Monday, April 22, 2013

Festival of Art & Music rEvolution (F.A.M.E)

My next group Exhibition opens on Thursday, this time we are on a ship moored up at Canary Wharf......  

Details below.  The Private View is on Thursday afternoon, email me to be added to the guest list:



FESTIVAL OF ART & MUSIC rEVOLUTION, 25th-28th APRIL 2013
ON BOARD MOTOR SHIP STUBNITZ, CANARY WHARF

A FOUR DAY FESTIVAL CELEBRATING THE ARTS AS A PLATFORM TO EXPLORE AND CHALLENGE "THE STATE WE’RE IN" – AS PEOPLE, AS A COUNTRY, AS A WORLD...
MANY F.A.M.E-OUS CHANGES START THROUGH MICRO-COMMUNITIES AND EVENTUALLY SPREAD. 
¡rEVOLUTION IS UNSTOPPABLE -VIVA LA rEVOLUCION!

This is the last time the good ship Stubnitz will be lowering her gangplanks to the public before sailing off to Europe in May! 

Hosted by Floating Forum, this “state of the nation, state of the globe” event combines some of today’s most influential artists, musicians and performers in a resounding wave of social commentary and political awareness and brings art to the heart of Canary Wharf.

ARTGASMS:  TOM HUNTER, SARAH MAPLE, CHRIS BARRETT, JUNO CALYPSO, MOLLY MACINDOE, ALKE SCHMIDT, DELLA REES, ALICE SIELLE, SOPHIE GERRARD, CELIA C. PETERS, ALEX GRACE, ALANA FRANCIS, HANNAH SAWTELL, LARA PROCTOR ...

SOUNDGASMS: DELE SOSIMI'S AFROBEAT EXPERIENCE + LOKKHI TERRA,THE BEAT + 100% BEEFCOCK & THE TITSBURSTER +JOHN HEGLEY + JOELLE TAYLOR & THE SLAMBASSADORS, SAM & THE WOMP + MANO DE DIOS, THE MIGHTY COSMICS + CALYPSO CHAOS...
DJS: CAL JADER (MOVIMIENTOS), DJ TOFU (CONTINENTAL DRIFTS), NAOKO THE ROCK + ASHER G "THE ROCKSTEADY DADDY", ARTFUL BADGER, MISS PINK...  

THIS IS A FESTIVAL FOR OUR TIMES! Climb aboard the converted 1960s trawler for free entry to F.A.M.E.’s day-time art exhibition: 
Private view Thursday 25th, 4-6pm.  Free Friday 26th - Sunday 28th:11am-5pm

Featuring award-winning photographer Tom Hunter, “the heir to Tracey Emin’s throne”, Sarah Maple, and globe-trotting photo-journalist Chris Barrett. Collections of Juno Calypso’s photographic alter-egos can be seen alongside Alice Sielle’s portrayals of the death of Whitechapel’s Altab Ali plus a collage of visuals supplied by Bishopgate’s Institute pay tribute to the great British tradition of protest and resistance. Amongst others, Molly Macindoe, Alke Schmidt, Della Rees, Sophie Gerrard, Celia C. Peters, Alex Grace, Alana Francis, Hannah Sawtell and Lara Proctor throw thought-provoking perspectives onto a wide spectrum of themes including global and environmental issues, displacement and refuge, mental health, alternative lifestyles, gender and sexuality.
Saturday 27th The festival also shines a light on the voices and visionaries of the future: Boroughs United, a stage show produced and managed by young volunteers from youth charity The Crib, presents an afternoon showcase  of the talents and creative achievements of 13-19 year olds from across London's 33 boroughs.
Evening gigs on board the floating gallery bring you spoken word, screenings with Q+As, circus performers and top bands ...

