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Chew TV

2009-05-05T18:25:00.005+01:00

After a blissful and sunny May Bank Holiday, we're back down to business and I would like to draw your attention to the excellent Chew TV (a much more worthwhile way to spend your lunchbreak than surfing around YouTube!). Chew TV is the first broadband TV channel run by young people and for young people. It aims to give a voice to young people everywhere, to showcase and connect the best new talent in digital media and to get your creative juices flowing they're running two competitions for film makers and musicians. Read on...

Chew TV has joined forces with Cornwalleye Media and Hollaboxx to launch a competition for aspiring filmmakers in Cornwall. As well as getting a shout out in the new magazine that will be delivered every quarter to more than 45,000 households worldwide, the winner will get the opportunity to work alongside a professional film crew to make and ‘About Us’ video for Cornwalleye.tv, along with ongoing paid work placements with pros!

They are looking for short films that are aimed at showing the best of what Cornwall has to offer. The films must be no longer than one and half minutes long, must adhere to Chew TV’s Classifications Policy, www.chewtv.com/classifications.aspx, and you have to be aged between 14-25 to enter. Beyond that there are no rules and no tight brief, so get creative.

Completed entries must be uploaded to Chew TV by Midnight June 30th. Go to www.chewtv.com for easy to follow guidelines on signing up and uploading your film. You must include the line ‘CETV' at the start of the short description and they must be submitted to the Hollaboxx Channel (tick ‘Hollaboxx’ option when asked what channel your film is for). The winners will be voted for online. Terms and conditions can be seen on the Chew TV News section.

The second competition is for budding musicians - HUMTOO has teamed up with Chew TV for an exciting new project giving music makers the chance to get their tunes on Chew TV and win £150!

The new channel ident for Chew TV, produced by Tom Dowler of University College Falmouth, is being featured on HUMTOO for 6 weeks, with a call for some background music and our friends at HUMTOO are kindly offering £150 for the best piece of music submitted. Judging by some of the stuff on HUMTOO, we should see some interesting musical links made…

If you’re a budding musician, or just a broke guy / girl that can knock out the odd tune on the harmonica, please go to HUMTOO.com and submit your masterpiece.

The project can be found here: http://www.humtoo.com/project-detail.asp?projectid=197

HUMTOO.com connecting music makers and content creators.

Free Range '09

2009-04-21T20:16:00.001+01:00

Free Range is Europe's largest graduate art and design show and so I'm hotly anticipating it's return this May. Held at the Old Truman Brewery over the course of 8 weeks it showcases over 3000 students' work from around the country, making for one of the most vibrant and exciting shows of the year.

Whether an art expert or a complete novice, Free Range is a free event with a laid back atmosphere that is open to everybody. Tamsin O’Hanlon, the Director of Free Range, emphasizes this refreshing approach to art; “The concept of Free Range is multi-faceted. As the name suggests, the event presents artwork that is original and organic, that goes against the homogenous grain. It is also a chance for young people to display their work in a professional environment - the public has direct access to both the exhibits and the exhibitors, something that is rare for both the creators and the viewers.”

Free Range’s success has seen it grow from year to year - hugely popular with collectors, students, universities, employers, media, industry luminaries and everyday art lovers alike, last year the event attracted a record 170,000 visitors. Graduates from the disciplines of Art, Photography, Design and Interiors from universities such as Oxford Brookes, Goldsmiths, Nottingham Trent, Central St Martins and Falmouth will each be showcasing their work. Weeks one and two of Free Range are dedicated to design, followed by two separate weeks of photography, two weeks of fine art, one week of interiors (including product and furniture design), and finally a mixed media week.

Free Range
The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL
Nearest tube: Aldgate East / Liverpool Street
+44 (0) 20 7770 6001

Thomas Baines

2009-03-18T22:57:00.002Z

In hard times, independance and ingenuity can still see you through. Thomas Baines knows this more than most. Not many artists can say that they've had to re-record a take because a squirrel interrupted them but when using an abandoned church building due for demolition on a south-west London estate, he braved the cold, a leaking roof and resident rodents to get his album recorded his way.
"Time can be the most precious thing for getting things right," Thomas says, "and studio time is always rushed unless there is a monster budget. This encouraged me to find or create my own spaces to record in. This gave a unique quality to the sound - which I particularly wanted for the drums and violin. The vocals were done in my bedroom which was soundproofed using egg boxes from Tony's, my favourite local greasy spoon café. Tony saved so many boxes that his wife got mad and threw most of them out. Legendary behaviour from the man, I feel!"

