Reveal - A Christmas showcase of handmade craft: 25 - 28 November 2010 & 2-5 December 2010

Reveal starts from 5pm to 8pm this Thursday 25th November at The Old Fire Station Gallery, Henley on Thames, RG9 2AQ. This is the first of two shows and will continue to be open between 10am to 5pm from 25th to 28th November. 

Reveal showcases the work of 28 local artists, each producing quality handmade distinctive and bespoke Christmas gifts.

If you can't make the first show there will be a different range of equally high quality Christmas gifts for sale from 2nd to 5th December at the second show. Please join us for the private view of the second show between 5pm and 8pm on Thursday 2nd December. There will be wine and nibbles as well as the opportunity to chat to the participating artists. 

All major credit and debit cards are accepted.  See www.revealshowcase.com for further information and a preview of the fabulous gifts that will be on sale. 

Publish Post

TAKE OFF

arjeea21
TAKE OFF
contemporary art exhibition at
New Greenham Arts
Tuesday 7th - Saturday 18th of December
private view on Thursday the 9th of December 7 - 9 pm
arjeea21, launched in Reading in 2008, is now fully fledged.
Its artists explore and air issues, events and ideas - not always safe ones.
We invite you to contemplate, enjoy, argue, discuss and go away thinking about new horizons.

New Greenham Arts

113 Lindenmuth Way, New Greenham Park, Newbury, Berkshire, RG19 6HN

Caversham Artists - The Art Cell - 11th - 20th November.

Caversham Artists are back! The Art Cell is an exhibition in Wokingham running from 11th - 20th November.

They are back with a mixture of sculpture, painting, pottery,jewellery, photography, silhouette work, decoupage, and woodwork.

This is a showcase and sale of work by Anne Webster, Barbara Goodbun,Charles Burns, Joanne de Nobriga, Louise Spiers, Mary Phelan, Nicola Duncan, Julie Simmonds, Roger Smalley, and Peter Quarmby.

Venue: 43c Peach Street, Wokingham, RG40 1XJ
Times: Thursday 11th November - Saturday 20th November
12-5pm Monday-Friday and 10:30am-5pm Saturdays

Join the artists for a celebratory late night opening on Thursday 11th November 5 - 8:30pm. Be the first to enjoy the exhibition and meet the artists over a glass of wine.

http://www.cavershamartstrail.co.uk/

This exhibition is part of the ’more arts’ campaign, bringing more arts to the Wokingham Borough. Empty shop exhibitions across the Borough are co-ordinated by local charity The Cultural Partnership. To find out what’s on, or to get involved visit www.morewokingham.org.uk .

Caversham Artists Christmas Show 2010

On 6th  & 7th  November Caversham Artists 2010 Christmas show is taking place at New Directions, Caversham. There will be 16 artists taking part selling a range of handmade goodies including jewellery, paintings, decoupage furniture, wood, ceramics, glass, drawing, stone carving and more.

The show will be open from 11am to 5pm on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th November. There is free parking in Waitrose car park.

There will be the opportunity to pose for a silhouette cut in 2-3 minutes by artist Charles Burns, on Sunday 2-5pm. Children and adults are welcome and no need for neat hairstyles!

New Directions will also be offering Pottery workshops on both Saturday and Sunday.

Some of the Caversham Artists are also showing their work at 43 Peach Street, Wokingham. 11th to 20th November. See www.cavershamartstrail.co.uk for further information.

Parcel Fever

15 October 2010, 7pm - 6am
The Keep, ground floor, 571 Oxford Road, Tilehurst, Reading RG30 1HL
A contemporary art exhibition with a difference: the work arrives wrapped, and and throughout the evening it will be unwrapped and installed by those present.  A companionable evening of anticipation and discussion.  Includes work by Jon Lockhart, Robert FitzMaurice, Lucy Ann Hobbs, Alex Buhagiar, Steve Perfect, Cally Trench, Philip Lee, Chris Mercier, Tania Chamberlain, Barry Chamberlain, Ellen Jewell, Anita Benson, Neile Wright and.

nuit blanche - friday 15th october

www.nuitblanchereading.org.uk

Deconstruct Reconstruct

Exhibition of work by staff at Reading College

All Welcome. Come along to the opening or during college hours - ask at reception for directions!

Arts Update

Caversham Arts Trail
The Caversham Artists Autumn show is taking place in Mays Barn, a historic 17th century barn building tucked away behind 234 Peppard Road, Emmer Green, RG4 8UA (Next to the Seat garage). Please come and visit us on 18 & 19 September Saturday between 11-6pm and Sunday 12-6pm.

