Category Archives: Culture

Michael Moore To Broadcast San Francisco Kent State Truth Tribunal

Posted on by

West Coast witnesses and participants are invited to record their stories

First New Media Truth-seeking Initiative Documents 1970 Campus Shooting of Kent State University Students

On Aug 7-8, 2010 filmmaker Michael Moore will livecast the hearings of the Kent State Truth Tribunal, streaming in real-time the accounts of participants and witnesses to the events surrounding the 1970 Kent State shootings, that left four students dead and nine injured. This livecast is a continuation of the first real-time broadcast of a truth-seeking initiative on Kent State and will be broadcast on www.MichaelMoore.com from 9am-5pm PT. The Tribunal in San Francisco follows a four-day tribunal in Kent, Ohio in early May which marked the 40th anniversary of the campus shootings and assembled over 70 testimonies.

The Kent State Truth Tribunal in May resulted in an outpouring of original participant testimonies, some who shared their stories for the first time since the shootings, forty years ago. Demand for participation was immense at the 40th anniversary yet many witnesses and participants in the events surrounding the shootings were not able to travel to Ohio.

“San Francisco was a cultural and political hub in the sixties and seventies and it is no accident that so many young people scarred by the events of Kent State headed west after the tragic events of May 1970. Forty years later, the west remains a progressive mecca and many Kent State participants made the west coast their home, like me. We will collect their experiences of the Kent State shootings to continue to try to learn the truth about Kent State in 2010,” said Laurel Krause, tribunal founder and sister of Allison Krause, one of four students killed at Kent.

The Kent State Truth Tribunal was convened by family members of students killed at Kent State in order to record and preserve the stories of those directly affected by the shootings and reveal the truth of what happened on that day 40 years ago. The Ohio National Guard, who opened fire on the protesters, has never publicized the findings of its internal investigation into command responsibility for the shootings.

Michael Moore commented on the truth tribunal: “40 years after the Kent State killings, justice still has not been served. The Kent State Truth Tribunal brings us closer to that goal by sharing first-hand accounts with the public. I am grateful for their efforts and hopeful that some day the truth will come out.”

Three days after the original Kent State Truth Tribunal the Cleveland Plain Dealer broke a major story about a recorded order to fire given to the Ohio National Guard on May 4, 1970. Then on June 15th, in the U.K., British Prime Minister David Cameron apologized for the killings of Bloody Sunday, a strikingly similar event in 1972 where British paratroopers fired on demonstrators, killing 14 people.

Tribunal organizers are asking the United States government to acknowledge the ‘wrongs’ of May 4, 1970, in the hope of reclaiming what was lost that day – freedom to protest and to peacefully assemble and the democratic right to question the government and hold it accountable for wrongdoings.

The Truth Tribunal is generating a comprehensive historical record of the Kent State massacre. Interviews are being conducted by award-winning filmmaker Emily Kunstler and like the 40th anniversary hearings, will be simultaneously livecast on the home page of www.MichaelMoore.com Archived interviews can be found on http://truthtribunal.org/testimonials. The footage and mementos from the tribunal will be physically archived and available for viewing by the public as part of the permanent collection at the renowned Tamiment Library at New York University.

The west coast tribunal will take place over the weekend of August 7 & 8, 2010 at 150 Green Street, San Francisco, California. Organizers are asking for all original participants and witnesses of the event surrounding the 1970 Kent State shootings to pre-register at www.TruthTribunal.org/preregister. An East Coast Tribunal will follow in New York City on September 25 & 26.

On May 4, 1970 the Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed students protesting America’s invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War. In a day that changed America, four students were killed and nine were wounded as they protested against the war. The incident triggered national outrage in a country already divided. In immediate response to the Kent State shootings, more than four million students rose up in dissent across 900 campuses, generating the only nationwide student protest in U.S. history. No one has been held responsible for the deaths and injuries that resulted from the shootings.

Lizzie Mary Cullen Helps the Homeless with First Solo Show! All profits donated to The Big Issue.

Posted on by

9 September 2009

Award winning international artist & designer Lizzie Mary Cullen is hosting her first solo exhibition in London UK, in aid of the homeless.

All proceeds from the exhibition will be donated to the Big Issue, the social enterprise, magazine and charity that helps homeless people in Britain earn a legitimate income and help themselves.

