Aesthetica Short Film Festival launch night at City Screen, York. Picture: Jim Poyner, 2019
BILLED as “York’s largest cultural event of the year”, the 12th edition of the six-day Aesthetica Short Film Festival combines 300 film screenings, social events, workshops and industry-led masterclasses at 15 venues across the city from November 1 to 6.
1. Opening Night Ceremony, City Screen Picturehouse, York, November 1, 6.30pm
THIS launch event for the 12th ASFF presents a special screening of outstanding, inspiring and thought-provoking works from the 2022 Official Selection. The Opening Night Ceremony, curated by festival director Cherie Federico, introduces audiences to the breadth of the programme with a screening that captures a taste of what to expect over the course of the festival.
2. Official Selection screenings
EXPERIENCE a vast range of film screenings with the Official Selection programme. This curated set of 300 films provides something for everyone, with the genres including comedy, drama, animation, documentary, family friendly, thriller and more, alongside feature-length documentaries and narratives. See the filmmakers of the future here.
3. Virtual Reality Labs
HELD daily from November 1 to 6 at City Screen Picturehouse, the Virtual Reality Labs offer opportunities to experience immersive storytelling. Explore new worlds and discover 360-degree cinema, held alongside panel discussions on the latest technologies at York Explore library.
Virtual Reality Lab at Aesthetica Short Film Festival
Do not worry if you will be joining the festival virtually: you can purchase an Aesthetica cardboard headset to experience expanded realities at home.
4. Family Friendly screenings and workshops
THE whole family can experience the best in independent cinema at Family Friendly film screenings, including comedies, engaging dramas and fun-filled animations.
New to the festival this year, children can attend workshops with creative professionals, where they can learn to direct, edit and make their own films. These workshops, designed to harness creativity and boost confidence, will offer young people a chance to tell and share their stories.
5. The Listening Pitch film premieres and live hardware performance, November 5, 6.30pm
AESTHETICA and Audible have teamed up to run The Listening Pitch, which aims to discover original stories that demonstrate how listening lets us understand different points of view. The premiere of three winning films will be complemented by the 2021 winner, Blind As A Beat. Drinks will be provided on arrival; the premieres will be followed by a live hardware performance.
A New Beginning, by Christophe Chudy, at Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2022
6. Fringe Exhibition, StreetLife project hub, Coney Street, York, throughout the festival
HEAD to the StreetLife hub to experience the transformative power of art. A free exhibition, Unite. Create. Transform, brings together ten award-winning artists, whose work invites viewers to explore, discover and engage with the contemporary world. Look out for a new commission too.
7. Sounds You’ve Never Heard Before, Bedern Hall
AUDIBLE, Aesthetica and London College of Communication have commissioned a new work by one of the UK’s most exciting sound artists: Jin Chia Ching Ho. Using five-channel Genelec speakers, this installation presents the audio of five natural materials: metal, wood, water, fire and earth.
Jin was asked to consider how we understand sound in a world that has changed the way people listen, creating a one-hour experience that invites you to sit back, lie on the cushions provided and listen deeply.
8. Pitching Sessions
IF you are developing a new short or feature project, or looking for advice to develop your next big idea, you had to apply for a one-on-one Pitching Session by October 14 to be invited to receive invaluable feedback on your work.
Elements, by Filip Fredrik, showing at Aesthetica Short Film Festival
These sessions are an opportunity to talk to top industry professionals and develop your ideas, with representatives from BBC Film, Film Four, StudioCanal and Guardian Documentaries, among others, taking part.
9. Hey, Sunshine Party, November 2, from 8pm
THE Hey, Sunshine Party, the festival’s first party, offers a throwback to the 1970s and 1980s in the perfect opportunity to grab a free gin and tonic, experience classics by The Stranglers, Blondie, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Abba and more, make new connections and ease into the week ahead.