This diverse exhibition focuses on the work of ten Caversham Artists members with hand dyed and woven silk scarves by Gloria Pitt, delicate slip cast ceramics by Lauren Denney, Photography by Joanne de Nobriga, as well as Paintings inspired by driftwood by Julie Simmonds. The barn also houses energetic lift drawings by Charles Burns, vintage decoupaged furniture by Louise Spires of Kitsch-En-Sync, pastel portraits by Mary Phelan, graceful wooden platters and bowls by Peter Quarmby and contemporary silver jewellery by Matthew Hitch. Outside in the grounds of the barn you can enjoy some of Roger Smalley's elegant stone sculptures .

Please come and enjoy the work on show which is also for sale. There will be light refreshments being served throughout the weekend. There is more information on the website http://cavershamartstrail.co.uk/ .

1920's Tea Dance - Rising Sun Arts Centre
If you fancy a good vintage knees-up, The Rising Sun Arts Centre is the place to come.
Sunday September 19th, Lindy Hop dance class at 2pm - 3pm, 1920's Tea Dance from 3pm - 6pm
Live vintage music from Lawrie Wright & the Silver Heels
Homemade cakes and tea served in vintage style, as much as you like! There is sure to be lots of good suprises too, so come along and find out. It's the bee's knees!
Poster attached.
www.risingsun-artscentre.co.uk 30 Silver Street, Reading RG1 2ST

Sound:Site
Festival information
Venue: South Hill Park, Bracknell, RG12 7PA. UK
Box Office: Tel 01344 484123
Sound:Site – Sonic Arts Festival
Date: Saturday 2nd October
Time: 10.00-5.30pm / 7.00pm evening concert
Tickets: £26.00 / £18.00 (students/membs)
Box Office: 01344 484123

Talks and demonstrations exploring the Internet as a destination for making and showing artwork, for sharing sounds, bringing communities together, and curating sonic experiences. Sound:Site brings together a set of exciting projects from in and around the Sound Art community, framing contemporary practice and emerging online/offline possibilities.

Taking place in the splendid Georgian mansion that is home to South Hill Park, one of the UKʼs longest surviving regional arts centreʼs. The venue lies 25 miles West of London in the Thames Valley in Berkshire

Featuring:
Chris Clark, Head of Digital Research, British Library “UK Sound Map”

The exciting new project being rolled out by the British Library to catalogue the sonic experience of the UK in the 21st Century.

Patrick McGinley “Framework”
Artist and broadcaster whose “Framework” radio show airs on Resonance FM and syndicates across Europe, acts as a hub for the global field recording and phonography community.

Kathy Hinde & Ed Holroyd “Twitchr”
The artists will talk through the concept and technical details of their “Twitter meets bird spotting” project “Twitchr” and then take everyone out to the Park for a live demo.

5 x 9 Micro-Presentations
A 5 x nine minute info-burst from the community. Artists and instigators of web-based sound projects outline their approaches and challenges. Featuring: SoundFjord Gallery, Soundart Radio 102.5FM, Joe Stevens, Audio Gourmet Net Label, London Sound Survey

Felicity Ford & Paul Whitty “Sound Diaries”
Recording life in sound. Project of Oxford Brookes Universityʼs Sonic Arts Research Unit
Performance: 7.00pm “Framework 250 Remixed”
Live sonic performance from artists who feature on “Framework 250″ the recent definitive CD collection of phonography-based work, with Patrick McGinley, Simon Whetham, Jonathan Coleclough

Further Info: Martin Franklin 01344 416261 | martin@digitalmediacentre.org |

Web: www.digitalmediacentre.org and soundandsite.wordpress.com
This event is generously supported by Sonic Art Research Unit, Oxford Brookes University

For podcasts previewing some of the ideas and sounds which will attend this event, please see the Gene Pool podcast page and check out the recent recordings we have been making!

The Reading Art
The third annual Reading Art Exhibition and Sale organised by the Rotary Club of Reading Maiden Erlegh will take place this year over the weekend 8th to 10th October, 2010 info as attached). more info on the website www.thereadingartexhibtion.org

Nuit Blanche, 15th/16th October 2010.
Nuit Blanche is an exciting "cultural all-nighter" presenting contemporary art events from dusk to dawn. It enlivens cities all round the world such as Paris, Berlin and Toronto, and 2010 is the debut for Reading. This first year will be a small* but magical series of indoor and outdoor events on the night of 15/16 October, and with your help it will grow into a more spectacular festival next year.
The Nuit Blanche Reading website will list the program organised by partners OpenHand OpenSpace, jelly, Whitley Arts Festival, Rising Sun Arts Centre and arjeea21, with activities in the Town Centre, Whitley,
and the Keep on Oxford Road. New events will be added as people join in, so keep checking back to www.nuitblanchereading.org.uk