A former Production Assistant for Warner Bros, Lizzie worked on the Harry Potter films prior to venturing into the art world. She is securing support from a number of high-profile cast members from the blockbusters, and their celebrity friends pals to be present on the opening night.Mainstream press and key figures from the magazine and charity will also be present. The artist expects to raise at least £20,000 for the Big Issue at the exhibition

Having raised funds for various charities and supporting worthy causes, Emmanuel Ray says he is proud to be partnering with a successful and talented artist who, just like him, is using her growing popularity to help those in need. “It is not only a privilege but also great fun to be working with one of the most talented contemporary artists Britain has ever produced. Lizzie is a visionary artist and the intricate detail in her work, the magical symphony of colours and her ability to make even black and white drawings look enchanting and inviting, is highly impressive and a visual treat!” he added.

Last year saw Lizzie Mary Cullen sashaying into the design world with confidence and scooping up two prestigious awards; Association of Illustrators New Talent 2009 and New Designers One Year On 2009. At 24 Lizzie is enviably successful. Having graduated from Goldsmiths in 2008 she exhibited her work internationally. Her recent exhibitions have included A View of London at The London Transport Museum UK, and New Designers One Year On where she won her second award. Currently touring into 2010 is the Association of Illustrators Images 33 Tour, in which Lizzie’s award-winning iconic illustration Tower Bridge is being exhibited.

Lizzie’s big break came when popular Italian restaurant chain Zizzi commissioned her to design and hand-draw large scale wall murals in a number of their restaurants throughout the UK as part of their national re-brand, revamping 105 branches. Lizzie has also designed their national menus has already completed murals in various Zizzi restaurants in the UK; Covent Garden-Bow Street, Camberley, Tunbridge Wells, Marlow, Newcastle Metro Centre, Sevenoaks, Maidstone and Nottingham, to start with.

Lizzie has been featured in numerous publications including the acclaimed Beyond Architecture:
Imaginative Buildings and Fictional Cities, and Martin Dawber’s The Big Book of Contemporary Illustration. She had a cover feature in Design Week magazine as the next New Design Star. She was also featured in Icon Magazine and Blueprint Magazine. Computer Arts Magazine named her one of the design world’s up-and-coming talents. She also writes for Design Week and Illustration Magazine. Lizzie has just completed a spread for Illustration Magazine’s Summer 2010 issue and has given an exclusive interview for Digital Arts magazine.

She has also just finished editing her first illustrated children’s book about a family of modern fairies living in London. Lizzie exhibited at Grand Designs Show 2010 in Excel London, where she received a number of ad hoc commissions. She has also worked with MTV, Design Week and Tom Felton who plays Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movie series. Her illustrations will feature on his new website to promote his debut album with Six String Productions. Lizzie will also design the album artwork. Tom Felton and Daniel Radcliffe are expected to attend the exhibition and support the lady who worked in the film that made them international stars!

Lizzie Mary Cullen The First Solo Show opens on 9 September at the Artefact: The Framers Gallery in London’s West End and will run until 25th September.

Students winners – Sony World Photography Awards 2010

Posted on by

Students from Escuela Argentina de Fotografía, in Argentina, win Student Competition at the Sony World Photography Awards 2010

Victoria Ines Dobaño and Rodrigo Terren Toro from Escuela Argentina de Fotografía, Argentina, are today, 27 July, announced as the winners of the Student Focus Competition for the Sony World Photography Awards 2010.

From the 120 institutions initially selected to compete, 12 students were shortlisted from six institutions across six continents to take part in the final stage of the competition. The students’ challenge was to produce a series of six photographs that explored the notion of ‘Power’. The 12 students were given two weeks to complete the exercise within their local community. The 12 winning students and the overall winning university received a combined prize of €45,000 worth of digital SLR photographic equipment, courtesy of Sony.

Victoria Ines Dobaño and Rodrigo Terren Toro’s winning images, entitled Villa Epecuen, depict the overwhelming power of water. Villa Epecuen in Argentina was a town which for many years drew tourists who believed that its saltwater lake had healing properties. It was a sacred place for the native people of Argentina.

In 1985 Villa Epecuen was completely flooded when the lake overflowed its embankments, covering over half the town. The aftermath of the disaster reveals the powerful and devastating effects of water.