10. Closing Awards Ceremony, November 6
DRAWING the in-person festival to a close, the Awards Ceremony welcomes filmmakers, delegates and audiences to watch the live prize-giving unfurl. Prizes are awarded for the best film in each genre, as well as the Audience Choice, Best of Fest and Special Guest awards. Take part in the celebration, to be followed by a drinks reception.
Did you know?
AESTHETICA Short Film Festival may take place in-person from November 1 to 6, but the event does not end there. A large selection of recorded screenings, events and virtual masterclasses will be available on the ASFF digital platform until November 30.
“So join in, be part of the largest cultural event in York this year and enjoy the best of independent new cinema,” says director Cherie Federico.
To book tickets, go to: asff.co.uk
To download the 2022 programme, go to: https://issuu.com/aesthetica_magazine/docs/aesthetica_short_film_festival_2022?fr=sMDgyODUyNTQxNzU
Gemma Fairlie directing a rehearsal for York Theatre Royal’s stage premiere of David Reed’s Guy Fawkes
DIRECTOR Gemma Fairlie is directing two productions this season, all while pregnant with a Christmas delivery on the way.
A driving force behind bringing York writer-performer David Reed’s play Guy Fawkes to the stage ever since Reed’s sketch comedy company The Penny Dreadfuls’ radio play more than a decade ago, Gemma is overseeing rehearsals at the Central Methodist Church, St Saviourgate, for the stage world premiere at York Theatre Royal from October 28 to November 12.
Next, this director of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre’s Henry V at the Castle car park in York in Summer 2019 will return to the Stephen Joseph Theatre Christmas show in Scarborough. After Jack And The Beanstalk last winter, she will be at the helm of Nick Lane’s Cinderella from December 2 to 31.
Here she discusses Guy Fawkes, Reed’s explosive comedy about York’s traitorous trigger man with its devilishly dangerous mix of Blackadder and Upstart Crow.
How did you become involved with the Guy Fawkes project, Gemma?
“The Penny Dreadfuls wrote the radio play about Guy Fawkes in 2009, which I heard and thought would work brilliantly as a theatre piece. So, in 2010, I approached the guys and we started to have conversations.
“It always takes time to get everybody in the room and start to figure out how it might work, but I knew David [writer David Reed] was excited about making it theatrical and exploring the journey of the characters in a different medium.”
What intrigued you about the play?
“Guy Fawkes gets caught. Everyone knows that. But how can you shift an audience’s perception about a story they think they know? Are there moments where we hope he doesn’t get caught? Are there moments when we are on his side and want to blow up Parliament?
“It’s like Hamlet or King Lear. Everyone knows they die but you want the audience to have that moment where they don’t want that to happen, where they want a different ending. Can we have Guy as a hero and an anti-hero? And can a story that is so clearly a tragedy about a man that fails actually work as a comedy that makes us question that failure?”
When did York Theatre Royal first come on board?
“That was around ten years ago when we brought the play to York with the idea of the theatre being a co-producer or partner. I came to a programme meeting at the Theatre Royal and pitched the idea. They were really excited.
“Of course, it absolutely is a York-originated story although it’s set in London, and that’s a vital part of it. The North-South divide, particularly what that meant in the 1600s and how that relates to the characters and their experiences, is vital to the story.
“Then Covid happened and the planned York production was postponed, but what’s great is that this is absolutely the right time to put it on. What put Parliament back between 1604 and 1605 was the plague. What kept stymying them was this awful medical emergency and in the same way Covid has shifted our perspectives and our timescale over the last three years. It feels very prescient in that way.
“I think there’s disappointment and frustration with our current political system and a great deal of tribalism happening. It’s obviously very different to the persecution of Protestants and the Catholics, and what was happening politically in Guy Fawkes’ time, but there is a parallel in terms of the underlying tension and fear, with nobody knowing if they’re safe or quite knowing what’s going to happen next, what the next government will bring. Now is the perfect time to be doing this play.”