Attached is a call for artists to take part in Parcel Fever, a one night exhibition event at OpenHand OpenSpace on the night of 15/16 October as part of Nuit Blanche Reading 2010.
It's not absolutely necessary to be present in person on the night, although we hope a good crowd will attend. Even if you can't come for the whole time please do drop in for a bit and participate if possible. Parcel Fever, 7pm - 6am, will be preceded by a short Big Draw event called Night Monsters, 5-7pm, also at the Keep, 571 Oxford Road, Reading, RG30 1HL.. All are welcome to that too. From 6am on Saturday morning we will make our way into Reading town centre to meet other artists and participants at Forbury Gardens for a Dawn Chorus and breakfast.
The brief can be interpreted imaginatively - you could propose something simple, complex, small, large, informal, formal, edible, starting materials with instructions, highly finished, stationary, mobile, startling, favourite, hideous, endearing ...the possibilities are endless. We aim to use the ground floor of the Keep for installing the surprises. You can see some images of the space at www.ohos.org.uk under the tabs "pictures from an exhibition..". An entry contribution of £3 per work is requested to help cover heating, lighting and hot drinks.)

Whitley Arts Festival:
Whitley Arts Festival this year is shaping up really well and more info on the highlights will be available soon but in the mean time, there are two opportunities to get involved in.....(see flyers attached) for info if you want to take part in either Fuzzy is OK, Takeaway Gallery, 15th – 30th October or Art Sale - What The Butler Saw, 21st – 24th October

Reading Voices: 3rd Thursdays
A new programme of monthly art events will be launched in November and artists are invited to submit work for selection for the launch night. The events will be a diverse programme of visual/ literary/music and performing arts in non-traditional arts venues such as hotel foyers, audio equipment show rooms, restaurants, cafes, department stores, office building lobbies etc. developed from the Open for Art programme (a partnership between jelly and Reading UK CIC). 3rd Thursday: Reading Voices launch in partnership with Novotel, with a Beaujolais Nouveau art auction evening on 18 November and artists are asked to submit works for selection for the auction. 15% of the sales will be for charity with all other monies straight to the artist. If you would like to take part or be a guest please contact suzanne@jelly.org.uk for more details

Caversham Artists Autumn Show 18th & 19th September 2010

You are invited to the Caversham Artists Autumn Show taking place this coming weekend, 18th & 19th September 2010. The show is taking place in a beautiful 17th Century Barn tucked away in Emmer Green. The show is open from 11am -6pm Saturday and 12pm - 6pm Sunday. See the website for further details.

Wokingham Arts Trail

This weekend (11 & 12 September) the first ever Wokingham Arts Trail is taking place. You can visit 12 locations in and around Wokingham to see & buy art created by 27 local artists. Venues include homes, studios and temporary art spaces. See the website for more details and to download a leaflet with map.

Traditional Craft Fair, 5 November - applicants wanted

Visit here for more details about the craft fair at MERL and download application forms

Art/bio workshop: Crustaceans, Sat 18 September

Museum of Reading, Blagrave Street, Reading, RG1 1QH
Saturday 18 September 2010, 1.0 - 3.30pm
Adults/16+, £10
Explore these "mobile swiss army knives" with Ingrid Jensen
in this hands-on practical art/bio session
For info and to book (spaces are limited), please
email info@imjensen.co.uk
www.readingmuseum.org.uk
www.imjensen.co.uk

Nuit Blanche /White Night

What will you be doing in Reading between dusk Friday October 15th and dawn Saturday October 16th?

Reading’s first Nuit Blanche/White Night festival is set to take place this October. We will shortly be inviting proposals from contemporary artists, performers, organisations and venues to create events to take place through the night. We hope to offer small grants towards performances, outdoor installations, music and other special events.

More information will be available once funding and venues are confirmed.
Please see website for further information and links to other White Nights. www.nuitblanchereading.org.uk

We are independent arts organisations and artists with support from Reading Borough Council if you want to get involved more get in touch.

chris mercier at the retreat until 6th July

Tea Party Time

Yes, it's here, it's tonight and you are all invited.



Come along and see the brand new book for the first time. You can get a sneaky preview right here.





The china is already there ready and waiting, some is being lent to us by the wonderful Patchwork Vintage . They rent out china and are sponsoring our event for the book launch. They are so very lovely and generous and there will also be some of their handmade gorgeous textiles on display too.

.

We're looking forward to seeing you from 5-9pm at the artpad, 3rd Floor 42 Market Place, Reading, RG1 2DE

Outside:Inside Festival - call for submissions

http://www.outsideinsidefestival.com
The Outside:Inside Festival is a month long celebration of the arts. Music, Film, Art, Theatre and Dance are all showcased throughout the festival period amongst the festivals inside and outside spaces.
The Concept? Simple. The Outside:Inside takes the inside art institutions outside for the general public like yourself to enjoy out on the streets, and open spaces; whilst the outside festival vibe is taken inside, into the venues and into the shops, the restaurants, bars and quite possibly some pretty unusual places too, but you will have to keep your eyes peeled for that.