Born to an American mother and English father, Thomas was exposed to a wide range of music as he grew up in rural Ohio and then southern England. The influences of both locations and cultures can be heard weaving softly through his truly beautiful acoustic arrangements; arrangements that he produced and performed himself (he recorded all instruments with the exception of the violin which was played by lifelong friend Dorry Macaulay whilst harmonies were provided by another friend, Brigette Beraha.)

Tomorrow, you can see Thomas live at the Cobden Club and he will be doing a few other select gigs around London over the next month or so. Keep an eye on his Myspace page or go right ahead and buy his stunning debut album 'Return' available now on CD at www.thomasbainesmusic.com, or as a digital download at iTunes and Amazon.

2009-03-05T23:04:00.000Z

East London always has the pick of the crop when it comes to the cutting edge of cultural events and this month is no exception. From the lo-fi to the literary, here is just a taster of what is going on in the capital.

Trap2Gallery presents Zine on Thursday 5th March 2009

Small press, zines, comics, and all things DIY will be exhibited, swopped and sold at Trap2 Gallery tonight. Come celebrate the festival of the photocopier, of independent and underground publising from those things handmade, painted and bound to comics, and annuals. With an opportunity to swop, sell and buy zines at the stalls throughout the night, zine makers will also be exhibiting their works throughout the gallery space. A free zine making workshop will be running throughout the night - materials provided.

Cut&Paste Digital Design Tournament on Saturday 4th April 2009

Get out your Wacom tablet and go to battle at the Coronet theatre next month. Cut&Paste's international Digital Design Tournament 2009 is expanding this year. The 2D Design competition returns in all its spectacular glory, now joined by new competitions in the battlegrounds of 3D Design and Motion Design. All three competitions will take place in every Cut&Paste city on the 2009 tour, opening the events up to more designers of varied backgrounds and interests than ever before. Visit the website for application details.

London Word Festival from 7th March 2009

London’s only alternative literate-arts festival is back. After twelve months spent conscripting the wittiest, wisest wordsmiths on offer, the organisers have once again embarked on a mission to spread the good word and drive back the borders between traditional artforms. With a heady mix of live literary talent, high-profile comedians, musicians and performing artists; new highlights include psychogeographical perambulations, film premières, a minifestival of internet nerd-absurdity and much more.
The London Word festival is putting words centre stage.

2009-02-22T20:31:00.006Z

Spring is beginning and the light around us is changing. Perhaps in reflection of this, the second exhibition to be presented by BAIBAKOV art projects within the former Red October Chocolate Factory in Moscow is entitled "Natural Wonders: New Art from London". The show seeks to capture the energy, vitality and diversity of practice of over twenty artists who have taken centre stage in London in recent times. Their ages, nationalities and ethnic backgrounds are varied but they are united principally by the fact that they live and work in London, where they participate in and form part of one the city's most vibrant and globalised subcultures. The show features over twenty London based artists including Tim Braden, Shezad Dawood, Idris Khan, Mark Leckey, Eloise Fornieles, Conrad Shawcross and Douglas White.

20 February – 5 April 2009

BAIBAKOV art projects
"Red October" Chocolate Factory
6, Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya, 3rd Floor
Moscow

We are also very priveledged to be able to give you a preview of ceramic artist Derek Weisberg's new exhibition "Olam Haba" (Hebrew for "the world to come"). Oakland based Weisberg has promised to transform the entire space of Rowan Morrison gallery into a candle lit catacomb. The installation will include over 35 hand-sculpted pieces ranging from wall-mounted portrait busts to standing full figures in the round. During the event the entire exhibition will be illuminated only with the use of candles mounted into the sculptures. The use of candlelight plays a key roll in the transformation of the space as well as being a thematic element, a symbolic metaphor for life.