The six winning images of Villa Epecuen by Victoria Ines Dobaño and Rodrigo Terren Toro are:

Student Focus 2010 judge, Sue Steward, commented:

“The choice of Power as the theme for this year’s Student Focus ignited an exceptional standard and variety of work. Maybe it’s the abstract quality of the word which prompted interestingly different responses from the six universities. The winning Argentine series followed-up the story of a tragic flood 25 years ago, a description of the power of nature. The photographers found beauty in the stark, abandoned and destroyed landscape, the chaos of fallen bricks and concrete, dark leafless trees, and partially demolished buildings – the crucial reminders of lives once lived there. The choice was difficult but ultimately this series possessed the greatest maturity and depth of them all.”

On winning this award the students tutor at Escuela Argentina de Fotografia, Ines Yujnovsky, commented:

“Teaching photography means transmitting the passion of this fascinating art and technique and we believe students should search their own vision. Student Focus encouraged students to think about their own approaches to themes like ‘War and Peace’, ‘Power’ and ‘Everyday life’ in a city like Cannes. Having the opportunity to go to the Festival was incredible. We enjoyed talks, exhibitions, portfolio reviews and met interesting people who are dedicated to photography. For us being the “University of the Year” and to win the prize will improve our possibilities to continue expanding the passion of photography to young students.”

The students’ images were judged by an esteemed panel of arts professionals: Adrian Evans – Director of Panos pictures agency, Adrian Boot – Music photographer and co-founder of www.urbanimage.tv, Jonathon Torgovnik – widely exhibited documentary photographer and co-founder of NGO, Foundation Rwanda, Idris Khan – artist and Sue Steward – photography critic, writer, radio broadcaster, photo-editor and journalist.

Ania Wadsworth, Student Focus Manager at the World Photography Awards, commented:

“We have been delighted with the quality of work submitted into the 2010 Student Focus competition. The students interpreted the brief with such intelligence and professionalism and the judges were impressed by the originality of thought and true breadth of imagery.

Student Focus continues to expand with events around the world, our partnership with the Young Tate Online and yet another internationally renowned jury; 2011 promises to be a vibrant year.”

Yoshiyuki Nogami, Vice President of Digital Imaging at Sony Europe, commented:

“We are honoured to be able to support these talented young individuals and have been impressed by the exceptionally high standard of images they have produced during this competition.”

The 2011 Student Focus competition has now been launched. The 2011 judges of the competition are: Eder Chiodetto, independent curator, photographer and photography critic and professor, based in São Paulo, Brazil; Simon Norfolk, prolific landscape photographer, UK; Deborah Willis, artist and photographer, based in New York, USA; Roger Tooth, head of photography for The Guardian newspaper, UK; and Shizuka Yokomizo, Japanese born, London based photographer who is best known for her portrait series Strangers.

More information about Student Focus 2011 can be found at http://www.worldphoto.org/student-focus/

William Curley – Japanese Week, 24th September – 3rd October.

Posted on by

As a chocoholic I am very excited about this event.

William Curley, Britain’s Best Chocolatier, and his wife and business partner Suzue Curley, who is originally from Japan, are celebrating Suzue’s Japanese heritage with ten days packed full of Japanese inspired events, tastings and master-classes. William Curley’s Japanese week will be held at his Belgravia store from making master-classes are now happening on the 2nd and 3rd October as well as the 25th and 26th September, at the same times (2pm – 4pm)

Visitors to the store can also look forward to an exciting and exclusive limited edition range of Japanese inspired chocolates, patisserie, hot and chilled drinks – even the decoration and sound track of the store will undergo a total oriental transformation.

Japanese Week with William and Suzue Curley will consist of:

Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th September, 2pm – 4pm
· Japanese Chocolate Making Master-Class.
A tasting of all William Curley’s Japanese inspired chocolates, the opportunity to see, taste and understand the raw Japanese ingredients William uses in his chocolates and also understand more about the different combinations he uses in the couture collection, and why. Guests will then learn to make their own Toasted Sesame Couture Chocolate and Yamazaki Whiskey Truffles which once finished will be beautifully boxed and wrapped ready to take home and enjoy. £75 per person.

Wednesday 29th September, 7pm – 9.30pm
· Japanese Tea and Chocolate Pairing Evening.
Hosted by William Curley and John Kennedy from TeaSmith. Guests will be greeted on arrival with an Oolong Tea Champagne Cocktail, enjoy homemade Japanese inspired savoury canapés and sample 8 Japanese teas paired with 8 Japanese inspired chocolates and a delicious patisserie to end the evening. £55 per person.