Performers will be descending on Reading from around the globe, with acts representing many great nations including Israel, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Canada, the USA, and even Transylvania, Romania. These top global acts will bring a wealth of differing global styles with them, interacting with the huge amount of local talent whic will be drawn to the festival.
Interaction is the key, build an art installation, stroll the art market stalls, chooe from a worldwide array of food, ponder the outside art, sing along to the bands on stage, take a moment to reflect on the poetry and spoken word, be suprised by the random improvised theatre, foot-tap to a bit of Jazz or getting down and dirty at one of our inside venues afterparties or headline shows alongside the festival profile bands, big name DJs, and organisers till the wee hours.

The Mission:
The Outside:Inside Festival is brought to you by Outside Inside LTD with the support of Reading UK CIC.
Their joint aim. To provide Reading with a new more vibrant and celebrated culture, whilst providing a voice to the wealth of artistic talent and young enterprise in the Thames Valley area.
The festival is for you. The people of Reading, the familys, the shop workers, the shop owners, the bartenders, the professional, the young, and the old. This is why we have made all outside space free. It won't cost you a penny to come along and interact.

The Art Bits:
Submissions/ proposals are invited to use the following spaces at the following times. Please send all proposals to suzanne@jelly.org.uk. All submissions must be received by 28 June 2010

31st July
Behind BSM/ Civic Office area/ Dusseldorf Way, Clomnel Walk area
12-8pm( or hours in between them)

14th August
Market Place
-Through Bristol & West Walk, outside either ends of the space
12-8 ( or hours in between them)


21st August
Forbury Gardens
-Any area really -
12-8 ( or hours in between them)

looking forward too hearing from you!


Suzanne Stallard
Director

e suzanne@jelly.org.uk
website http://jelly.org.uk


jelly is an arts organisation in the heart of Reading. Established in 1993 as an artist led studio and exhibition facility, jelly is a registered charity limited by guarantee 1100730, running exhibitions, educational activities, special arts events with the visual arts and creative excellence being top of our agenda.

jelly’s charitable objectives are:

• To promote the development of the arts and in particular the visual arts for the benefit of the local community by providing studio space and facilities for public exhibitions and by organising events which improve public access to the arts

• To advance education by promoting understanding and learning about the creative processes involved in the visual arts

Henley Arts Trail 29-31 May 2010

Henley Arts Trail starts this weekend with 20 venues open during the bank holiday weekend. You can download a handy map from the website that shows the venues and gives opening times, check these first as they can vary.

Here is a little preview to tickle your taste buds.

Hand-made lampwork glass beads by Beady Pool.

Felted necklaces & bracelets by Ellen Brown.
Hand embroidered cushion by Patchwork Butterfly.

Open Space

15 - 23 May 2010, Mon-Wed 11-2, Thur-Fri 2-7, Sat-Sun 11-7
Private View Friday 14 May, 6-9pm
OpenHand OpenSpace, The Keep, 571 Oxford Road, Tilehurst,  Reading RG30 1HL

Exhibition of work by OpenHand OpenSpace studio artists: Shehnoor Ahmed, Elaine Binns, Julian Grater, Ingrid Jensen, Jon Lockhart, Anna Mitchell, Julian Gordon Mitchell, Bithja Moor, Petre Nikoloski, David Rodrigues and Julia Rogers.

33. retreat - meet the artist 11th May from 7.30

Meet the artist event on 11th May from 7.30pm. All welcome.
Work by Jo Thomas in response to The Retreat. Jo will be developing and adding work as the exhibition continues through May.
Organised by Anne Marie Carroll
www.retreatpub.co.uk

CAVERSHAM ARTS TRAIL 8&9 AND 15&16 MAY 2010

You are invited to visit 16 local artists and makers showing and selling their work on 8&9 and 15&16 May 11am-5pm a part of the Caversham Arts Trail.

There will be seven venues with a unique and varied collection of jewellery, paintings, ceramics, wood work, stained glass, weaving, textile art, stone sculpture, contemporary silver, handmade soaps, photography, decoupage furniture and drawings.

See www.cavershamartstrail.co.uk to download a map with full venue details and a schedule of demonstrations and events.

May be

A line of colour
You are invited to take part in the exhibition by bringing a potted plant (please don't buy anything especially). Plants will be placed on the wall outside the church creating
a line of colour.
At the end of the exhibition you may leave your plant for another visitor to the church, choosing another plant to take home or collect your original plant. We hope to create a living wall reflecting the local community and richness of nature at the start of May.