February 21st – March 28th, 2009

Rowan Morrison Gallery
330 40th Street
Oakland, California 94609
www.rowanmorrison.com

Graduation Season

2008-05-18T13:50:00.006+01:00

I've mentioned the Creative Expressive Therapies department at Derby University on this blog before, and for good reason. Each student chooses their own path of art, drama, dance or music and through the course they learn to use those skills to help others explore their own abilities and creativity. They have spent three years not only learning practical fine art skills and techniques but also how to apply them to learning and healing environments and after months of planning and fund-raising, their end of year exhibition is finally here. "Statement as Image" promises to be a truly inspiring event.
The show itself is running from the May 23rd to June 1st at the Britannia Mill in Derby. Entry is totally free and you can catch up on all the details at their facebook group or their website. Please go if you can. And if you're a student from the course, then we hope to see your work up on Magnus very soon!

Meanwhile, here in London we are looking forward to Free Range, Europe's largest showcase of graduate art and design. If you haven't heard of it then where have you been? Now in it's 8th glorious year it starts on the 30th of May at the Old Truman Brewery, and showcases some of the best graduate work from all over the country, including Brighton, Bournemouth, Nottingham, Manchester, Reading and London. It's a vast and exciting treat of an exhibition and it really gives you a chance to see the up and coming names of the future, not to mention some of the most cutting edge creative work to be seen anywhere. I honestly can't wait to go.

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

Solo Exhibitions in London

2008-05-01T14:10:00.003+01:00

First of all, thanks for everyone's submissions to the events blog here on Magnus. Not only is it great to read about everything that's going on out there in the big wide world, but I also can't wait to visit some of these events and see your work for myself.

Luke Kendall, (whose work you can find right here on Magnus) has a solo exhibition on at the Beach Blanket Babylon Gallery in Shoreditch this week. Titled "The Great Sparrow Campaign", it is named after the huge humanitarian crisis and famine that hit China in the late 1950's and Kendall has used this together with his personal distrust of institutions to inspire quite a dark collection. He has taken the strong visual influences of Communist propaganda posters and spun them into images that represent the sinister nature of their effects.
It is well worth going to and will only be on until 4th May, so get there quickly.

From the 9th - 18th May at the Old Truman Brewery, you can see Rupert Shrive's rather exciting re-workings of famous paintings and his own portraits. The exhibition is called "Post Painting" as Shrive attempts to bridge the gap between painting and sculpture by ripping, crushing and screwing up his almost completed work until he achieves what he considers to be it's vital essence. The press release tells me that "The resulting reliefs erupt from a trinity of creation, destruction and recreation - a process that is fraught with risk since it can end in either triumphant success or miserable failure. The window of time in which Shrive can work is so short that some paintings do not survive the treatment."
The resulting effect is surprisingly effective and definitely compelling. Admission is free, and the exhibition is open 11am-7pm Tuesday to Sunday.

Keep a close eye on the Magnus Blog in the coming weeks, because we have some fantastic events for you coming up - it is graduate season after all.

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

Art and Craft

2008-01-15T21:36:00.000Z

The Creative Expressive Therapy art students of Derby University are holding a series of events leading up to their final year exhibition in May. On the 4th February they are holding an art auction at Ryans Bar on St Peters Street in Derby and judging by the images on their Facebook page, it'll be well worth checking out. You can read all the details and see all the pictures on facebook here. Or e-mail the organisers here:innovativecreativity@hotmail.co.uk for further information.
And don't forget to take some money with you and get someone a present - all proceeds from the auction go towards making their end of year exhibition even more excellent.

Back here in London, there are a few things worth seeing as well. My two favourites happen to both be at the V&A this month. Collect is a major, annual exhibition by the Crafts Council featuring ceramics, glass, art, jewellery, silver, textiles, furniture and wood. It promises to be a great way of seeing all the most exciting craftsmen and women working today. Go along and mix with curators, collectors and the artists themselves, and find out who's pushing back the boundaries.
If that isn't enough craft for you, then there is also Out of the Ordinary. It's been on since November, but if you haven't seen it yet, then you've still got until 17th February. Personally, I'm going to book tickets and go to both exhibitions at the same time. I strongly recommend you book in advance, as it's definitely going to be busy.