Thursday 30th September, 7pm – 9.30pm
· Sake and Chocolate Tasting Evening.
A tasting of six different Japanese Sakes, paired by Sake expert Gilbert Winfield with William Curley’s superb chocolates. Because of its unique ‘umami enhancing’ properties and low acidity, Sake is one of the best drinks to pair with chocolate, and the distinctive, delicate flavours of our chosen Sakes beautifully complement the smooth richness of William’s confections. Guests will be greeted with a glass of champagne on arrival and enjoy delicious Japanese inspired canapés. To finish there will be another Japanese speciality, Shiraume Umeshu, a plum infused liqueur. £55 per person.
For bookings and availability please contact caroline@williamcurley.co.uk, 020 7730 5522.

About William Curley.

It was at just 27 that William Curley became the youngest Chef Pâtissier at The Savoy Hotel working with Anton Edelman and leading a team of 21 pastry chefs. Curley’s career spans many years of working with some of the finest chefs and pâtissiers in the business including Marc Meneau at L’Esperance in France, Pierre Koffman at La Tante Claire, Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons and Marco Pierre White at The Oak Restaurant. William has won a variety of awards, including ‘The Craft Guild Pastry Chef of the Year’, ‘The Academy of Culinary Arts Award of Excellence’ and ‘British Dessert of the Year’. William Curley is passionate about chocolate making and his chocolates, pâtisseries and desserts are renowned the world over. William Curley opened his first shop together with his wife Suzue in Richmond in 2004.

About Suzue Curley.

Suzue Curley is a highly respected pâtissier. Originally from Osaka, Japan, Suzue moved to London in 1996 where she trained at Le Cordon Bleu. She has worked at Claridge’s and The Savoy where she was in charge of their world famous Afternoon Teas. She has won many national competitions including Gold at Hotelympia in 2000. Both William and Suzue have represented Scotland at international culinary events, winning Gold medals in Chicago and Basle, and at the Culinary Olympics in Germany.

www.williamcurley.co.uk

About TeaSmith.

TeaSmith is a contemporary teahouse where you can explore the world of exceptional teas in a unique, tranquil, and accessible environment. Tea experts are on-hand to help select the perfect tea for your taste, musical preferences, state of mind or even the weather. Our teas are sourced from individual tea farmers and selected for their integrity, quality of aroma taste and aftertaste, and experience.

www.teasmith.co.uk

Wikileak in Afghanistan {Carl Packman}

Posted on by

Julian Assange won’t find himself on any leaked document, but he should be under no illusion: he is enemy number 1 now. The owner of Wikileaks may have just tickled a ball too many with his latest release; 90,000 records of incidents and intelligence reports about the conflict in Afghanistan.

Homeless Assange, whose profile on the Guardian notes him as confessing a genetic disposition to rebel, has spent the last 24 hours justifying his acts, in light of fierce criticism from the White House, who have said the leaks – probably the result of hacking (their assumption) – which contains classified and sensitive information could put the war effort in jeopardy.

The twitter hashtag #warlogs has had discussions ranging from whether to see Wikileaks forever more as a champion of free speech, or as a danger, more intent on causing naive damage and anarchy rather than any grown up appeal to classical liberal motifs.

Having seen a sample of the records myself I can conclude one thing for the nice readers at Frost Magazine: we are at war.

If you want to find out anymore, say if you want to see what Osama Bin Laden told intelligence in his poetic, tyrannical phraseology, or perhaps you’d like to see how much carnage the Taliban have caused with roadside bombings, go and see the files for yourself.

Though when you see them remember one of the main reasons why this stuff isn’t on public display (other than the issue of a national threat, or sensitivity to families): war is rubbish, people die, and it is often better to put it to the back of one’s mind, for otherwise the emotional proximity to what is really going on can have deleterious effects on a reasonable and rational opinion of the war effort in Afghanistan.

I call this the problem of overproximity, and I first spoke about it last year with regard to the camps in Calais that were home to many migrants. Photojournalist Jason Parkinson, a good guy, was frustrated by then immigration Minister Phil Woolas’ response to the camp. He wrote in the Guardian:

It is easy for Woolas, back in London, to arrogantly state these men don’t deserve asylum in the UK. But in doing so he exposes his distance from the issue. If he had bothered to go to the camps and squats around Calais and talk to these people, hear their stories first hand – perhaps then he would remember they are human beings and not just a statistic or price tag on a government spreadsheet.

