May 2O13
New Free Magazine
Positive Leeds Northern Art Prize Record Store Day Mock ‘N’ Roll
Plus Much More
Contents
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Events Events In May - Page 3-4
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Featured Event Northern Art Prize - Page 5-9
Art
Web - www.positiveleeds.co.uk
Mock ‘N’ Roll - Page 1O-11 Small Town Ink: Traditional Print Day - Page 12-13
Email - info@positiveleeds.co.uk
Music
Phone - O78O6665762
Record Store Day - Page 14-15
Film & Theatre
Twitter - @positiveleeds
Transform: My City, My Leeds Page 16-17
Facebook - www.facebook.com/positive.leeds
The Place Behind The Pines Page 18-19
Food & Drink Graze Food Festival Page 2O-21 Info/Contacts Positive Leeds is a cultaral magazine/newspaper based in the city of Leeds. Tired of seeing nothing but negative news broadcast to us all across the media, Positive Leeds aims to bring you fresh, exciting and most importantly positive news happening right here in the city.
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Web www.positiveleeds.co.uk
Twitter @positiveleeds
Email info@positiveleeds.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/positive.leeds
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Events In May Art Birds Eye View March 2nd - 29th June The Craft Centre & Design Gallery, Leeds Four printmakers explore the beauty of birds in this group print exhibition. Northern Art Prize March 28th - 16th June Leeds Art Gallery The sixth Northern Art Prize exhibition runs from 28 March until 16 June 2013 at Leeds Art Gallery Robert Filliou - The Institute of Endless Possibilities March 21st - 23rd June Herny Moore Institute, Leeds The Institute of Endless Possibilities is the first institutional solo exhibition devoted to Filliou in the UK.
Northern Art Prize Ceremony 23rd May Leeds Art Gallery The prize of £16,5OO prize money will be awarded to the chosen artist. Expression of You – The Divine Feminine 9th May – 16th June Leeds Gallery Expression of You, The Divine Feminine is a living art exhibition, a celebration of the act of sharing. Keith Haynes Pop Up Exhibition 2nd May 6pm - Late White Cloth Gallery Playful and nostalgic art created from original vinyl records.
Music Live At Leeds May 3rd - 6th Various Locations Live at Leeds is a music festival held annually across a variety of venues. More info at www.liveatleeds.com Live Music Event with Martin Gough – The Sound of Bowie May 18th, 8pm White Cloth Gallery Come join in the music and enjoy a few specially selected beers, unique cocktails, a homemade burger, or pizza at the fabulous White Cloth Gallery.
Mock & Roll Aoril 28th - 7th May Leeds Gallery Illustrator Jack Hudson teams up with 3D image-making Five Negro Spirituals May 15th 7.3Opm - Late duo Lord Whitney. Holy Trinty Church A concert featuring Michael Tippett’s moving settings Edgelands of Leeds of five traditional spirituals, taken from his secular oraApril 13th - 12th May torio “A Child of Our Time” (1939-41). Gallery 2, Leeds Gillian Holding’s explores the incongruity and strangeness of an explosion of wild flower meadows in Latin Vibe Launch Party May 18th 8pm -Late an industrial wasteland. La Boheme The biggest and best Latin night in Leeds and even in The Duffy Collection the North! 3 Rooms playing the hottest Latin music! May 2nd - 15th Guest artists, DJs, classes, performances & other enWhitecloth Gallery Duffy’s most famous photograph dates from the 197Os tertainment too! and is the iconic cover of David Bowie’s album ‘Aladdin Sane.’
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Baby Rave Leeds May 2Oth 1Oam - 2pm Vox Warehouse Looking for something new to do with your baby? Want to meet other parents? Baby Rave Leeds, brings a unique and innovative dance, music and social event to experience with your little ones. Celtic Fiddle Festival May 31st 8pm - Late Otley Courthouse Called “three of the finest folk violinists anywhere” by The Washington Post, Celtic Fiddle Festival celebrates the violin in all its globe-trotting variations.
Film & Theatre
Breeze International Youth Festival May 23rd - June 2nd Various Locations Featuring an open air concert as part of BIYF Live! @ Briggate, live music and dance at Armley Mills, a Graffiti and 3D Art workshop at the White Rose Centre, performance poetry in the Town Hall and lots more around Leeds ... Breeze will have you buzzing. The Bruce Lee Memorial Lock-In 28th May 8pm - 11pm Oporto Actor, fighter, poet, philosopher - in the next Lock-In we celebrate the action-packed life of Lee Jun-fan aka Bruce Lee. Jon us for the usual mix of comedy, music, poetry and much else besides (and we may have a special Brucie Bonus...).