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

Erotica, Feminism and Film.

2007-10-01T22:36:00.000+01:00

Sometimes I really think that the art institutions of this country all work together. As if the current coincidence of BBC4's Comics Britannia season (which is awesome by the way) and Comica '07 wasn't enough, everyone is now getting a bit crazy over sex.
Soon at the Barbican gallery you'll be able to see their new exhibition "Seduced. Art and Sex from antiquity to now." They don't just promise such famous artists as Picasso, Jeff Koons and Rembrandt, but also a few less well known names including one of my favourite photographers ever - Nobuyoshi Araki. Wherever I live, the first thing I put on the wall is a torn and battered copy of his Erotic Geisha eating a Melon.
Meanwhile the ICA is just starting a short season of swedish erotica, which is something that you might not otherwise see if you're a nicely brought up girl like me. With some old fashioned sexploitation on the bill, it's the perfect opportunity to get your alternative cinema head on, just in time for Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Grindhouse double bill.
At the Soho Theatre though, if you prefer to talk about sex than see it, then Zoe Margolis, author of "Girl with a One Track Mind" and Rowan Pelling (The Erotic Review), will be talking about sex, blogs and feminism for a one off lecture called Rude Girls.

But that's not even all of it! As the Tate gears up for a serious exhibition of Louise Bourgeois' intense, conceptual, beautiful and sometimes puzzling work, they are also adding a programme of Germaine Dulac's early surrealist films to their collection. And you can't possibly get more sex-obsessed than surrealism.

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

Visual arts at the ICA

2007-09-12T11:53:00.000+01:00

This week, I'm doing a little spotlight on the ICA and their amazing program of events. First of all, it's worth knowing that as a student, you can join for just £25.00 for a year, which gets you into loads of great gigs, talks and movies. For instance, this month you can finally see the documentary on the Helvetica typeface. For some people this may well seem like an absolutely nightmarish way to spend eighty minutes of your time, but for anyone interested in graphic design or typograpy, it's a must see.

Something else that might just surprise you is the London International Comics Festival, coming up at the ICA on the 19th of October. This genre of work is finally coming out from the shadows and being taken seriously, having been relegated to the sidelines for years as a child only domain. You need only look at the amount of movies and animation that are spawned by comics to see what a surprisingly central part they have to play in our popular culture, and with some really exciting artists choosing this particular artistic forum to express themselves, you really don't have any excuse not to take a quick look at what the festival has to offer.

Finally, there is a talk coming up on the 25th of September called "Why be an artist?" with Gavin Turk amongst many illustrious others, debating the pros and cons of being an artist and an art student in London today. How much more essential viewing can you ask for?

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

What's the point of film studies?

2007-09-04T14:41:00.000+01:00

If you missed the London International Animation Festival a couple of weeks ago, all is not lost. There are still plenty of things for you film makers to get your teeth into.

First up, at the Roxy Bar and Screen, you can see a live re-score of Jan Svankmajer's Faust. I studied his animation at university, and I can't recommend his work highly enough both for animation buffs and anyone interested in film, sculpture or the art object.

If Saturday is too long to wait, then tonight you can join in a discussion with Danny Birchall of the ICA at the Wheatsheaf pub in fitzrovia. He will be discussing the question "what's the point of film studies?"
This is a regular series of general philosophical discussions in pubs. I suggest you keep an eye on the Big Ideas website, because there is sure to be more interesting topics coming up...

Finally, if you're a budding music video director then take note - the Radar festival is looking for entrants. For £10 (although it is free if you're a student) you can enter a the competition, and put yourself forward for the opportunity to get a commision, cash or just some help from some of the best companies in the business.

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

Cross stitch is cool

2007-08-17T13:28:00.000+01:00

I was at what I can only call a "craft meeting" on Tuesday with a small group of interested young women. It was a little bit Womens Institute-ish, but very pleasant. We had a couple of drinks and in between gossip, we discussed our "projects", as everyone there worked in an office of some sort and kind of wished that they didn't. While my sister sat next to me, sewing a small picture of a blue elephant onto some canvas, she bought up the idea of "public embroidery" which she found on the internet here: www.ulrikaerdes.se/public_emroidery

Needless to say, I was blown away by this. It's so cute and so positive and if that wasn't enough, then there are plenty of other women getting political with their stiching: Bitterstitch and Radical Cross Stitch are both great resources for feminist bent textiles.

