Wednesday, February 26, 2014

2014 Cape Town Eco Film Festival: 27-31 March


5 DAYS, 10 SA PREMIERES, 25 ECO FILMS!


The organisers of the inaugural Cape Town Eco Film Festival, which will take place at the Labia Theatre on Orange Street in Cape Town from Thursday the 27th of March to Monday the 31st of March, have just announced the exciting festival programme on their website: www.capetownecofilmfestival.com. Also read more on the Green Your Art blog.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Wrack Pattern on Gordon's Bay beach




Janet Botes
February 2014
Creating an organic pattern with "Wrack" seaweed washed ashore on Gordon's Bay beach, Western Cape, South Africa.



Thursday, February 13, 2014

Walking with Art





















Stand on this beautiful sand bank at the Kosi Bay river mouth and with the expert guidance of land artist Simon Max Bannister and conservationist Galeo Saintz, be part of creating something unique and once-off with nature. 

We’ve all done it, strolled along the beach or a path collecting bits of wood, shells or stones. Now we invite you to come and play with those wild elements while learning about ecology of place and the creative stimulating practice of land art. On the warm waters of Kosi Bay along the wild northeast coastline of South Africa, a diverse landscape of natural beauty awaits. Join a guided ecological and creative experience over three days: Explore the coastal dunes, dense forests, and lakes Sleep under the stars Create individual and collective artworks with personal guidance Discover deserted beaches Learn about the ecology of Kosi Bay Get some quiet solitude Enjoy the little things Conservationist Galeo Saintz and land artist Simon Max Bannister, have created an outdoor adventure that brings people closer to the experience of creating land art by walking, learning and having fun. Bringing awareness to your individual way of seeing and responding to the environment lets you discover nature in a whole new way. The guided experience affords deep immersion into ecology and the unfolding patterns of nature.. Kosi Bay offers wildlife, dense coastal forest, coastal dunes, sandy beaches, estuarine lakes and a host of wildlife as it is part of the Isimangaliso Wetland Park. Using only our hands as tools and what we sensitively gather from the ground, we practice a very pure form of land art that nurtures creativity and lateral thinking. It leaves a delicate trace of our human understanding in the wilderness, where it can decay, grow, move and transform. Explore Kosi Bay with google maps: https://www.google.co.za/maps/preview/@-26.9666536,32.8177541,2848m/data=!3m1!1e3 Details: 11, 12, 13, 14 April 2014 Permits included All catering included Campsites on the Lake are already booked Simply provide your transport, tent and bedding Only 5 spaces available All inclusive: R4500 Contact: simontothemax@gmail.com

Artist Website : www.simonmaxbannister.com








Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Recent land art by Simon Max Bannister




Land Art works by Simon Max Bannister, created during a week of art making in the Blyde River and Tzaneen areas of South Africa.

Read more about Simon's work and process on his blog simontothemax.blogspot.com.
View his portfolio at www.behance.net/simonmaxbannister


"Exploring land art for me is about simply stepping into the wilderness and finding inspiration with nature." - Simon Max Bannister

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Working with New Wool III - Call for Artists

A unique call/residency for 8 artists to work with an unusual material: freshly shorn wool. this six-day symposium, far from "civilization", offers a one-off opportunity for a truly rural experience, which permits investigation, documentation and inspiration, in close contact with nature, in the heart of Spain's countryside.


Organised by
Iraida Cano (Artist + Arreciado owner) Beatriz Blanch (Artist + Culture Manager)

Venue
El Arreciado (sheep rearing farm) – lies between the provinces of Toledo, Cáceres, Badajoz and Ciudad Real, Spain

Date 6 to 11 May

Material WOOL - An exclusive opportunity to work with freshly sheared wool from 220+ sheep – including one black sheep.

ObjectivesThis working symposium offers a “thinking outside the box” opportunity. To get away from one’s usual creative thought patterns, routine and place. To be free to investigate with a new medium, use different building techniques, to document, think, write, sketch etc. It is geared towards a shared creative time with other art professionals, where exchanging thought about art-work is possible. It provides 6 days solely for art practice, in close contact with a beautiful natural environment.

What / how
Witness the shearing process and then use the wool for your creative practice. Wool is available for 3 days to make ephemeral works, which will be dismantled after the symposium, when the wool will be taken for spinning. Artists have an opportunity to use it in this “in-between” phase – the no-man’s land of sheep’s wool – while it sits and waits its final outcome!!

Call open to:
Sculptors, project artists, poets, curators, photographers, writers, film/video makers… 8 artists will be selected.

TO APPLY
Please send the following to iraida.cano@gmail.com & beatrizblanch@telefonica.net
Artists name, email, city of residency, nationality
Project description – no more than 200 words
A short artist statement – no more than 100 words
An image of the proposed project– sketch, photo, short video

Deadline
Friday 7 March. Selected artists will receive jury’s decision by Friday 14 March
Jury: Mauro Cano, Architect, Soledad Gabriel y Galán Art Historian, Gonzalo Sainz Agricultural Maneger, Alberto Ribera Event Manager, Beatriz Blanch Artist + Culture Manager  and Iraida Cano Artist.

CONDITIONS:

  • Costs:
    Accommodation is free
    Selected artists must cover travel and food. 25€per day, per person to cover all meals, drinks and snacks (total 125€ per person) for duration of the symposium ( 6 to 10 May, 11 free)
    Travel costs to and from Madrid, Spain
    Travel costs to and from el Arreciado Farm. A meeting point is programmed in Madrid, for those who don’t make their own way to the farm - at 09:30 on the 6 th May. Participants making their own way should arrive at 12:00 on the 6 th May Living conditions – at the family house at the farm: 
  • Generator powered electricity is only available in the evenings - and will only be switched on for a couple of hours a day to recharge phones etc. Candles are provided. Internet connection is possible with own portable router or phone. 
  • 2 people per room. You will have to share a room with a colleague 
  • Recommendations
    Warm comfortable clothing
    Sturdy walking shoes
    EU health card (available in all EU countries, free of charge)
    Documenting instruments. As the work is ephemeral, we recommend you document your process – cameras, video, sketches, recordings… 

To see images of the first edition of “Wool Symposium”, organised by sculpture network and Iraida Cano in 2012, please go to:
www.sculpture-network.org/en/home/program/working-symposium/wool-working-symposium.html

For further information please contact:
Iraida Cano iraida.cano@gmail.com    
Tel: +34 617 006 003
Or Beatriz Blanch beatrizblanch@telefonica.net
Tel: +34 669 521 750