Food & Drink
Pop Up Cinema - The Shining May 11th 7pm - 11pm The Acre,Headingley Campus Food and drink will be available, or bring your own plus LS6 Beer Festival 2O13 a blanket to sit on - or wrap up in! May 25th - 26th Left Bank Secret Cinema Over 25 award winner beers and ciders from local and May 31st national breweries, plus a one-off festival beer. FeaturInkwell Arts ing speciality ales and Yorkshire favourites, to tempt Last Friday of every month, 7pm doors open 7.30 start. connoisseurs and novices alike. Accompanied by street A range of soft drinks, snacks, hot drinks & fresh pop- food, our own take on “pub entertainment” and ripcorn are on sale beforehand. roaring live music. An Evening With Robert Filliou May 14th 7pm -11pm Hyde Park Picture House Introduced by Lisa Le Feuvre (Head of Sculpture Studies, The Henry Moore Institute), this programme shows a selection of Filliou’s films made, each demonstrating his ‘principle of equivalence’ which measures all products of human labour by the categories ‘well made’, ‘badly made’ or ‘not made’.
Harewood Medieval Banquet May 25th 6pm Harewood House Over 25 award winner beers and ciders from local and national breweries, plus a one-off festival beer. Featuring speciality ales and Yorkshire favourites, to tempt connoisseurs and novices alike. Accompanied by street food, our own take on “pub entertainment” and riproaring live music.
Film - The Seventh Art - With BBC Film 2013 Presenter Danny Leigh May 23rd 6pm - 8.3Opm Leeds College Of Art The discussion will cover the work of legendary directors such as Jean Cocteau, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Andrei Tarkovsky, Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor and Chris Marker and visual clips from films including La Belle et La Bete, The Shining, The Elephant Man, Holy Motors and many more.
Leeds Food Festival May 24th - June 9th Grany Wharf, Briggate & Various Other Location Leeds’ annual food and drink festival returns this summer for an impressive seventh year. This year the Leeds Food Festival is in association with Asda and will be running for 2 weeks!
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Featured Event Northern Art Prize
The sixth annual Northern Art Prize is underway, the exhibition runs until 16th June at Leeds Art Gallery. The artists nominated for the award are Margaret Harrison, Rosalind Nashashibi, Emily Speed and a collaboration between Joanne T atham & Tom O’Sullivan. Curator of the exhibition Sarah Brown said: “The artists have made a number of new pieces especially for the show which gives this year’s Northern Art Prize exhibition an immediate sense of the artists’ current practice which is great for the artists, judges and audiences. Each artist also has responded to the main ground floor galleries where the exhibition takes place and produced work that interacts with the doorways, walls and corners, making the exhibition distinctive to Leeds and the Northern Art Prize.”
Upon entering the gallery the work you are most likely to see is that of Emily Speed. Focusing on the relationship between people and buildings, she uses materials that are often recycled and for the exhibition has created brand new works. These include wooden structures, drawings, costumes and moulded architectural models. Her star piece ‘Carapaces’ is a wooden structure on wheels, in which two performers, who are encased in the structure, wheel about the room. Without be able to see where they are going, they have to communicate with one another and have a great deal of trust between them. Taking influence from the Renaissance artist Giotto and his unstable and awkward looking architecture that often refers to the human body and its fragile state, Speed’s work has an element of isolation, vulnerability and in the case of ‘Carapaces’ co-dependency. In the same room there is work from artist Rosalind Nashashibi. Her work often takes interest in masculinity which is the case in the work ‘A New Youth’, created for the Northern Art Prize. The work includes a tree displaying a photograph of a denim-clad crotch of indefinite sex, and a large cartoon illustration of Mickey Mouse’s hands in a familiar Buddha gesture with one hand pointing up and the other down. I was more drawn towards the video work she had done ‘Lovely Young People’ which was made with the Scottish Ballet. The film portrays dancers rehearsing, with member of the local public walking in and awkwardly standing around. At first glance the film just seems like any other, but the longer you stay and watch, the more you are drawn in to the dancers and mesmerised by their seemingly superhuman strength and endurance. With Nashashibi’s clever camera skills of drawing attention to the audience and using different perspectives within the film, it is hard to know who are the visitors and who are the intruders.