Room to Manoeuvre

Friday 16 April - Wed 21 April 2010, 3-7pm
The Keep, 571 Oxford Road, Reading RG30 1HL

Work by arjeea21 artists: Jenny Kiehn, Gordana Naslas, Neile Wright, Chris Mercier, Steve Perfect, Gerhard Bissell, Janet  Walton, Clemens Steigleder, Ingrid Jensen, Lesley Brown, Gill Goodwin, Bithja Moor, Marie Sudwell, Angela Willis, Roxi Tohaneanu-Shields, Julia Rogers, Helen Lunn & Jerry Lunn.
www.arjeea21.com
With thanks to OpenHand OpenSpace for hosting the exhibition and to Reading Borough Council.

hang-on info

Dear All

It's been a while since we have done a "proper" hang-on email update so here is a quick one to remind you that this coming Friday is the last Friday of the month. We know that there is confusion over where we meet now as we fluctuate between tea and cake at Picnic at 4.30 or RISC/ Global Cafe from 6 so this week to make it even more interesting you are all invited to visit the new jelly space from 3pm at 3rd Floor 42 Market Place - press the buzzer and you will be let in. Some artists will be there talking about their projects/ events including Salvo Toscano (artists photography project) Neile Wright (Rising Sun Arts Centre benefit day), Ingrid Jensen (arjeea21, OHOS, RGA), Suzanne Stallard (jelly, Open for Art project, Arts in Reading, Artpad) ~ if you'd like to set up some of your work or have a space to lay out some info about your project please contact suzanne at suzanne@jelly.org.uk

If you can't make 3- 4 at jelly, we shall move on at 4.30pm across the pavement to Picnic

And now to normal business:

Karpouziaaa, Whitley Arts Festival Film Showing Wednesday March 24th 2.20pm
There will be a second showing of the Whitley Arts Festival 09’s major commission. The film 'Karpouziaaa' (Mark Aerial Waller) will be shown at John Madejski Academy, Northumberland Avenue in Whitley during their arts week on March 24th at 2.20pm. Admission is FREE. This will be its second outing, the film having received it's world premiere during the festival last October. The film was made in Whitley and features people from the community as actors in the film. The doors will be open to anyone, so please feel free to invite anyone.
"Karpouziaaa - Artist Mark Aerial Waller sets up a model for fresh food sales in South Reading. In Karpouziaaa, Waller proposes to bring a shopping idea from South European countries to South Reading: A salesperson drives slowly through residential areas calling attention to the goods over a loudspeaker. The salesperson’s voice becomes a bold rhythmic poem; a public voice usually associated with political canvassing and totalitarian Science Fiction states. The sales experiment, held for a single day at the end of September, is documented on video with participation of the community of Whitley. The realm of fantasy and poetry is made concrete for a day through the routine of buying and selling"



Open for Art
The first Open For Art venue was launched on Friday 27 November at 173 Friar Street with an exhibition curated by Caversham artist, Bithja Moor entitled Peepshow.

Open for Art is a partnership project between jelly and Reading UK CIC, utilising Reading’s empty shop windows with art from Reading based artists. This follows a successful pilot project in June 2009 creating pop-up galleries in Reading. Working with the landlords and agents of Reading we will be using temporary spaces, creating a visual profile for the arts and showing Reading’s individuality as a town.

There are currently four live venues in Reading Town Centre:
36 Market Place ~ a changing show of students work from Thames Valley University and Reading University
173 Friar Street ~ Skills Swap, a celebration of the talents of the local community for Fairtrade Fortnight
Station Hill _ Magic Carpet, travelling show from members of Reading Guild of Artists
Friars Walk ~ works by Nicholas Barton, final year student at Reading University.

They are plans underway to work across the Borough in other areas with the first new space in South Reading expected to be announced in the next few weeks.

How to become involved:
We are looking for artists, either individuals and groups who have an idea, these could either be a group of works ready to exhibit or making a piece specific to the sites available. All submissions/ proposals should be made directly to Suzanne Stallard, via email suzanne@jelly.org.uk. If you have a specific location or certain requirements please outline these in your application. The proposal need be no more than 500 words and you will also need to submit jpegs of you current work practice. Application is an ongoing process and all submissions are welcome.
For more info visit jelly



Art & Leisure in Caversham Court Gardens
Thursday 1st April 2010 - 10:30am to 3.30pm
Caversham Court Gardens, Church Street, Caversham, Reading

