details on this situation for next months diary. (which brings me back to my comment earlier in this column, support the creative and artistic projects within this city if you want them to thrive.)
wwww.thespace4.org

And lastly back to the Muddy HQ, The Glass Onion has a new exhibition opening on March 22nd with works by Karen Green, she will be showing a variety of work on canvas and will be on display for about a month.

That's all folks! 'til the next time, stay happy 'n' let your love shine on, peace.

Luke Payn
lukepayn@hotmail.com
www.myspace.com/muddyarts