David’s play is billed as a comedy but the Gunpowder Plot – an attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605 – was a serious matter. Discuss…
“What we’re brilliant at in the UK is satire. This comes from a long tradition going back to pamphlets about the Whigs and political cartoons in general all the way through Monty Python, The Fast Show, even Spitting Image, which has recently had a renaissance.
“We love to skewer our political leaders; we love to question and cause trouble with humour. That’s absolutely what the arts should be doing: questioning our society and our values and what we hold dear as humans. Otherwise, what’s the point?
“For us, as a team, it’s about finding the right tone for the play – between comedy and the ultimate tragedy. So, sometimes there’s slapstick and it’s very silly but there’s an underlying truth and passion to this story and a real darkness to Guy’s fervour.”
What should Theatre Royal audiences expect?
“We want people to discover the story of Guy Fawkes afresh. It’s really important people come in knowing it’s a comedy, so that doesn’t freak them out, but I think of it a bit like Blackadder Goes Forth. The end of the last series where they have to go over the top is a really heart-breaking moment.
“You have a bunch of clowns and they’ve been ridiculous; you’ve laughed at them a lot but you’ve also invested in them and grown to love them. That’s so important. The moment at the end where you think they’re all going to die, that’s incredibly moving, and that’s what comedy can do.
“If you laugh at someone, you start to care about them and really invest in their journey. We want our audience to laugh, laugh, laugh and then hopefully cry at the end.”
You held the casting auditions in Yorkshire. How important was that?
“It was absolutely essential we represented York in the show and we have that authentic voice. We wanted to put York actors in front of York audiences and celebrate local talent. Also, having the right mix of people in the room that (a) an audience would love and (b) who would have comedy bones was key.
“You have to know very clearly who they are as characters and they’ve also got to work together as a team. We’re very lucky to have found a wonderfully talented bunch and it’s a total joy for David (Reed) and I to see it come to life, and see what the cast bring to it [including Reed in the title role].”
Did you ever think you might not direct Guy Fawkes because of your pregnancy?
“Absolutely not! I was always aiming to direct it, whether it was with a babe in arms or the day before being induced in hospital. Guy Fawkes has been my baby for so long, so what’s really lovely for me is to see this theatre baby come to life while my son grows in utero.
“It’s kind of crazy to know they are both finally going to be out there in the world as both babies have taken me quite a long time to bring to life. Plus, laughter is really good for you in pregnancy and I’m getting lots of that in the rehearsal room!”
Next up?
“Directing Cinderella at the Stephen Joseph Theatre this Christmas. I’m very lucky I get to have this time in the rehearsal room at two incredible theatres, doing the thing I absolutely love, before I meet my son.”
What sort of theatre work are you attracted to?
“I do a lot of Shakespeare, new work, and I come from a physical theatre background so I do movement and choreography within that, and occasionally a bit of circus as well. The pieces that I’m drawn to tend to have an epic edge to them, and they always have to have heart. Generally, they will have moments of big physicality and lots of comedy.
“When I go to Scarborough, I’ll be directing and choreographing five actors playing the whole story of Cinderella, playing multi-roles and singing their hearts out. I love that I go from Guy Fawkes with a stage revolve, pyrotechnics and sword fights to Scarborough, to work in the round with lots of Strictly Come Dancing moves and glitter. That’s the real joy of being a freelance director.”
Guy Fawkes runs at York Theatre Royal from October 28 to November 12, 7.30pm, except October 30 and November 6; 2pm, November 3 and 10; 2.30pm, November 5 and 12. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Cinderella, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, December 2 to 31. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Richard Frost: Furniture maker and Tutankhamun enthusiast
BLOSSOM Street Gallery, in York, is playing host to an autumn triple bill of exhibitions until November 30.