It is my contention that it didn’t matter where Woolas made the decision if it involved taking a look at what the UK could do, but certainly visiting the camp was not going to help, only other than putting Woolas in a situation where his proximity to the problem would influence his reponse (we all know his stomach for pressure, just see Joanna Lumley take him down).

The leaked documents have the potential to change people’s mind in the wrong way, it will remind people that death is common to war, and that strategy has not always been good in Afghanistan.

The shock of the reality has the potential to delete from our emotional minds the cost of not challenging the Taliban – this network of extremists will not stop until every son of every scared parent in Afghanistan has forcefully been signed up to fight in their fascist wars.

Clare Jonas on Synaesthesia {Interviews}

Posted on by
Clare Jonas sits on the Southbank on a sunny Saturday afternoon. She’s not what most people imagine an academic to be like. Although she’s just about to finish her PhD at Sussex University, out of her satchel she pulls a ball of wool and some knitting needles.
Clare: Do you mind if I knit?
She’s recently taken up knitting and appears to be making some sort of hat, possibly to keep her enormous brain warm when the winter comes. Clare is obsessed with brains and has been poking about in them for most of her adult life.

Frost: Tell us what it is you do…
Clare: I research Synaesthesia which is a condition in which the senses get senses get mixed up, or two aspects of the same sense get mixed up or sometimes the concepts of the sense get mixed up.
Probably the most common type that involves mixing up the senses involves sound and vision, so you might see colours when you’re listening to music for example.
The way we refer to the different sides of Synaesthesia is inducive and concurrent. The inducer is what causes the Synaesthesia, maybe a letter or some music. Concurrent is the resulting sensation you get which is a ghost sensation.
Frost: Is it the same for everyone who experiences Synaesthesia?
Clare: Not every Synaesthae experiences it in the same way. Using the example of sound to colour synaesthesia; for some people a trumpet’s sound might be red, for others it might be blue.
At the moment I’m interested in the patterns of Synaesthesia but I’m moving towards how Synaesthesia differs from normal experiences and what can that tell us about “normal” experiences.
Frost: What interested you in the subject? Is it something you experience?
Clare: Yeah, I do have Synaesthesia. With me it’s concept and sense being mixed up. When I think about numbers or time or letters of the alphabet, they have spatial locations, so for example; the number ten is just in front of my right shoulder and January is by my right eye, the letters of the alphabet are kind of off in space to my left and above me.
Frost: Is Synaesthesia the result of nurture as opposed to nature??
Clare: I don’t think so because my brother and I went to the same primary school and would’ve been taught by the same teachers and he hasn’t got Synaesthesia and I have. It’s to do with the hardware in your brain. The theory at the moment is that some people have a genetic predisposition to Synaesthesia.
In the case of number and space getting mixed up, when you’re a young child with a tendency to have synaesthesia, you might put the number one, for example, in different places depending on the different times you’re looking at it, but as you get older your synaesthesia settles down into a fixed pattern.
We have a break and go for a wander talking the about the intelligence and comedy of homing pigeons as we stumble upon a science fair. “Keep your eye out for brains” coos Clare; she’s in her element as she quizzes some unsuspecting degree students about the power of algae and the magnetism of ants. I learn that you can remove parts of an ant’s legs and they try and carry on as normal and somehow it proves that ants count the number of steps they take. As she quizzes several more undergraduates and I’m sure I see one physically tremble with intellectual intimidation.
I carry on and ask her more questions.
Frost: Is synaesthesia a hindrance for people that experience it?
Clare: No, most people say they enjoy it. Although, in the same way that most people don’t know what it’s like to have Synaesthesia, so they can’t imagine the world any differently, that’s how it is for a synaesthete. So if numbers have colours or words have tastes, it’s just the way they’ve always been.
Frost: Could some people have such severe experiences that they don’t carry out a normal life?
Clare: No I wouldn’t say so, the worse thing I’ve heard from a Synaesthete is that it can be distracting. So if you’re trying to read a book you keep getting distracted by all the different colours of the letters for example. It doesn’t hinder people in any significant way as far as I know. In fact most of the time it can be kind of helpful, if you imagine you’re meeting someone for the second time and you’ve forgotten their name but you know it was a green name, that could mean that it must start with the letter “f” so you can narrow it down and you’re less likely to embarrass yourself.
