Upcoming events

A couple of unrelated events that I thought could be quite interesting.

Crunchtime2010 is on in York from 29th January to 6th February. It says that 'It’s a snapshot of voices contained in work engaging with how the world and living is at the present time.' There will be a series of events and exhibitions relating to art and global issues, including the planting of an oak tree and placing a stone in central York, as part of the ongoing worldwide project '7000 Oaks' initiated by Joseph Beuys.

The other thing is something to hopefully look out for in March. Bradford was designated the world's first UNESCO City of Film in June 2009. It is a fantastic accolade for Bradford. And in March, it has been proposed that there will be a high profile public 'film festival city' weekend. So, keep an eye out for information on activities throughout the Bradford District to celebrate UNESCO city of film status.

2010

Planning has begun for 2010...

It's the beginning of the process but it feels good to be on the road again. There were many positives that came out of last year: the Open Houses were great and very popular again showcasing some fantastically talented artists; the Makers' Fair is embedding itself on the first weekend and the standard of work gets higher every year; the Open Exhibition had double the number of entries to the year before; and the Mini Trail was again a great day out for families.

We were incredibly pleased to have 3 of the country's top textile artists come and give talks (Janet Bolton, Sue Lawty and Dionne Swift) and Janet brought up 15 of her exquisite and charming pictures for exhibition.

As there always is, there were a few things that didn't go so well and we will be doing our best to learn from those mistakes. Even though it feels like it's been round of years, the Arts Trail is still relatively new and we are learning a lot as we go along.

We also worked with some fabulous organisations last year, including Bradford College, Bradford Museums and Galleries, Bradford Libraries and Kirkgate Studios and Workshops. We are very grateful to them for their hard work and enthusiasm, and hope to develop our relationship with them further.

We'll let you know what's going on and what's happening as things develop.

In the meantime, I found this fantastic piece by Jan Svankmajer that he made in 1966 - Punch and Judy.