A painting by a graffiti artist was among the official gifts to Barack Obama from David Cameron on his first trip to Washington as prime minister.
The work, Twenty First Century City, is by Ben Eine, said to be one of the PM’s wife Samantha’s favourite artists.
The 39-year-old artist recently sprayed the entire alphabet on shop shutters in a London street.
Mr Obama continued the art theme by presenting the Camerons with a signed lithograph by pop artist Ed Ruscha.
The piece, Column with Speed Lines, was chosen for its red, white and blue colours matching the British and American flags.
Writing on his website, Ben Eine said it had been a “weird day” because “David Cameron has given one of my paintings to President Obama in an art swap”.
The artist, who has worked with Banksy, began his career by “tagging” his name on buildings and trains around east London, examples of which are featured on his website under the heading “vandalism”.
In recent years he has been asked to decorate shutters in cities as far afield as Tokyo and New York.
Hosted by Sarah Sayeed’s Sister Elements, this will be huge show incorporating live Hip Hop, DJ’s, live street art, live visuals and fashion – with a Bengali twist…
BRIX LANE REMIXED @RICH MIX 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA
31st July 2010 // 8pm – 1am // £5 (adv), £7 (door)
SARAH SAYEED (w/full live band Slo Burn)
MC SHAMELESS (w/full live band)
NAGA MC // AVA B
DJ EXCALIBAH // DJ BADESHI
Hosted by UNIQUE + live street art by GRAFFIK LONDON
+ fashion/visuals by AIR IMAGES
+ resident artist SRI McKINNON (Eastpak) £5 advance tickets click HERE.
“SISTER ELEMENTS uplifts the Bengali roots of Brick Lane, blending live Hip Hop with street art and fashion! With a live soundtrack from some of the finest Hip Hop artists and DJ’s in the UK – this is one night not to be missed!
SARAH SAYEED spearheads SISTER ELEMENTS, an independent record label and production company. SARAH SAYEED will be performing with her full live band Slo Burn, presenting work from her single EP ‘Black IS…’ and new collaborations from 2010. With two of the UK’s finest artists – DJ EXCALIBAH (BBC 1 Xtra, The Blacks) & DJ BADESHI (Other Brother Records, BBC Asian Network, Future Friction) spinning the finest in Hip Hop, Soul, Motown, Funk, Dub, Drum ‘n’ Bass and Indian Electronica”
You will have the commitment, enthusiasm and skills to develop the continued success of The Edinburgh Mela, its festival and other activities.
This is an exceptional opportunity for a proven arts manager with vision, flair, ambition, strong leadership skills and fundraising attributes to promote and strengthen The Edinburgh Mela’s profile within the sector and community. The Edinburgh Mela leads the way in creating an exceptional event based around arts, a vast range of communities and diverse cultures.
We welcome applications from candidates who have a proven track record in strategic leadership, fundraising, artistic/cultural programming, event and people management.
For further information and to receive an application pack please contact: Liam Sinclair. Tel: 0131 332 2888. E-mail: liam@edinburgh-mela.co.uk
The Edinburgh Mela is an Equal Opportunities Employer and welcomes applications from a diverse range of people.
Deadline for Applications: 12pm Monday 16th August 2010.
Down the winding Carnaby Street is this gem of a show from one of Kala Phool’s associated artists. ‘Archipelago‘, from brilliant upcoming illustrator Sri is now up till 13 September 2010 and not a show you should miss.
The third artist to be featured by Eastpak Gallery at their flagship store in the heart of London’s Carnaby Street, Sri McKinnon is an artist and illustrator of Eurasian heritage.
Having grown up in both South East Asia and the UK, she draws upon the experience of this mixed background as a significant influence in her work. In reference to her cultural heritage, ‘Archipelago’ is a body of work inspired by nostalgia for the lush and tropical landscapes of her childhood.
Depicting ethereal scenery fused with a gentle surrealist and mystic quality; nature and femininity are predominant recurring themes in her work. Enchanted floating islands, sleeping giants, rock formations and delicate tropical flora all feature, inciting the the viewer to indulge their imagination and create an interpretation of his or her own construction.
SRI’s notable projects include being invited to perform at live drawing events at The Institute of Contemporary Arts (Heavy Pencil) and The Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, and being invited to lead a series of youth art workshops at the Charlie Dark curated ‘Bring The Noise’ event in response to the Chris Ofili retrospective at the Tate Britain.
Show runs 15th July - 13th September.
For artist bookings, commission quotes and interviews please get in touch with Kala Phool through the CONTACT page.
Nelson Mandela today celebrated his 92nd birthday quietly with his family in Johannesburg.
His birthday was marked by Mandela Day, conceived as an international event devoted to public service, and a celebration of the former president’s life.
Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel, said: “Today is an opportunity for millions of people around the world to look inside themselves and say: ‘I am able to make a difference to my neighbour, to someone underprivileged. I can extend my goodness to other people.’”
SHOP has TWO, two-week residencies available for Artists in Residence. Two weeks of 14 consecutive days is the preferred duration of the residencies within the SHOP programme.
We are looking for proposals that will explore and create work which is specific to Stoke town, considering the location and people within it. There is possibility to hold workshops as part of your residency – and the brief remains flexible for a variety of artists to apply.
There is an opportunity for one of the residencies to take place at both SHOP and the community centre/garden, Boothen on London Road, Stoke on Trent.
The two ideal residency periods are: 6th September – 20th September 2010 & 25th September – 9th October 2010.
Both residences will recieve a fee of £500.
To submit a proposal, send your CV, any images or links to examples of your work and a short proposal outlining the following:
• The area of your practice you will be exploring during the residency
• How you will work with the local context and community
• Why SHOP and Stoke Town for this proposal
The deadline for residency proposals is 23rd August, 2010.
So our own Associated Artist, Sri McKinnon’s latest solo show Archipelago went off with a bang. You’ve still got plenty of time to go see it for yourself at the Eastpak Gallery in Carnaby Street.
Kala Phool is very proud of Sri’s latest collection – enjoy some of her work.