Taking part are York furniture designer and cabinet maker Richard Frost, celebrating the centenary of Tutankhamun’s discovery; ceramic sculptor Jenny Chan, showcasing her Wise Woman, and painter Jane Burgess, presenting her In Southern Climes watercolours and oils.
Richard’s exhibition comprises pieces of fine furniture inspired by his fascination with ancient Egypt, alongside a number of smaller items, in the culmination to 18 months’ work, including the study of ancient Egyptian artefacts and architecture.
“On November 4 1922, excavators led by Egyptologist Howard Carter uncovered the tomb of Tutankhamun,” says Richard. “When asked what he saw, he replied, ‘wonderful things’. This exhibition is my tribute to the beauty and elegance of ancient Egypt that he revealed.”
The poster for Richard Forst Design’s exhibition at Blossom Street Gallery
Items exhibited by Richard Frost Design include drinks cabinet inspired by hieroglyphics, a hat stand and wall cabinets prompted by a study of the lotus flower.
Richard says: “Working from my workshop in York, I produce bespoke and limited-edition handcrafted furniture, household goods and gifts. With no single definitive style, I take my inspiration from both the natural world and our industrial heritage. My portfolio includes pieces with a traditional feel and those with more of a contemporary look. At all times, my objective is to produce an exquisite piece of furniture.”
Born in Hong Kong, Jenny Chan spent much of her childhood on the small island of Nauru without the distractions of a television set and not even a radio. Instead, she explored her environment and loved to tinker from an early age.
She started sculpting in 2017, completely unsure of her capabilities after being a housewife for 16 years. “Despite being ‘confidence zero’, I started to create ceramics sculptures, which I found peaceful and fulfilling, the ideal distraction for relieving anxiety and isolation as a new immigrant in the UK,” she says.
Ceramic sculptor Jenny Chan: “Heeding the words of the Wise Woman”
Applying meticulous and reflective craftsmanship, she makes expressive figurative sculptures, each one with its own story. “I find inspiration from the integrity and honesty within people, the vitality, healing and peace,” says Jenny, whose work is intriguingly detailed and touched by her Chinese origins. Her exhibition may continue after November 30, with no closing date set.
Jane Burgess was born in 1948 in Cheshire, where she developed a love of landscape and an interest in drawing and painting from an early age.
“I was influenced greatly by my father, Morgan Hewinson, who was an artist and lecturer at Manchester College of Art,” she says. “He encouraged my enthusiasm for visual art.
“One time, when I wanted to do silk-screen printing, he converted my mum’s tea trolley into a press! Sometimes we went out sketching in the countryside or at slum-clearance and bomb sites in Stockport and Manchester.”
Jenny Chan’s Wise Woman sculptures, Richard Frost’s furniture designs and a Jane Burgess painting on show at Blossom Street Gallery, York
Jane is still fascinated by tangled vegetation, broken fences and dilapidated buildings. “My work sometimes invites the viewer to see beauty in unexpected subjects,” she says.
While at school, she attended Saturday morning classes for sixth-form students at Manchester College of Art, going on to study on a foundation course in Leicester and to gain a BA Hons in art and design at Maidstone College of Art.
After two years of working and travelling in North Africa, the Middle East and India, Jane moved to Huddersfield in 1974 and raised a family. “I started painting in earnest again in the Eighties,” she says. “I work in a variety of media – mostly watercolours and oils – and would describe myself as a tonal and figurative painter.
“Watercolour appeals to me because of its immediacy of use and the luminosity of its colours. With oils, I often paint en plein air, completing a work in one session or creating a piece that I then finish in the studio.”
Jane Burgess’s poster for her In Southern Climes exhibition at Blossom Street Gallery
Jane paints subjects in West Yorkshire, other parts of the UK and abroad. “I’m particularly interested in the effects of light in the landscape and carry a camera everywhere, using photography both as a means of recording and to experiment with composition,” she says.
“Having been an adult education teacher of drawing and painting, I now go out to paint regularly with a group made up largely of my ex-students.”
