Cuddle up for Christmas

     

Beau by Alison Bailey Smith

Cuddle up for Christmas.

King Panda from his nearby kingdom in Bear-kenhead is inviting bears from all over the world (or all parts of Wirral) to a grand reunion for Christmas to be held in the Momentary Art Project's unit in Marine Point New Brighton (between Starbucks and Subway). The last great bear gathering was held in Canada in the late 90s in Al-bear-ta and King Panda thought it was high time for a cuddly reunion and realised that Marine Point in New Brighton might be the place to meet for a paw-fect get together. Santa Bear will be dropping in from Sydney (Sydney St Birkenhead.

 

The Momentary Art Project Christmas display for 2014 will raise funds and awareness for the local charity, Amy and Friends, is a charity dedicated to the support of Cockayne Syndrome sufferers and their families from around the globe.

http://www.amyandfriends.org/. 

MAP would like to invite you to deliver a decorated or dressed Teddy Bear on Saturday December the 6th from 10.30am to 1.30pm to the MAP unit to represent your business, school or family with a donation (minimum £1). If you are Bearless and can’t bear it, bear with us because it is also possible to sponsor one of the resident bears. Each guest bear will bear a tag with the owners name and contact details on the reverse, so hopefully all beloved toys will be returned to their home. 

After Christmas in January, the visiting Teddy Bears will be returned to their owners. Those which have been donated will be given to Amy and Friends to raise funds for the charity. King Panda will head for Mount Primary School hoping to find a permanent cuddling partner when the school raffles him in February, with all proceeds again going to the charity. 

For further information contact MAProject@hotmail.co.uk or through our Face Book page https://www.facebook.com/momentaryartprojectCIC…

Irish Festival

We would like to introduce you to our family whose sitting room we have recreated. Now we have the beautiful young red head, Caitlin and her bearded young man, Patrick and her fiddle playing and pipe smoking father, Sean. 

They have just stepped out from their living room to join in the the Wirral Irish Fringe Festival. They got a flyer about the events from The Light Cinema and I imagine they will be busy in the next few weeks joining in with the Ceili and the open mics and film showings going on.

They have a lovely screen made from artwork from Kingsway academy, a bodhrán made by Susan Boardman, fiddles by Brenda Sharp, artwork from Emma Dromgoole's students and Sue & Emma captured Patrick, Sean and Caitlin's likenesses, embroidery by Alison Bailey Smith and lots of tweed, lace and velvet from various fabric treasure troves.

Yet another window created on a shoe string from M.A.P, hope you enjoy it.

Ba mhaith linn buíochas a thabhairt duit a thabhairt isteach chun ár teaghlaigh a bhfuil a seomra suí mór dúinn athchruthú. Anois, ní mór dúinn an ceann álainn dearg óg, Caitlin agus a fear bearded óg, Pádraig agus a imirt fidil agus caitheamh tobac píopa athair, Seán.

Tá siad neartófaí díreach amach as a n-seomra suí a bheith páirteach sa an Wirral Féile Imeallach na hÉireann. Fuair ​​siad flyer faoi na himeachtaí ó An Pictiúrlann Solas agus a shamhlú agam go mbeidh siad a bheith gnóthach sna seachtainí amach romhainn ag teacht isteach i leis na Céilí agus na mics oscailte agus tSaoir scannán ar siúl.


Tá siad scáileán álainn déanta as saothar ealaíne ó Bealach acadamh, bodhrán a rinne Susan Boardman fidil, Brenda Sharp, saothar ealaíne ó mhic léinn agus Sue & Emma gabhadh Pádraig, Sean agus likenesses Caitlin, an bróidnéireacht ag Alison Bailey Smith agus go leor de bréidín Emma Dromgoole ar , lása agus veilbhit ó troves éagsúla Treasure fabraice.


Ach fuinneog eile a cruthaíodh ar teaghrán bróg ó MAP, súil tú taitneamh as.