If knitting is more your thing, then try the self-titled "Knittivists" of Glitty knitty kitty. It's partly a personal blog, but there are some interesting bits in there, and it's worth a look. And if you want to get involved there is a the Cast-off Knitting club here: www.castoff.info.

It's all a bit strange, but I think I like it.

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

photo opportunity

2007-07-30T10:03:00.000+01:00

It's taken me a while to get everything back on track since the move, but I was given a Holga camera for my birthday last week and have accordingly re-found my enthusiasm for photography. If you've never heard of the Holga or of it's more established brother the Lomo, then check out the International Lomographic society which in my opinion is the cooler and more experimental arm of photography. It's an awesome website with some really beautiful pictures (and not a copy of photoshop in sight) and some real technical eye candy. The shop is a bit expensive but a great reference point; for instance their film shop is awesome as it not only shows you typical pictures using each kind of film but also gives you the odd tip about what they're good for and what to use them with.

Incidentally, I found out through an article on the guardian website about Grayson Perry, that there is a "Europe-wide project from Canon in conjunction with the Red Cross, in which members of the public are invited to upload their favourite images, representing the spirit of their own countries, to a website (canon-europe.com/wespeakimage). Canon is making a donation to Red Cross societies across Europe for each image uploaded. The entire archive will eventually be handed over to designers including Matthew Williamson in Britain and Elio Fiorucci in Italy to create "national" fashion collections to be showcased at the London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks."
I'm not so excited about the fashion aspect of this as I am about the philanthropic side, but you can win a canon digital camera in the process and if you have some photos that you feel sum up your country, then send them in. It at least makes for an interesting project...

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

Hiatus

2007-06-18T12:52:00.000+01:00

The blog is running a little behind at the moment while I move house, but I'll be back on my weekly schedule soon. In the meantime, you should check out Graduate Week 2007 at ECCA.

Also, please don't forget that you can e-mail me with your own events and blog posts for the Magnus blog. Just click the "Contact" button on the right.

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

Art is for the Public

2007-05-25T13:13:00.000+01:00

A lot of galleries and museums in this city are free to visit and for this we are blessed. You don't get that everywhere you know, so in the spirit of all that is free and beautiful...

"Streetsy" is a street art photo blog that is sponsored by the Wooster Collective (as mentioned in a previous post of mine - "The writing on the wall"). People send pictures from all over the world, and there is some awesome stuff on there. It's all very graffiti based, but at the same time it often manages to be much more intriguing than the produce of what we generally think of as urban culture.

At the ICA on the 3rd of June, performance artist Tim Brennan is heading a tour around monuments in the area around the ICA in a specially commissioned walk-work, Monere Manoeuvre. The website states: "Brennan's practice is situated between performance art, historiography, archival procedures and travel writing. The title of this event evokes the root of the word monument in the verb monere, which means to remind or to warn."

But the biggest tip I have and the greatest thing I've seen for a while in terms of scale, is Channel 4's Big Art Mob. It is still fairly early days for this project, but I love sharing nature of it.
Big Art Mob is "...the UK’s first comprehensive survey of Public Art – based entirely on pictures from the camera phones of art-lovers nationwide. It aims to record for posterity the wealth of artworks in public places right across the country and serve as the focus of a dynamic national conversation."
There is a Barbara Hepworth sculpture that is above the entrance of one of the main department stores on Oxford Street. I think that there is something special about knowing that it is there, where most people don't think to look and there are so many other little things around the country that most people might miss, or forget. I honestly think projects like this help to enrich and preserve our culture, not to mention adding interest to your walk home from work. Get involved if you can.

Finally, if you haven't heard of PostSecret, then you should be ashamed. It's an online community Art Project I heard about in the Guardian a couple of years ago and although they have a book out now, the website is still one of the best things on the web. It consistently manages to stun, touch and occasionally terrify me. It's one hundred times more effective than any shock-art you'll ever see, just because it's real and pretty much ego-less. If only all the internet was this good...