Jane is an elected member of two professional bodies: Manchester Academy of Fine Arts (MAFA) and Leeds Fine Artists (LFA). “My work has been exhibited widely in solo and joint shows, and many of my pieces are held in public and private collections in the UK, France, Sweden and Spain,” she says.
Blossom Street Gallery opening hours are 12 noon to 4pm, Thursdays (but closed this Thursday); 10am to 4pm, Fridays and Saturdays; 10am to 3pm, Sundays; closed, Monday to Wednesday.
Oil painter Andrew Farmer with his bare essentials on a coastal painting trip
BIKE, painting essentials, coffee thermos, paint-spattered radio, South Yorkshire artist Andrew Farmer devoted six months to painting the Yorkshire coast and Cleveland Way solely for the Watermark Gallery in Harrogate.
The results of this commission, 58 paintings in all, are on show and sale in his North Landing show at Liz and Richard Hawkes’s contemporary art gallery in Royal Parade until November 12.
Born in Rotherham, and now living in Doncaster, Andrew is an elected member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI). For North Landing, he revisited coastal places he remembered from childhood and explored more isolated locations along the Cleveland Way.
His painting journey started at North Landing, Flamborough, a hidden gem replete with white cliffs and emerald-green water. As he moved northwards, often on the edge of the coastal path on his bike, he stopped to take in different scenes; sailing boats out at sea, discreet coves and children playing on the beach.
“My aim is always to capture the characteristics of a place at a particular point in time,” says Andrew, whose painting path concluded at Staithes. “I love the view over the beck towards the sea from the high vantage point.”
On his return to his studio after each trip, he would work on a select few pieces, taking an initial oil sketch made outdoors and transforming it into a much larger, more imagined work, while also making use of his rare pencil drawings and reference photographs.
Waves and the airwaves: Andrew Farmer’s sea view and his plein-air radio
Here Andrew answers CharlesHutchPress’s questions on a bracing coastal journey from Flamborough to Staithes splashed in oil.
How did you meet Liz and Richard Hawkes?
“Liz and Richard came across my work during a show in Cambridge, and sometime afterwards touched base with me to see whether I’d like to show in their new bricks-and-mortar gallery in Harrogate. I jumped at the opportunity.”
Where did you study art and when did you first realise you had the eye for being an artist?
“From a very early age, around six or seven, was when I dedicated myself to becoming an artist. My formal education started at Doncaster Churchview College of Art, followed by a degree in Fine Art Painting at Canterbury Christ Church University, and finally studying on The Drawing Year at the Royal Drawing School, London.
Child’s play on the sand, captured in oils by Andrew Farmer, recalling his own childhood holidays
“Throughout my education, I’ve been incredibly blessed by the tutors that have guided me along the way, far too many to mention! But one of the most impressionable things for me was that almost all of my tutors were/are practising artists too, creating work purely for themselves, often through obsession.
“This is something I’ve always felt strongly about, to produce work first and foremost in tune with my personal interests and love for the subject, whatever that might be!”
Why favour painting in oils?
“I’ve painted in watercolour and acrylics in my early days, especially during the first years of art school. My mum purchased me my first set of entry-level oil paints at age 16, give or take!
“I remember squeezing the oils out onto a brand-new wooden palette and I loved everything about the medium: the smell, the buttery consistency and the ability to work and rework wet on wet. The medium really suits my inquisitive nature.”
“I loved everything about the medium of oil paint: the smell, the buttery consistency and the ability to work and rework wet on wet,” says Andrew
How did you structure your six-month project for Watermark Gallery?
“I had to be incredibly organised in creating the works for my North Landing show, from limiting my equipment to the bare essentials, including fresh coffee in a thermos, to planning out which stretch of the Cleveland Way I was going to focus on.
“I found it incredibly enriching to settle on one spot for a week, creating a series in and around Filey, before moving on. This enabled me to dig a little deeper, getting to know rock formations, beaches and colour palettes of each individual spot.