"Legend of the Black Pearl"

The Momentary Art Project will be launching the newest exhibition on Saturday the 20th of September.

"Legend of the Black Pearl" exhibition with driftwood sculptures and metal skeletons and paper mache rats will be open for viewing at noon and will be followed by music in the Ampitheatre at Marine Point at 1pm from The VOX team (AKA The Night and Days) and The VOX at The Light Cinema New Brighton choir.

Please join the piratical crew of the Black Pearl who have put together the wonderful display, and the directors of MAP as we celebrate what a lovely creative community we have in New Brighton!! There's also a pop up attic sale in Unit 6 at Marine Point. Bonus! Come along and smile and feel free to dress as a pirate.

Photo by previous exhibitors The Caravan Gallery with Jan and Chris

Update from Momentary Art Project

I am sorry I have been so remiss in not updating the Momentary Art Project blog, needless to say it is due to extreme buzy-ness for all concerned at MAP central.

Big day today for all at MAP at Lidl on Leasowe Road today as artwork from Wallasey School, now Kingsway Academy is being unveiled  at 2pm.  The Mayor and Mayoress will be there and the school are putting on a show. Apparently the weather is being kind with 22 degs forecast.

During the summer, two artworks were completed through assistence from Love Wirral with two local artists Breda Whyte and Fred Biddulph working with two local primary schools, New Brighton Primary and Mount Primary working on the themes of The Lighthouse and The Black Pearl. We thank The Light Cinema for their assistance. The artworks were reproduced on poly carbon and attached to the white art deco toilet block on Harrison Drive. This is part of a series of works that we hope to produce called "Brighten New Brighton". Two of our directors have financed another artwork for the Lifeguard Station nearby, with an artwork from John Christiansen, whom we have worked previously in his former role at Mosslands School. We are hoping in the very near future that a ceramic mosic will also be joining the art work on the toilet block.

In our unit, kindly offered to us by Neptune who have continued to give us support, we have had an ongoing programme of exhibitions, viewable from the pavement. Currently we have an exhibition from Wallasey School but this will be coming down in the next few days and will be followed by an exciting exhibition from The Black Pearl and all who play in her. This will in place throughout September and part of October and will be followed by an exhibition tying in with an Irish themed festival being organised by Jo of Calico. We hope to intice artists to create irish themed artwork (but more of this later).

Our Christmas exhibition will be another communal show that everyone can get involved in with 3d flat pack baubles, we are currently working on a template that you can download and submit your final artwork.

We are also working on two huge projects with United Utilities which will be tremendous if we pull it off. So wish us all the luck in the world and keep following us on facebook through our page Momentary Art Project on facebook and Friends group Friends of MAP and on Twitter MAP on Twitter

Our Year in Review

Crucial Three until 31st of May 2014

Nestled between Subway and Starbucks in New Brighton, is Unit 13 and the current home of the Momentary Art Project C.I.C. On display throughout May are the artworks of Callum Parry and Sam Hunt who go under the name of Crucial Three. The exhibition will run until the 31st of May and will be followed by an exhibition from the RNLI.

The younger of the two artists  is 17 years old Callum Parry who is studying fine art as one of his A-Levels at Mosslands School. He hopes take a foundation art degree at college before heading off to university to study either fine art or digital art.
 
 He has developed the confidence to use paint and started to study figures, faces and landscapes in the last couple of years but in the last 6 months has been studying portraiture and has come to realise that it is his strongest area in art.


"Since I was about five I have taken an interest in drawing.
 I always knew I wanted to become a great artist or work in the arts."

Sam Hunt is currently in his first year studying Fine Art at Leeds Metropolitan University. In studying art at A-Level at Mosslands, he became obsessed with 'making' work in many different ways.

"My love of art was ignited at an early age largely due to the influence of my father, and paternal grandparents who are all accomplished artists themselves. Although their artwork was very traditional it gave me a good grounding in how to draw and paint. As I have matured and understood how to interpret different styles of art I have developed my own unique interpretation of making art, which I feel has expanded my range, and helped me to build an exciting portfolio."