A packed programme of free activities and workshops for adults is taking place in the historic Caversham Court Gardens.
Tutors from New Directions will be leaving the classroom to run a wide variety of free fun activities and workshops for adults throughout the day including Pottery, Sculpture, Tai Chi, Meditation and Indian Head Massage.
The free event runs from 10:30am to 3.30pm has been organised by New Directions – Reading Borough Council’s learning and employment service and the councils parks department.
Visitors can take to a potters wheel to learn how to throw pots or watch sculpture figures being made from terracotta. A small art gallery with a showcase of adult learners work will be on display in the grade II listed riverside gazebo building.
An exciting mix of workshops will be taking place including: Reiki (10:30am–11:30am), Meditation (11:30am–12:30pm), Making Ceramic Fish (1pm- 3.30pm), Reflexology (1pm-2pm) Tai Chi (1:30pm–2:30pm) and Indian Head Massage (2pm-3pm).
A free tour of the historic gardens will be available throughout the day organised by The Friends of Caversham Court Gardens. The volunteer tour guides will be leading the way around the gardens exploring exciting and hidden facts. The team from the forthcoming Reading Contemporary Arts Fair being held at Rivermead will be giving visitors an insight to the exhibition taking place later in April.
More information visit http://www.newdirectionsreading.co.uk

Ross Hale, The Retreat Monday 12 April until end of April.
Ross Hale will be exhibiting his beautiful landscape photography, printed on handmade paper at The Retreat, 8 St Johns Street, Reading




Room to Manoeuvre 15-22 April 2010. Open Hand Open Space Studios Oxford Road
Exhibition by arjeea21. Preview 15 April
OHOS is an artist-led centre providing affordable studio and exhibition space for contemporary artists in Reading. Since its foundation in 1980 in a former military keep, its studios or exhibition spaces have been used by well over 100 artists, including Cornelia Parker, Douglas Gordon, Paula Rego and Andy Goldsworthy. There are regular residencies for new visual arts graduates. It also offers an education program to promote public access to contemporary visual art and artists.

Contact: info@ohos.org.uk, 0118 959 7752
571 Oxford Road, Reading RG30 1HL



FIRST READING CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR. Saturday 24- Sunday 25 April at Rivermead Leisure Complex
Tickets: Adults £6, concessions £4, children under 12 free
The fair is being orgainised by the team behind the highly successful Windsor Contemporary Art Fair, now in its sixth year.

Organiser Sarah McAllister says: “We are very excited about launching the Reading Contemporary Art Fair, our events have always been about bringing stimulating new art to the widest possible audience. We present our exhibitors in a relaxed but professional setting, giving them the best platform to showcase their work while allowing them to talk about their art directly with the public – something few other art shows do. Our aim is to de-mystify the art world and make it truly accessible to everyone.”

The fair brings together an exciting mix of over 80 artists, printmakers, photographers, sculptors, ceramicists and selected galleries offering the very best in contemporary art with prices from £30 to £3,000.
Exhibitors includes artists from all over the UK, Europe and a strong contingent from the local area, newly qualified and established artists along with a number of galleries bringing together accepted masters and young beginners. The interactive element of the fair is very important; visitors will be able to participate in workshops by Reading’s own artists’ group Jelly.
Sarah McAllister adds: “We encourage everyone to join in the workshops. They are great fun, and have been known to completely change people’s perceptions of their own artistic abilities.


CAVERSHAM ARTS TRAIL
An eclectic mix of Caversham Artists and Makers will be showing their work over a two weekend event at selected Caversham venues on MAY 8th & 9th and 15th & 16th.

A unique and varied collection of Ceramics, Sculpture, Woodwork and Paintings along with Photography, Glasswork, Decoupage and Jewellery to tantalize all tastes and every pocket! Step the trail in the spring sunshine between the hours of 11 am and 5 pm.
For further details of Artists and Venues please view our website
www.cavershamartstrail.co.uk


Open Space 15-23 May 2010
A West Berkshire and North Hampshire Open Studios Exhibition by OHOS studio artists.
Preview 14 May
OHOS is an artist-led centre providing affordable studio and exhibition space for contemporary artists in Reading. Since its foundation in 1980 in a former military keep, its studios or exhibition spaces have been used by well over 100 artists, including Cornelia Parker, Douglas Gordon, Paula Rego and Andy Goldsworthy. There are regular residencies for new visual arts graduates. It also offers an education program to promote public access to contemporary visual art and artists.

Contact: info@ohos.org.uk, 0118 959 7752
571 Oxford Road, Reading RG30 1HL.




Whiteknights Studio Trail
2010 is our 10th anniversary with the studio trail being on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th June 2010, with venues open from 11am -6pm, further info can be found here http://www.studiotrail.co.uk/


Reading Arts Week 2010
Monday 21st to Sunday 27th June 2010
Venues across Reading

Reading Arts Week is a showcase of the new art being created in Reading by adult learners and local artists.
We welcome paintings, pottery, sculptural ceramics, stained glass, jewellery, fashion, quilting, photography, installation and new media work, including video.
Reading Arts Week has been organised by New Directions – The Learning & Employment Service for Reading, Reading Borough Council and The Reading Informal Adult Learning Network.