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

Etch-a-Sketch

2007-05-16T21:02:00.000+01:00

This week... drawing! Love it or hate it, it is ancient, language-less and completely essential. Everything from buildings to paintings have started out with a drawing, but this week I want to celebrate it for what it is rather than what it can become. You rarely see them in galleries unless they are a sketch for a larger work, but one of the highlights of the upcoming UBS openings at the Tate Modern is an exhibition of drawings. I'm going next week, and will hopefully get a chance to check out the all night Andy Warhol/John Cage movie "Sleep". Although I don't know if I'll really manage to see all 18 hours of it.

I've actually known about Secret Wars for a while now, but it never seemed to be the right time to drop it in to the blog. Luckily, they're going to hold a second series. Think rap battle, but with paint instead of words. Sound good? You bet your sweet ass it does! The first round starts in June, so get yourself down to Juno bar in Shoreditch, drinks are cheap between 6 and 8pm and if you can't make London then they're going to go on tour soon, so make sure you check the website out.

Drawings are a bit static for you eh? You want something a bit different? The Barbican is hosting Animate the World from the 19th until the 27th of May and it will be filled with films and workshops for all the family. Or you can see three professional Disney artists show their mettle at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith in their exhibition "Radio Silence".

Finally, (and I know it isn't related to drawing really, but it's so cool I can't help but include it in this list) check out the TAA. It's all over the country and it's probably reclaiming a disused warehouse near you RIGHT NOW. It's like an old-skool rave but with art.

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

Making Space

2007-05-12T23:39:00.000+01:00

I'm very artistically excited right now and the main reason is that the Antony Gormley documentary on channel four this evening made me shamefully realise that I haven't been on the Hayward Gallery mailing list all this time. Because otherwise I would have already heard about his sculpture series called Blind Light, which looks like it's going to be AMAZING.
Lets not beat around the bush here, I love modern art and sculpture and although some of Gormley's work doesn't quite manage to get me excited, I do think his best stuff carries a lot of visual weight. I love art that has so much presence that you experience it more than you look at it, and I have a fantastic anticipatory feeling that like Anish Kapoor's Marsyas and Bill Viola's Five Angels for the Millenium, this exhibition is going to send me into a coma of stendhal syndrome.

All this aside, I didn't actually like the documentary very much. I didn't feel like it really cracked open Gormley's thought processes and methods so you could see what his work is about, which is what I really wanted from it. There were little, valuable insights when he talked about for instance, the Egyptian room at the British Museum and how he likes the sculptures there because they don't try to imitate movement - their power is accepted and intended as a static force. And I particularly enjoyed something he said along the lines of "as an artist you can't just have a normal wage and do what someone tells you, you have to find something worth while to do and do it completely."
Personally, I'm so infinitely interested in the artistic process - I never get tired of learning about how artists think, see and produce their work (I suppose that's why when I was doing art myself it was mostly based on the concept of perception). Consequently, the main joy for me came from being able to see him physically creating. Seeing him naked in an embryonic pose, eyes closed whilst he calmly gets covered in plaster by his assistants and how the vulnerability of this act then translates into the very solid outcome was really quite valuable.

But all this is nothing compared to the cloud in a room he created towards the end of the program. I can't wait to see it myself, I honestly can't. It's going to be on at the Hayward until the 19th of August and if you can go then you must. And go on a Monday if you can because it'll be half price.

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director

Interacto Digitalis

2007-05-02T09:49:00.000+01:00

All the best things are digital! Just look at Magnus. This week, my top tip is Going Professional VJing at the Tate Modern. Its this Friday and I highly advise you to book tickets online - they're £15. The press release for the event states the following: "This study day offers an overview of the opportunities open to artists whose work straddles VJing, multimedia installations and commercial video. Topics covered include events, labels and how to balance work that pays the bills with establishing a fine-art reputation."
I can't describe to you how much I wish I was going and even if you are more interested in DJing or electronica, I honestly think it would be well worth the ticket price.