Outside university Sam has been involved in numerous exhibitions including the Heswall Arts Festival and the Rotary Art Exhibition and hopes to exhibit more in the Wirral throughout the year.

MAP update

Just to update you of all things MAP related...

grant bid in for a collaboration with SAFE productions - check, 

current exhibition up with the art group run by De in New Brighton - check, 

Murals tenders sent to United Utilities and awaiting a reply and decision from them - check, 

planning for future exhibitions at MAP unit - check, waiting results for LOVE Wirral for the many grant applications we put in - check. 

 

So keep enjoying the window display and we will BRB!

New Brighton, 1978 by Clare Kirwan

 

New Brighton, 1978

So easy to find myself there –

every hill led to the edge of land.

I’d freewheel without thinking

grey brown river. It meant nothing

to me, yet I sought it out –

it’s brackish solitude and always

the wind – sometimes a howl

you understand, sometimes a sob.

All the wrong way around. I was

too young for such nostalgia

but Seasons in the Sun

stirred up my teething soul.

Those were the days

of blue anorak, battered,

big glasses, briny,

bad hair tattered flags.

The prom was then, as now,

unlovely and all at right angles –

an expanse of pavement, lampposts,

railings, concrete wall, and then

the pirate fingertips of Irish Sea

hypnotizing, enticing me

to that churning horizon.

And going home seemed further

than the journey out had been.

So easy to find myself there,

then turning, realizing the wind

had been behind and pushing.

Head down, salted, gripping handlebars,

fighting back weather and inclination,

thirteen and against everything.

        

©  Clare Kirwan

From ‘Sculpted’ anthology of North West Poets to be launched in April
Click to go to Clare's own blog 

Moses came to Merseyside by Clare Kirwan

 

Moses came to Merseyside      

Moses came to Merseyside

and waved his magic staff.

It was his trademark trick and so

it always got a laugh.

He turned up at New Brighton,

and shouted from the beach:

I’m going to make the Mersey part

-  it’s only two quid each!

And Moses spake – at quite some length

though muffled by his beard

and people shuffled, keen to start

- that’s why they’d volunteered.

And all of them let out a gasp

when Moses raised his hand -

the waves receded, rolling back

til the river bed was… land.

The habitat was suddenly

more coastal than marine

from Egremont to Pier Head

- a long walk in between

On Fort Perch Rock, a crowd of folk

had gathered to observe

the faithful few traverse the gorge

- the ones who had the nerve.

And birds of prey on roof tops

looked down with greedy eyes

as they set out from New Brighton,

without compass or supplies.

Past rusty junk and sunken hulks

they shuffled on, quite stunned

to see  the bones of murdered men

and all we’ve jettisoned.

They turned to look at Wirral now

- how very small it seemed,

how very grey and far away -

but how Liverpool gleamed!

And how the Liver Buildings loomed

on cliffs that once were docks

now high above their heads – so far

they could not see the clocks

And Moses muttered something

his voice an utter blur

- so difficult to comprehend

through so much facial hair.

Some remarked how tired he looked

- his staff now seemed to quiver

and what’s that watery trickling sound?

and: Here comes the river!

And everybody for themselves

legged it to higher ground

they clung to ropes or climbed the walls.

Only a few were drowned.

This side is ace, the rest agreed,

(except the drugs and crime)

if there was a just a way for us

to come here all the time.

And so they built a tunnel

for they knew – without a doubt –

if they did it without Moses

they could get across for nowt.

But we all know that nothing’s free

- even a giant hole.

You can cross the Mersey any time

but the tunnel takes its toll.

So Wirral folk still stranded

on the river’s other side

still talk about the time that

Moses came to Merseyside.

And we all smile wistfully

when we think about how Moses

gets almost everywhere for free

while we pay through our noses.

Love Wirral>>>please vote!

 

Poster to download and display or 

Click here to go to survey

After the Storm 19th Jan 5 to 7pm