Venues include: New Directions North Reading Centre in Caversham, Forbury Gardens, Battle Library, Caversham Court Gardens and many more!
All selected work will be exhibited at the Reading Arts Week Exhibition and a selection of work will be exhibited at preview events in the Forbury and Caversham Court Gardens as detailed below.
Art in the Forbury Bandstand
Forbury Gardens, Reading
11am – 3:30pm - Monday 21 June 2010

The Big Art Picnic
Caversham Court Gardens, Church Street, Caversham, Reading
12pm – 8pm – Wednesday 23 June 2010

Reading Arts Week Exhibition
New Directions, North Reading Centre, School Lane, Caversham, Reading
(Preview Evening 7:30pm – 9:30pm - Friday 25 June 2010)
10:30pm – 5pm - Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 June 2010

We are looking for live performers to sing/play live at one of the events taking place on Wednesday 23rd June 2010 (12noon - 8pm) at Caversham Court Gardens, Church Street, Caversham, Reading.
The outdoor event will be open to the public to watch the performances and visit the outdoor art gallery among many other free activities for the whole family.
We are looking for any type of performer to perform live at the event. Please note - this is an unpaid role.
For more information e-mail artsweek@newdirectionsreading.co.uk

For more information, including how you can submit work to the exhibitions visit http://www.readingartsweek.co.uk



I think that's all folks for now!

Hang-on Fridays
Jo Thomas and Suzanne Stallard have started a new artists network group which meets the last Friday of every month to network, talk and just share a cup if tea together once a month to break from the sometimes studio seclusion. All artists are welcome to come and hang-on.
For more info or to join the mailing list for hang-on email Suzanne at smallapple@mac.com
Next hang-on date is 26 March 2010 4.30pm at Picnic, Butter Market, Reading

Open for Art

The first Open For Art venue was launched on Friday 27 November at 173 Friar Street with an exhibition curated by Caversham artist, Bithja Moor entitled Peepshow.

Three more venues will be installed in the next few weeks and information on where you can find them in Reading can be found right here

Open for Art is a partnership project between jelly and Reading UK CIC, utilising Reading's empty shop windows with art from Reading based artists. This follows a successful pilot project in June 2009 creating pop-up galleries in Reading. Working with the landlords and agents of Reading we will be using temporary spaces, creating a visual profile for the arts and showing Reading's individuality as a town.

There is further demand by many individual artists and groups including Hang-on Artists and the Experimental Film Festival. Development of the Open for Art project would enable a Borough wide project working in partnership with the independent Arts sector supporting areas with empty shop units.

Benefits of the project:
• profile raising of Reading and its creative community
• engaging local people and the local creative community, including people who may not normally have access to the arts
• improving environment – including tidying up and painting of empty units, making units more desirable as lettable units
• improving the area – making the area a more desirable place to visit by offering a visual arts programme of high quality local artists

In the first year it is estimated that the programme will engage with:
• 72 emerging to mid--career professional artists (based on 3 venues live at any one point)
• nuture and develop emerging arts groups.
• A significant number of the public
The work being undertaken by the independent creative community, led by jelly, in Reading has identified link projects across the Reading area, both within the Town Centre and associated activities in the areas identified below:
*North Reading (Caversham Artists)
*South Reading (Whitley Arts Festival)
*East Reading (Whiteknights and Reading University)
*West Reading (Open Hand Studios, Reading Spaces Studios, Moondogs)

jelly has a long track record of working in the Town centre from it’s initial beginnings in a temporary unit in 1993 to including working with landlords in sites such as 10 Gun Street (known during the period as Gallery 10) installing 13 exhibitions in an 11 month period.

How to become involved:
We are looking for artists, either individuals and groups who have an idea, these could either be a group of works ready to exhibit or making a piece specific to the sites available. All submissions/ proposals should be made directly to Suzanne Stallard, via email suzanne@jelly.org.uk. If you have a specific location or certain requirements please outline these in your application. The proposal need be no more than 500 words and you will also need to submit jpegs of you current work practice. Application is an ongoing process and all submissions are welcome.




jelly is an arts organisation in the heart of Reading. Established in 1993 as an artist led studio and exhibition facility, jelly is a registered charity limited by guarantee 1100730, running exhibitions, educational activities, special arts events with the visual arts and creative excellence being top of our agenda.

Reading UK CIC is a business-led economic development company. It aims to: promote and sustain the economic development of Reading to achieve sustainable prosperity for those that live, work, play, do business and invest in the area.

This project is being supported by Cream Design, Fryer Holt, Brook Henderson, Hicks Baker, Sackville Developments (Reading) Ltd, Reading Borough Council


More info available here

Film Made in Whitley

There will be a second showing of the Whitley Arts Festival 09’s major commission. The film 'Karpouziaaa' (Mark Aerial Waller) will be shown at John Madejski Academy, Northumberland Avenue in Whitley during their arts week on March 24th at 2.20pm. Admission is FREE. This will be its second outing, the film having received it's world premiere during the festival last October.
The film was made in Whitley and features people from the community as actors in the film. The doors will be open to anyone, so please feel free to invite anyone.