Elsewhere, John Maeda has his first UK exhibition at Riflemaker, near Oxford Street. I have to admit that it isn't a gallery I've been to before, and he isn't an artist I've heard of before. But as a long term, self confessed internet geek, I'm intrigued by what I've read about his work. At Riflemaker, has created a real-time, physical MySpace page upon which he will exploring ideas about information, simplicity and what he calls "The Goldilocks Rule". Whats more, if you turn up between 4-6pm, you can log on to his "Infinity Wi-fi". The website states that: "Maeda's IWF is karmic. It's an emulsive, benign, green-digital, triple-Alpha signal and 'simple' to use" whatever the hell that means. Anyway, connection is automatic and free and the password is 'Telstar'.

For something less digital but still interactive get to Hoxton this Thursday, paint your pillow, and FIGHT!

Kathy Whitehouse
Creative Director

The Bard's Birthday.

2007-04-23T17:10:00.000+01:00

Having previously said that it is hard to find literary events, let alone social literary events - I now cannot stop finding them. Maybe I've just been looking a little harder, or maybe Bookslam set a trend. I figure I owe it to you good people to let you know about all that I have found. So, in honour of Shakespeare's Birthday, it's all about you word-smiths this week...

Tales of the Decongested takes place at Foyles Bookshop, Charing Cross Road on the last Friday of every month. Their website says that their "primary objective is to raise the profile of the short story and to discover exciting new talent in London" which is indeed admirable, as I don't think short stories attract much attention from the general public these days. If you want to exhibit your own work (or get a friend to do it for you) then it might be worth a look. Admission is about £3.00 (£2.50 conc') and if you want something to read on the way, why not try Litro? Created as a response to the paranoia mongering, advertising filled free newspapers that seem to be over-running our capital at the moment, Litro is an independent publication that is mainly distributed through the internet and a few shops. It's small and perfectly formed, free to print out yourself and you can even submit to it, if you so wish. If you have ever dreamed of distributing your own publication, it is worth learning from too; they're certainly doing something right as they have just celebrated their 50th issue.

I'm on the Soho Theatre mailing list mainly for it's comedy listings, but it has recently made me aware of the Verity Bargate award which is for new playwrights. The lucky (and talented) winner not only gets a residency at the theatre and the chance to have their play put into production, but they also get a bundle of cash, so it's well worth it.
On the other hand, if you don't feel quite ready for such a test of your abilities, then they are also running a series of workshops and masterclasses on all forms of writing, including poetry, fiction and (of course) plays. Tickets are only £15 (£10 conc').

Alternatively, if you love books for what they are, (rather than for what they contain) or if typography is your thing, then the British Library is hosting an exhibition called Sacred featuring some very rare and very special religious texts. They've also got a couple of events coming up at the beginning of May to help kick start the proceedings.

Finally, if you're sick of words, writing, speaking, noise in general try this: Japanese physical comedy duo Gamarjobat are performing at the Soho Theatre from 1st - 2nd June. They work silently and are apparently very funny indeed.

Katherine Whitehouse
Creative Director.

The Writing On The Wall

2007-03-22T18:04:00.000Z

Try as I might, I still can't see graffiti as anything other than cool. It is after all public art at its most honest and accessible. The fact that Banksy stencils are now being cut down from walls in the middle of the night by collectors with angle grinders, says that the world more than agrees with me. So when I found this surprising and slightly shameless piece of promotion in my inbox, I had to pass it on. End to End is a new project which sees 7 of the world's best graffiti artists come together and make sweet, sweet trainers together. If you go down to Footlocker on Oxford Street this Saturday, you can see Skore do some live demonstrations, and maybe pick up some free stuff at the same time.

Check out the British Hip Hop website for further details, or if you can't be bothered to go all that way and brave the crowds, here is a gem of a blog that is all about positive graffiti.

Kathy Whitehouse
Creative Director

Fairy Tale Oddities...

2007-03-21T18:52:00.000Z

I'm being inundated with the fantastic, the odd and the fantastically odd at the moment - maybe i'm just in the right frame of mind to tune in on these things.