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In the main hall of the gallery is Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan’s works ‘The Reiterative Grimace’. Made specially for the Northern Art Prize, it frames the entrances to two interior galleries - one part of the 19th century Art and the other the entrance to the rest of the Northern Art Prize. The beautiful thing about these works is that they have been made for this show and this show alone and putting them anywhere else wouldn’t work. Tatham and O’Sullivan create their work so it is not understood as soon as you look as it - you have to work at it - and try to create shocking pieces. In the case of ‘The Reiterative Grimace’, as you stand there looking at it, it looks back at you sharing the same expression.
In the final room of the exhibition is Margaret Harrison’s work. The collection of work is entitled ‘Reflect’ - my favourite piece being ‘Common Reflections’ - a reconstruction and reinterpretation of a perimeter fence from RAF Greenham Common. The installation reflects on the roles women have had in protest and in this one in-particular as women set up a legendary peace camp to protest against the nuclear weapons located there. The mirrors present at the exhibition represent those used by the women in their peace camp. They would hold them up to the fences to reflect back at those guarding the base to show them what they were guarding and to say they were accountable for it. It also has a disorientating effect in the gallery as the viewer has the sense of being of both viewer and being viewed. The exhibition will award its winner of the 26th May on a private view night. The winning artist will receive £16,5OO with each runner up getting £1,5OO. The exhibition hosts some fantastic work and The Leeds Art Gallery have chosen some intriguing and talented artists to keep The Northern Art Prize - a highly exciting exhibition.
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Mock N Roll
Art
Exhibiting at the Leeds Gallery in May was Mock ‘N’ Roll - a collaboration between creative duo Lord Whitney (Amy Lord & Rebekah Whitney) and Illustrator Jack Hudson. Inspired by vibrant, iconic and truly weird record covers from the past, the artists have created a collection of their own.
The twenty prints they produced stretched from the weird and wonderful, to record covers that wouldn’t look out of place alongside one of Pink Floyd’s iconic covers. The opening night of the show was made more enjoyable but some of the characters from the covers being there in their 8O’s attire. Upon entering the gallery it was like stepping back in time with a complementary cocktail handed to you and 8Os classic songs played out as you made you way around the gallery. Every now and then you would bump into someone you could have sworn you just saw on one of the covers. Each album cover has its own unique eighties style and with twenty of them to conceive that must have tried the creative minds of Lord Whitney, likewise with the typography - completed by Jack Hudson. As well as creating these beautiful album covers, there were songs to accompany them; with ten established musical artists creating original songs inspired by the works. The musicians included members of Department M, Duels, Lone Wolf, Pulled Apart By Horses, Napoleon IIIrd, Sky Larkin and These Monsters. With the gallery getting busier and busier, Lord Whitney and Jack Hudson announced that they would play the collection of songs and turned the usually quite static gallery into an 8Os dance floor, with hotdogs being served when the aptly named song “Hot Doggin Dog” came on. The songs were also available via headphones; this enabled you to flick between songs at your will. The songs capture the sense of humour that goes with the style of the prints and with the whole evening, something other exhibitions can maybe learn from as far too often galleries and exhibition are quiet and serious places. Even if you visited the exhibition during the week and not on the opening night, I believe you would feel inclined to linger longer than normal because of not only the quantity and quality of the work but also because of the fun and exciting work of mixing 3D art, illustration and music. The opening night was more than just an exhibition; it combined the work of artists and musicians and gave it a fresh and vibrant atmosphere. The images themselves were worth every moment of viewing; I could have stared at the works for hours, seeing something new in each one every time whilst listening to its soundtrack! It is a marvellous achievement by this group of young creatives. The amount of time and effort all parties have put in to this collaboration is clear and with a London show on the horizon this summer Mock ‘N’ Roll has its sights both in the past and firmly in the future.
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Small Town Ink: Traditional Print Day
Art Celebrating traditional print making techniques, Small Town Ink is taking design back to its roots and hosted a day at the University of Leeds providing an insight into the techniques and marvellous work which can be done. The event took place at the Grass Studio in The School of Design at Leeds University and never having been to it before I found it difficult to find. I was in for a treat when I did eventually arrive. There is a greenhouse feeling to the whole room and with its glass roof and walls it was a perfect place to show these prints. With natural light beaming down onto them, every minor detail could be seen. As I made my way around the room, taking in all the different techniques used from letterpress, screen printing and lino printing, I found it amazing to see such dedication to a form that many considered to be lost since the arrival of computer aided design. This seems not to be the case as more and more people are taking an interest in the traditional methods of printing as it offers more distinctive and personal qualities than digital techniques. Promoter of the event Vicky White says, “It is to cut down on traditional printing methods in interest in more personal searching unique ut to them in their local area. The SMALL TOWN INK print day hopes to help answer these questions, whilst celebrating and introducing more designers to the incredible worldof print.”