Mark Aerial Waller makes films and videos that reference cinema, providing both an interpretation and interruption of its history. With recourse to technological and narrative mechanisms, Waller stretches, reiterates and at times perverts the mainstream vocabulary of structure and dramatic staging. He selects very particular cameras, stock, transfer processes and camera shots through which to approach narrative time-based work with a painterly, self-referential touch.

Karpouziaaa
Artist Mark Aerial Waller sets up a model for fresh food sales in South Reading. In Karpouziaaa, Waller proposes to bring a shopping idea from South European countries to South Reading: A salesperson drives slowly through residential areas calling attention to the goods over a loudspeaker. The salesperson’s voice becomes a bold rhythmic poem; a public voice usually associated with political canvassing and totalitarian Science Fiction states. The sales experiment, held for a single day at the end of September, is documented on video with participation of the community of Whitley. The realm of fantasy and poetry is made concrete for a day through the routine of buying and selling.

Limited Edition 15th February-10th April

Limited Edition is a showcase of work by artist teachers based throughout the Thames Valley. With the intent to encourage new work, the aim of the exhibition was to enhance the participating individual's professional practice, and for this to have a positive impact on what happens in the classroom.
Limited Edition, the exclusive, one off exhibition, invites the audience to consider and celebrate this duo-profession.

Open Monday-Friday, 10am-4.30pm. Also open most Saturdays (call box office for confirmation- 01635 244246)

Arlington Arts Centre
Mary Hare
Snelsmore Common
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 3BQ


www.arlingtonarts.co.uk

Creative Partner sought

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Bracknell is looking for a creative partner with expertise in AV/animation to work alongside another creative partner on their current Change Schools programme.

They are looking at making links and connections across the school and curriculum, with a focus on the visual medium and Professor Guy Claxton’s ‘Building Learning Power’.

For more information and a copy of the brief, please email philippa.berry@southhillpark.org.uk.

Cath Baldwin at The Retreat until end of March

nuit blanche here

www.nuitblanchereading.org.uk

something bubbling along that could emerge

Print & Silver 27th Feb - 11th March

Peacock Gallery at Maiden Erleigh School
Private View - Friday 26th February 6pm-8pm
Open to the public:
Weekdays
2.30 - 4.30pm
Saturdays 27 Feb & 6 Mar ‘Meet the Artists’ 10am - 4pm

Hot Air

Tuesday 2 March, 1-2pm
A discussion about those things in the art world that get people overheated - eg professional v amateur, art v craft, modern v contemporary (distinctions that are still alive and kicking, and what do these words mean anyway?), and human tendencies to draw boundaries and fend off those that don't fit within them.  Come and have some lively friendly fun.  Martin Andrews and Ingrid Jensen will toss some ideas into the fray.
Museum of Reading, Blagrave Street,  Reading RG1 1QH
Free, but booking essential on 0118 939 9800

Eighty!

80th Annual Exhibition by Reading Guild of Artists

 The Museum of Reading, Blagrave Street, Reading RG1 1QH

16 January - 21 March 2010

Tues-Sat 10-4, Sun 11-4, Closed Mon.

0118 939 9800

www.readingmuseum.org.uk

www.rga-artists.org.uk

Craft Stalls available at the Oxford Literary Festival 20-28 March 2010

There are craft stalls available at the Oxford Literary Festival taking place from 20th to 28th March 2010 at Christ Church College, Oxford. There are spaces available each day and discounts for multiple day bookings.

If you would like further information please email exhibitions@laurendenney.com for an application form. Deadline for applications is 31st January.

the end of an era

Looking forward to seeing anyone that can make it this Friday to Global from 5-7pm.

In the meantime you might like to read this

Exuberance - Meet the artists 14th January 5pm -9pm

The second part of Exuberance closes on 16th January at 5pm. We are having a meet the artists evening from 5pm-9pm on 14th January (this has been moved from 7th January due to snow).

Exuberance is taking place at 43 Peach Street, Wokingham. More details and a sneak preview of the show can be seen on www.cavershamartstrail.com. Hope to see you there.

The secret film club is run by St. Andrew's Church Caversham. We show a film every other month on a screen in the church hall and ask for a small donation. If you want to know the title of the film please e-mail me bithja@bithjamoor.net.


Runtime: 99 min
cert. 15, contains strong language and modereate nudity

Cancelled - New Year Hang On next Friday instead

network, talk and just share a cup of tea, break from the sometimes studio seclusion. All artists are welcome to come and hang-on.
new date ( just too skiddy today)
Friday 15th January 5 - 7pm at Global Cafe, RISC, London Street.

hope to see you there, Suzanne & Jo