Quite a few types of Synaesthesia, we haven’t investigated all of it, you get an advantage in the concurrent domain. So people who have letter – colour synaesthesia would have better colour processing than most people.
Frost: Do these people maybe tend to take up to artistic careers?
Clare: There’s some anecdotal evidence that synaesthete tend to go into more artistic careers but the synaesthete I’ve met do all kinds of things. When people contact us because they’ve heard about Synaesthesia they’ll often be people who work in offices or students, other academics, occasionally I’ll just be talking to a friend and they’ll say “oh but I have that! Isn’t that normal?” There are people everywhere who have synaesthesia…it’s actually quite common.
Frost: How common is it?
Clare: It depends on which form of Synaesthesia you’re talking about, the kind I have, the spatial stuff, that’s probably about 1 in 4 people have some kind of spatial synaesthesia. This includes thinking of time as having a spatial component or letters or numbers.
Frost: How do we know we’re not just imagining as opposed to it being real Synaesthesia?
Clare: There are two ways we can test it, the first is a modified Stroop test. In the original Stroop test people are asked to look at the names of colours, e.g. yellow, and say what colour ink it’s printed in, i.e. it might be printed in green. It’s much harder to say what colour the word is when it doesn’t match the ink. Then you see how long it takes them to name that colour as opposed to when it matches.
Frost: So it’s a massive disadvantage on brain training games?
Clare: I’m not brilliant at them and I don’t even have colour synaesthesia.  That test doesn’t always work; there are some people that don’t show that effect at all. If that’s the case there’s another test based on consistency. So this you can do more easily and on a wider variety of people. Basically what happens is we’ll test people on their inducer and concurrent pairings, for example we’ll ask them “what colour is five for you, what colour’s six, what does the word ‘brain’ taste of” that kind of thing. Then we’ll also get someone who doesn’t have Synaesthesia in and ask them to pretend that they have Synaesthesia. We tell the non synaesthete that we’re going to re-test them after a few days or a couple of weeks. We don’t warn the synaesthete that we’re going to re-test them and we test them again a longer period of time later than the control, so maybe months. So the idea is if the synaesthete is more consistent than the control over time, then they almost certainly have Synaesthesia.
Frost: Wont people be tempted to re-create the effects with drugs?
Clare: Well there are reports that there’s a drug in South America that can induce symptoms like Synaesthesia but it also induces severe vomiting.
Frost: Lovely, what’s the most unusual type?
Clare: the strangest is probably lexical-gustatory; where words have tastes when being read or spoken or heard. Or mirror touch; when you see someone being touched on their body and you feel that touch in the same location on your own body.
Frost: Do you know of any famous people that have Synaesthesia?
Clare: Thom York, I think he has music to colour. Probable Kandinsky had it, his painting are said to have names of musical compositions and look a bit like other peoples reports of Synaesthesia of music to space. Pharell Williams in N.E.R.D.
Frost: If someone wanted to find out more about Synaesthesia where can they go?
Clare: They could have a look at our website which is www.syn.sussex.ac.uk which is my research group which is headed by Jamie Ward. They can get involved in tests if they think they might have Synaesthesia. There’s a questionnaire on the website which they can fill out and send back to us or if they think they have a Synaesthesia which we haven’t covered on the questionnaire they could email us and ask. There are people doing research all over the world.

INSIDE OUT BACK ON THE LONDON FESTIVAL SCENE

Posted on by

Booking now open for a packed week of arts and current affairs events

INSIDE OUT FESTIVAL 2010

In association with New Statesman

Monday 25 – Sunday 31 October 2010

www.insideoutfestival.org.uk

The Inside Out Festival is set to return this October in association with New Statesman with an even bigger and better programme of talks, debates, exhibitions and performances.

The popular annual event celebrates the exciting and often unexpected contribution made by London universities to the cultural life of the capital. This year festival-goers will be able to hear from some of the most inspiring and experimental thinkers, writers and artists of the day and get creative themselves.

Goldsmith’s, Birkbeck, Central St Martin’s, the London College of Fashion, the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama are amongst the nine university institutions throwing open their doors for the week of public events which will include film screenings, music and theatre performances, art and fashion exhibitions, and talks with well-known academics and high-profile commentators. The events will take place all over London at cultural venues such as the Barbican, the National Portrait Gallery and Somerset House, and in rarely-seen spaces in the universities.