At the ICA you can see Eden, a "tender tale of a specialist chef whose culinary skills are so profound that they provoke an almost-sexual response in his diners". Perhaps it's just because i'm obsessive about cooking these days, and because of all the healthy eating and obesity stories that are rammed down our throats in the press, but I think this is the film i most want to see at the moment. It's been awarded several honours at film festivals and looks pretty beautiful too.
(If you want something more wierd than fantastical, then try "Midnight Movies, from the Margin to the Mainstream", also at the ICA. It's a documentary featuring David Lynch, John Waters, Richard O'Brien and more, all talking about how cinemas used to be full of arty, pot-smoking reprobates. Awesome.)

Meanwhile, at Curzon Cinemas all over London at the moment is a new film by Paolo Sorrentino called "The Family Friend" apparently giving a new twist to Beauty and the Beast, and at the BFI there is a preview of Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" - his first foray into science fiction. Co-written by Alex "28 Days Later" Garland, I saw a brief clip of this on BBC4 a while ago and I am more than a little intrigued. The BFI's synopsis of the film sounds pretty lame, but the clip I saw made the art direction seem quite edgy, the acting seem very real and with Cillian Murphy and Michelle Yeoh on the cast, i have high hopes.

I was going to finish this post by talking about the book I'm currently reading (Jonathan Strange and Mr.Norris by Susanna Clarke) but i think it needs to wait for a more general rant about under-appreciated women writers. It's a grumble I like to have every now and then. Indulge me.

I'll finish instead by mentioning Optronica which I managed to miss last year and is staged all over the capital by a range of organisations including Playstation, the NFT and the Tate Modern. Worth a look perhaps - although it looks like personally, I am going to miss it again this year as it's on from the 14th to the 18th of March and i am out of the city until next week.

Kathy Whitehouse
Creative Director

Resonance FM

2007-03-16T13:56:00.000Z

Resonance FM is a london and web based radio station with a highly experimental edge; that is to say - it is completely bonkers. I've tuned in to find everything from some American South hick playing electronica to a Middle Eastern poet in the past. A year or so ago my sister did an interview with M.Craft for the same radio station in it's "clear spot" which anyone can apply to fill with pretty much anything - worth a try if you're keen to work in radio or broadcasting.

On the 29th of March at the Bloomsbury Theatre, Resonance is staging a comedy benefit night to help fund a new and updated transmitter. It's called Resofit, it will cost you 15 quid and has to be worth a go, if only to help this very underrated and interesting art station stay on the air.

Kathy Whitehouse
Creative Director

Don't be afraid to speak your mind.

2007-03-05T19:25:00.000Z

Sometimes straight-forward talking can be a little underrated by creative types and it can be hard to find social events centered on the verbal and literary. But this month, why not show off your verbal flair at the Poetry Society's cafe in Covent Garden? Get there on a Tuesday evening for Poetry Unplugged - London's premier poetry open mic. It's on every Tuesday, so sign up between 6-7pm to speak your mind or go along and just watch; the readings start at 7.30pm.

Alternatively, there is the indispensable and amazing Book Slam, which I believe is being billed as "London's best literary nightclub" (I challenge you to find any others). It takes place on the last Thursday of every month at Neighbourhood and as if that wasn't enough, the same team have just started a spoken word festival called "Shot from the Lip". It looks pretty refreshing when compared with a lot of other cultural events this city has to offer right now, and pleasingly cheap to get into. What's more I am assured by their website that "all of these nights take place regularly so there’s always another opportunity".

It's all over the city and it's on right now. Get moving!

Kathy Whitehouse
Creative Director

Hello and welcome...

2007-02-28T14:12:00.000Z

... to the Magnus Magazine weblog

From now on we'll be reporting on events, exhibitions and lectures; attracting your attention to articles and websites; not to mention providing random comments on all sorts of cultural and creative subjects - all through this one platform.
Magnus is based in London, and as my personal history and education is rooted in fine art and crafts, i'll be mainly focusing on this area and those subjects. Even though this is not a public access blog, we do aim to be as inclusive as possible, so if you have anything you want the world to know about, whether it's a friend's gig, student fundraiser, piece of performance art or just a really amazing website you've seen; let us know. It doesn't matter where it is or when. Magnus is getting bigger and better every day - so you never know who might turn up.

Watch this space...

Kathy Whitehouse
Creative Director