worrying that many educational establishments are beginning favour of digital techniques, especially with an increasing hand crafted design. Young designers are desperately for answers as to how the distinctive and elements of traditional print come abo and what resources are available
The speakers at the event echoed this message and showed examples of the works and intricate techniques used in the prints. Such craft is needed to master this practice; I am a great admirer of this traditional design and it was great to see so many different techniques and people using them as they created posters, postcards, stamps, magazines, zines, t-shirts, and flyers.The people and companies who contributed include: Sean Mort, Graham Pilling, Jo Wilkinson, Helen Entwisle, Or8 Design, The Print Project, Drew Millward, Adam Stockwell, Filippa Dobson, Colours May Vary, Dots Printhaus, Village, Hope House Prints, Inc Workshop, Memo Illustration, Army of Cats and Gold Hands Collective. This lovely event couldn’t have happened without the hard work of Small Town Ink - a massive thanks and congratulations for a brilliant day.
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Music
Record Store Day, At Jumbo Records & Crash Records
In its fifth year now Record Store Day has grown each year with the people of Leeds coming to the aid of the music industry. Both Jumbo and Crash Records were promoting the day with offers on records and merchandise and live bands. It was a true inspiration and proved that the record industry is not dead. Jumbo records had appearances from bands, The Ukrainians, Jess Bryant, James Yorkston, Lone Wolf, See No Evils, Maia and harpist Serafina Steer. The turn-out was outstanding with more and more people arriving as the day went on. Adam Gillison of Jumbo said: “Over the past five years Record Store Day has grown to be one of the most significant days in the music calendar. The day is considered to be one of the key catalysts in the revival of music on vinyl and part of a new determination on the part of the independent retail sector to fight their corner in a difficult economic climate. Each year has seen longer and more dedicated queues of music fans outside the St Johns Centre. The event has captured the imagination of music buyers like no other.” While at Crash Records bands Dog Is Dead and Evile entertained the crowds with people queuing up all along the street to get in. Store owner Ian De-Whytell said: “Record Store Day is massively important. It’s had a huge contributory effect towards people coming back into record stores. It’s almost like there’s been a huge snowball effect – it’s built and built and built. It gets added momentum every year. It’s a massive reminder that we are still here, we are still selling records and plan to continue for a lot longer.” With concerns about the record industry dying and listening choices favouring digital, Leeds has found that people will still buy records and these two independent stores celebrate that form. With sales in stores such as HMV plummeting due to the effects of digital media, it is important that more and more people become aware of this and Record Store Day brings this to public attention.
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Over the last two weeks Leeds has been transformed into a city festival of theatre and performances. The West Yorkshire Playhouse acted as the hub for this festival across the city, with other various locations having pop up plays, installations, walks and talks.
My favourite festival piece was The Rage Receptacle, situated on Eastgate and reasonable near the Playhouse. This was a real treat as I literally had no idea what to expect from it. I had read a little about The Rage Receptacle and understood that it was about anger and how we deal with it, so my first thoughts were that there would be some sort of angry performance and by looking at the small preview trailer, I was expecting a quite intense experience.
Image Curiosity Of Richard Davenport
Film & Transform: My City My Leeds Theatre
This was not the case. As I drew nearer, I was greeted by someone dressed like an usher and who walked me to the entrance of the small booth/trailer and told me some brief instructions before closing the door on me. I was left alone inside and read the instructions printed on the wall. The first said «LISTEN» and, as you pressed the button next to it, further instructions told you to press again and listen to the catergories below which included, PROFESSIONAL, PUBLIC, MISC, POLITICAL, HOME. To be honest, I could have picked all five of them as I find certain things in each area anger me quite easily. I chose the PROFESSIONAL card as I felt it struck a chord with me reminding me about rejection from jobs and or just not even hearing back from employers. The second phase was to LABEL your card which you could have done with one of the following stickers TOXIC, INCONVENIENT, A STATEMENT, A TOOL, A PROCESS. I went for the INCONVENIENT as that›s the way it feels when you have a degree in a certain subject and yet noone is willing to give you a chance. For the final phase you are told to listen to a button and then pull up one of the five sliders labelled USE, WORK-THROUGH, OWN, IGNORE, DESTROY. I went with the latter! The Rage Receptacle is something I haven›t experienced before as it allows you to interact with your own emotions. You feel comfortable doing so as you are confined to a small space on your own. There is a very playful side to it which I believe is key to public art as you want to attract people who wouldn›t usually take part in the arts and show them what delights they are missing. It is made more magical by the sense that you›re not quite sure what›s in store for you. This was a real surprise to me which is why I think I loved it so much. It questions why we encounter anger and then tries to help us deal it. This is another key feature as very rarely does art get so personal; in this case helpful as well. Leeds Based artist Ellie Harrison is responsible for this wonderful sideshow. It is part 4 in a sequence of 7 art projects on bereavement called The Grief Series. It sees her collaborate with Paula Chambers (Sculptor) and Bethany Wells.
