CONNECTED BRIGHTON

Happy May lovely people!

We’ve just about recovered from celebrating our 2nd birthday here at Connected Brighton. In year two we hosted over 100 events for over 1000 people and supported over 100 independent local businesses. We launched our singles brand The Single Sessions, became radio show hosts for Radio Reverb and our podcast had over 1000 downloads. So much to celebrate.

And now there’s more fun to be had at Brighton Festival!

It’s all about to explode with performers on every street, in every venue and with everyone from near and far coming to check it out. I love this time of year, sitting out at the Fringe sites, sipping drinks and soaking up the festival atmosphere is the best. I just love this city.

We’re going to be hanging out a lot at the new Caravanserai festival site, catching shows and enjoying the pop ups with our members. We got in early for tickets for our favourite shows and we can’t wait to see what other new and interesting performances we can find this year.

It can be overwhelming to choose shows with so much on offer, but my advice is always to just throw yourself in. See as much as you can, tickets are cheap and the variety will keep you entertained!

As well as the Fringe, now the sun has made a comeback we’re excited for our outside events with Beginners Petanque classes and Kayaking between the piers. As well as our bespoke nights in with Little Jasmine, Nostos, Wine Tasting with Bright On Wines, Karaoke at Bar Broadway and our Game Show evening with comedian Julie Jepson. And our Singles Nights are back at Southern Belle, helping singles to mingle.

If you’re looking to make new friends in the city and meet like minded people all through supporting local and independent then check us out.

Have a fab May and enjoy the Fringe!

Lyndsey x

Aristides Ureña was recently invited to London to the Holy Art Fair to share his art where he presented PANAMA SUMMER to great reception from his newer UK audiences.

Located amongst the hustle of Brighton’s hospitality in the lanes, you can step inside a space of peace and creativity at Art5 Gallery. Owned by husband and wife Omar and Giselle, the gallery sells beautiful original paintings, while on display are also ceramics, prints and other interesting media from local and worldwide artists. Their latest artist on display is Aristides Ureña from Panama, exhibiting his gorgeous multidisciplinary work in shades of boisterous blues and warming yellows. Aristides tells us all about his art, creative processes and fascinating career so far as he is welcomed to Brighton.

Let’s start at the beginning, how did you decide you wanted to be an artist?

Always. I was able to sense my fate from an early age. My parents inspired me to set such high standards for myself. Imagine [I was] a future artist living in a small Latin American nation with a deeply religious mother and a revolutionary father who seek[ed] to conquer angels and dreams.

Your most recent event was The Holy Art in London just this weekend (30-2 April) where you presented “RAKA TAKA (2017)” and “KALIDONIA (2022) as a part of a larger project “PANAMA SUMMER”. Can you tell us a bit about these works and what inspired them?

The PANAMA SUMMER project is a collection of multidisciplinary works that demonstrate the aesthetic contributions that multicultural relations have made to the urban culture of the capital city of Panama. The viewer's sharp eye is drawn to the particularities that give new concepts their individuality. Within this picture series, each piece is an accumulation of aesthetic memory that comes to life on its own.

You were born in Panama and lived in Italy for 38 years. How much do your homes and surroundings inspire your artwork?

They have had a noticeable impact on the fundamental aesthetic patterns that underpin these fine arts. I am a person who grew