Thursday 25th April: Dele Sosimi & his Afrobeat Experience + Lokkhi Terra + DJ Cal (Movimientos) + DJ Tofu (Global Local/Continental Drifts) + Other Half Productions (Two for Tea)
Friday 26th April: The Beat + 100% Beefcock & the Titsburster + John Hegley + Joelle Taylor & Slambassadors + Soundsystem
Saturday 27th April:  Boroughs United (Free afternoon presentation),Sam & the Womp Mano de Dios + DJ Artful Badger 
Sunday 28th April: The Mighty Cosmics + Calypso Chaos+ DJ Miss Pink
Screenings - In addition to a mind-blowing plethora of artists and musicians F.A.M.E., in line with its rEvolutionary agenda, will be screening a selection of rare films including shorts, feature films and documentaries on the environment, globalization, women, emancipation and social issues closer to home. We will also host a retrospective on British director PENNY WOOLCOCK including a screening of her latest ground-breaking documentary following the efforts of two rival gang leaders to bring peace to their neighbourhoods, ONE MILE AWAY 


EVENING GIGS, SCREENINGS & PRESENTATIONS - £12 Advance/£15 at the dock!
Doors: 6pm, Screenings/presentations: 6.30pm  
Venue Address: Motorship Stubnitz, Montgomery Street, Wood Wharf (Canary Wharf), London E14 9SB.

Nearest Tube: Canary Warf, Jubilee Line, Montgomery Street Exit.
DLR: Canary Wharf (10 minute walk)

Friday, April 19, 2013

Queer Bodies @ Fringe! 2013

Here are some photos from Fringe!  East London's Queer Film Fest and the slideshow 'Queer Bodies' using found images and curated by myself and Konstantinos Menelaou.















Friday, April 12, 2013

'Queer Bodies' at Fringe! Film Festival




Fringe!  is the East London Queer Film Festival.  Run by a dedicated team of volunteers, it was a response to funding for the BFI's LLGFF being cut 3 years ago.

For this year's Art @ Fringe, Konstantinos Menelaou and I have curated a slideshow installation on the theme of the queer body.

Accompanied by retro (70s, 80s, 90s) pop music, the slideshow is intended to show interpretations of the queer body for the viewer's pleasure and enjoyment.   

No explanations/ stories are given, it is intended as a simple celebration of the queer body, moving away from the political.

The show is on for one weekend only and takes place at :

School of Fringe! @ The Old Cardinal Pole School, Victoria Park Road, London E9 7HD

Friday 12th April, 6pm-10pm,   Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th April, 1pm-11pm

Here is the press release:


FRINGE! FILM & ARTS FESTIVAL

Alex Grace & Konstantinos Menelaou                    

Queer Bodies

School of Fringe! @ The Old Cardinal Pole School, Victoria Park Road, London E9 7HD
Friday 12th April, 6-10pm, Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th April, 1-11pm

Queer Bodies is a slide show curated by Alex Grace and Konstantinos Menelaou of found photographs – sourced from the internet, books, magazines and private collections – representing creative dialogue between the two artists on the subject of 'queer'. By focusing simply on the pleasure of viewing and admiration of forms, allowing pure sensation to take over, this work-in-progress implicitly discusses the rules by which queer objects are expected to abide in the arts, which limit our understanding and appreciation of what 'queer' is or can be.

Alex Grace is a commercial and fine art Photographer based in London.  Recent Exhibitions include ‘Exposure’ at Format 13, Derby’s International Photo Festival and ‘For Our Pleasure’ at Hackney Picturehouse, an Exhibition Alex produced and  curated.  Alex was also an Exhibitor at last year’s Fringe, showing work in the ‘Facing You’ installation.   Commercially, Alex’s diverse client list includes Channel 4, Oxfam and Attitude Magazine.

Film-maker, event producer and curator Konstantinos Menelaou moved from Greece to London in 2001 where he still lives and works. In September 2009 he completed his MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martin’s College after studying Contemporary Media Practice at University of Westminster where he specialised in experimental film and video. His personal video and film work has been shown at film festivals and gallery shows around the world including Cannes Film Festival, Miami Art Basel, Le Centre Pompidou and the BFI, and since November 2011 he works as a Curator and Producer for Fringe! Film and Arts Festival in London.

Formerly a French Protestant hospital as well as a place of learning, the magnificent Old Cardinal Pole School has been used by Future Cinema, the team behind 'Secret Cinema', for spectacles such as an immersive theatrical version of The Shawshank Redemption earlier this year. The school is now being offered as a pop-up community centre for organisations and individuals to use the space for their own projects.

Fringe! Film Festival is an audio-visual arts adventure rooted in London’s gay creative community and welcoming everyone. Cinema is the core of Fringe! Its program includes powerful new films, old classics and provocative shorts as well as art exhibitions, performances and parties collaborating with the best of London’s alternative art scene and reaching deep into local communities.

Info:
konstantinos@fringefilmfest.com