Thursday 13 June 2013

Things of Joy and Beauty

Had a very uplifting and thought provoking evening on Tuesday at Manchester University listening to the Cockcroft Rutherford lecture by Richard Thompson about 'In Place of War'.
Richard is obviously a man at the top of his discipline using drama and theatre in war zones and places of conflict to help those involved come to terms with the situations they are in. His belief and the concrete evidence of the pro-active use of creative intervention in such situations was inspirational. How wonderful to hear of arts and creativity being used, supported and participated in, right at the heart of where you would think it would be the last thing on ones mind. The value of what he does was never under question, in fact one member of the audience felt he should be stopping wars with his theatre, an unusal position for the arts to find themselves.
My practice is very far removed from Richards and the team he works with but I couldn't help feeling a little bit of that value and belief he had in  things creative could rub off on me and that in my heart the hope that all people want something of joy and beauty will save the creative industries and all the things that are good and positive in world. I wonder if our government would be as supportive as that of Sri Lanka? 

Hampstead Affordable Art Fair

The Hampstead Affordable Art Fair starts today with lots of wonderful affordable art work to buy. What could be a better way to start the weekend? All details at Affordable art fair website or www.wills-art. com
Image above 'Three Blue Tits' acrylic on board 15cm x 15 cm part of a group of four paintings that fit together or stand alone, still on show at Harvey Nichols Manchester