Sally Taylor, Inside Out Festival Director, said: “There is certainly no shortage of festivals in London but this is an arts festival with a distinct twist. The sheer breadth of talent in the nine universities involved is staggering. We want as many people as possible to come and enjoy the fruits of this talent and passion in October. From the art of Cézanne to the art of war, from the abuses of contemporary history to the history of men’s underwear, this year’s Inside Out Festival will be a feast – a cultural ‘pick and mix’ – for bright thinkers and art lovers, young and old.”

Jason Cowley, Editor of New Statesman, said: “We are delighted to be associated with Inside Out. As a magazine, we like to look beyond the obvious and seek out the unusual, the witty, the irreverent and the thought-provoking. In this festival we have found all of these things and more.”

Festival highlights will include:

* A debate on New Labour Literature with author and Goldsmith’s academic Blake Morrison, novelist and columnist Will Self and Robert Hampson, Professor of Modern Literature at Royal Holloway. Chaired by Jason Cowley.
* The Art of War – a panel discussion on war as entertainment led by Iain Burnside, Guildhall academic, pianist and Sony-Award-winning radio presenter, drawing on his current theatre piece Lads in Their Hundreds. With human rights barrister Philippe Sands QC
* An exhibition of Japanese fashion at the Barbican Art Gallery including a talk with experts from the University of the Arts London
* A debate on the uses and abuses of contemporary history with historian and former journalist Peter Hennessy, Tessa Jowell MP and constitutional expert Vernon Bogdanor

· The launch of a new history of men’s underwear by Shaun Cole, principal lecturer in history and culture at the London College of Fashion

· A Q&A with Harvey Cohen of King’s College London on his new book Duke Ellington’s America followed by music from the Guildhall Jazz Band

* Exclusive late viewing of the Courtauld Gallery’s landmark Autumn exhibition of portraits by Paul Cézanne
* Publishing a first novel – an opportunity to hear from recently published authors Penny Rudge and Kristan Hawkins, literary agents Judith Murray and Caroline Wood and tutors from City University’s highly successful Certificate in Novel Writing, as well as an opportunity to compete to have your work read by a literary agent
* A London film history walk led by expert Professor Ian Christie followed by an illustrated lecture at Birkbeck’s state-of-the-art cinema in Bloomsbury
* Creative writing workshops led by academics and writers from Birkbeck
* Minute Maestro – a conducting masterclass, following which participants have the opportunity to conduct a string quartet

The Festival will open on 25 October with a high-profile panel debate – ‘Should the university continue to exist in its current form?’ – at the University of London Senate House.

Booking for the Inside Out Festival is now open at www.insideoutfestival.org.uk More events will be confirmed over the summer.

Gensler unveils Design for Museum of Bond vehicles and espionage {Cult}

Posted on by

LONDON — International architecture, design and planning firm Gensler today, unveiled its design for the Museum of Bond Vehicles and Espionage, which is slated to open in Momence, IL, in 2012, on the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond movie, Dr. No.

The 14,000 square foot museum will house the exclusive collection of the Ian Fleming Foundation, including the world’s largest collection of vehicles used in Bond films. A partnership between the Ian Fleming Foundation, the Kankakee County Museum and the City of Momence, this Gensler-designed museum will also feature cultural artefacts of espionage with exhibits exploring contemporary culture’s impact on the Bond films as well as Bond’s influence on popular culture.

With projections of 20,000 visitors per year, the museum hopes to revitalize Momence, Illinois, a historic border town located 50 miles south of Chicago.

The project itself is a bit of a double agent, says Gensler Design

Director Brian Vitale. At face value, we¹ve designed a showcase for a world-class collection of James Bond vehicles and the culture that surrounds them. But its real mission is to become a powerful catalyst for the revitalization of a once-vibrant city.

With a limited budget, Gensler focused on a single bold design move to make a statement against a simple backdrop. The result is the 007 window (named so because the windows angled jamb resembles a 7), located at the buildings prominent corner. The window does quadruple-duty, providing exhibit display space, signage, a day lit interior, and an iconic backdrop for photographs. The remainder of the building is clad in black horizontal corrugated metal. It’s a mysterious silhouette that reveals very little of the museum’s content, much like James Bond himself, said Vitale.

Get more info at the Museum Of Bond Vehicles Facebook Page