Image Curiosity Of Richard Davenport
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Film & The Place Behind The Pines Theatre
Derek Cianfrance’s third film The Place Behind The Pines, comes some fifteen years after his first Brother Tied which remains unreleased due to legal reasons. This time Cianfrance wondered if he would ever find backers again to make a film, but he did and his second film Blue Valentine attracted considerable attention with performances from Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. The Place Behind The Pines is structured into its own mini trilogy with the film in -three main parts. The first follows Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling) a ride fast or die trying biker who travels with a fair performing stunts. His rock and roll lifestyle soon changes when an old lover returns on the scene - Romina (Eva Mendes) - and with her brings news that he’s a father to her six year old son. In order to be with his son and make up for time gone by Luke ditchers his travelling fair and using his skills as a biker turns to a life of crime; robbing local banks in order to provide for his newly acquired family. But how long until the law catches up with him? Enter Avery Cross (Bradley Copper) an educated cop and son of a well respected ex-judge, who like Luke Glanton has a six year old son. When he suddenly becomes a police hero with some what questionable actions he is tormented by guilt. He then starts to attract the attention of some crooked colleagues (one of whom played by Ray Liotta) which leaves him with some difficult and career changing choices. For the third part of the film, Cianfrance leaps forward fifteen years. At this point the attention shifts to Luke»s son Jason (Dane Dehaan) and Avery’s son AJ (Emory Cohen). Without knowing who each others fathers are, the two teenagers bond over drugs and skipping school and soon become close friends. They soon learn the truth about each others fathers and the consequences that follow conclude this moving story of fatherhood and fate. With the film being only his third Derek Cianfrance is fast becoming a well known director and with fast energetic scenes mixed with moving tear jerker he is able to capture the intensity that is sometimes missing in other films. With most of his scenes completed in one take, you get a feeling that the actors taking part are giving it their all - as if their life depended on it. Ryan Gosling gives another outstanding performance and Bradley Cooper is at his best; moving from his more familiar comedic roles to this was definitely a wise choice. The film is full of passion with some witty dialogue as well as being beautifully shot giving the film a distinctive look. With the film being structured the way it is makes intriguing viewing and having not seen a film organised like this before I recommend you go treat yourself! You won’t be disappointed.
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Food Graze Food Festival & Drink
Held at the majestic church on Cardigan road now run by Left Bank, Graze Food Festival brought together the whole community for some delicious food and live music to enjoy.
I live just round the corner and could hear the live music when I was walking to the venue. As I got closer, the smell of gorgeous food hit me. When I arrived I was greeted by a flock of people and food stores not only in side but outside as well basking in the surprising sunshine. With Food stores The Ribman , Greedy Bassets Kitchen, El Kantina, Barnhouse Bistro, Margo & Rita and co organiser Manjit›s Kitchen, there was plenty of amazing food on offer. It was a great venue for the acoustic musicians whose voices echoed around the old church while you tucked into some fine grub. As this was a food festival I made my way round and found myself tucking into the most succulent ribs I have ever tasted thanks to The Ribman and for £6 I ate a massive portion - I was most certainly content. But this was short lived as I came across Margo & Rita – Mexican specialists! Having devoured one of their pulled pork hand made burritos I was in love! However I didn›t have the belly to try everything though, but other fantastic stalls included: Manjit’s Kitchen – mostly vegetarian Indian street food, Afsaneh’s Persian Kitchen - Persian and Middle Eastern dishes, Ginger’s Comfort Emporium - tasty ice cream for adults, Barn House Bistro – specialise in rump steak burgers, Greedy Bassets Kitchen – seafood from Whitby and Courtyard Dairy – serving hot grilled Raclette cheese. With nearly all the stalls based in Leeds I can only look forward to tasting the wonderful food on offer more often. There just aren›t enough food festival in my opinion and this needs to change, Left Bank and Manjit›s Kitchen have pulled off a lovely event and this was something that could be enjoyed by all ages. Bring on the next one!
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