With 'Up & Coming' soon arriving in Nottingham, I thought I would post this little video of one of my works on display at Novas Scarman's Contemporary Urban Centre in Liverpool .. the exhibition was the masterwork of Sheffield graduate curator David Thomas Crawley, and coincided with the European Capital of Culture celebrations for 2008 ..
It was a hectic time, with the open studios at Banks' Mills and a hot and sweaty poetry night at Big Blue in Derby, the John Lennon Drawing, Gustav Klimt paintings at the Tate in Liverpool, the preview evening of the Vickers' Art Award (the missed kiss haha .. Oi! where's my invite?), the emergence of Subism and No Parking as underground collectives created a buzz .. oh, and it was about that time I started this Blog ..
But while all that is in the past the future looks bright .. with Deda and Quad offering opportunities for local artists to show their work and the addition of Cruiser and Horizontal and many other small groups challenging the idea of traditional artist outlets and opening up new venues - working within and without the established art sector, and forums such as the Visual Arts Network establishing viable links with community and civic organisations, this region's independent artist associations look set to break down the barriers between the private and public to develop into a truly national hub for arts development .. and I'm certainly pleased to be part of what's happening ..