“Almost every painting in the show was worked over numerous sessions, returning again and again until completion. This also had its challenges in that, occasionally, I’d go back to rework boats for example, only to find the local fishermen were already out at sea and the boats were no longer resting on the foreshore. This happened mainly at Flamborough during the painting of one of the key pieces, North Landing.”
What does creating a painting over two or three sessions bring to the painting process?
“A lot of plein-air painters will start and finish a work in an hour or two, and that’s great so long as they’re satisfied with the result. Personally, I much prefer to rework paintings over a number of sessions where possible.
“I feel like each time I return, I’m standing on my own shoulders and can go deeper with my subject matter,” says Andrew, whose painting process involves repeat visits to the same vantage point
“I feel like each time I return, I’m standing on my own shoulders and can go deeper with my subject matter. And by this, I don’t mean more detailed. Sometimes it’s the complete opposite.
“I might spend time simplifying, stripping back unnecessary details and noise. It also means I’m able to work on much larger scales, something many plein-air painters would never entertain.”
What is a typical day for you painting in the open air?
“Every single day is different when it comes to painting outdoors, but they tend to have a similar ‘beat’ in terms of timing. I tend to break my day into two-hour sessions; some I start early to fit two sessions in during the morning, and then another two-three sessions in the afternoon.
“Two hours is the maximum amount of time I tend to spend on a painting before stopping and working on another. This is because the light can shift so much that it’s really impossible to continue without changing the whole piece.
“I feel at home along this coastline, both in terms of familiar locations and light, but also with the general public,” says Andrew
“I’ll then return to the same spot with a canvas to take a second shot at it, always checking the weather conditions before making a decision. Because I’m working from life, I can have anything from six to 20 paintings on the go at any one time, all at different levels in terms of progress.”
What do you love about painting the Yorkshire coast and the Cleveland Way?
“It’s such a personal thing for me to paint the Yorkshire coast. This is the area where I holidayed as a child with my brothers and sisters and also where I prefer to holiday with my young family.
“I feel at home along this coastline, both in terms of familiar locations and light, but also with the general public. I’ve met so many wonderful people when I’ve been out painting, one of the brilliant things about painting en plein air.”
Andrew Farmer at work on the beach
Is the light the key to it all?
“One of the key driving forces behind my work is definitely the light. However, I’m not interested only in painting sun-drenched sandy scenes.
“I love equally trying to capture the essence of a moody dusk scene when lights are just flicking on or trying to pin down a passing storm in the distance.
“Painting from life is incredibly satisfying and frustrating at the same time, with some light effects lasting only minutes!”
What do you love about living and working in Doncaster, South Yorkshire?
“I can have peace and solitude when I paint in the more rural areas close to home, and the opposite, the hustle and bustle of townscapes. There’s pretty much every subject on offer within a stone’s throw, which I love, because I can either walk or cycle, which is something I’m trying my best to do more and more.
Andrew Farmer at Watermark Gallery, Harrogate, where 58 of his paintings are on show
“The connections to major cities via the train station are just fantastic too, which makes things much easier when I attend meetings and exhibitions further afield.”
Who are your favourite painters and why?
“There are so many artists that have inspired and continue to inspire me to this day, some more well-known and obvious than others.
My mum bought me my first book on the Impressionists at age 16. Until then I had no idea that painting outdoors was a possibility. Among the Impressionists, I adore Monet, Sisley and Pissarro especially. I also love the solidity, determination and integrity of Cezanne.
“A lesser-known figure and painting hero of mine is Albert Marquet, but especially his beautiful and simple drawings from life. He had an incredible way of simplifying the world on canvas.”
“Occasionally, I’d go back to rework boats, only to find the local fishermen were already out at sea and the boats were no longer resting on the foreshore,” says Andrew
What does your election to the Royal Institute of Oil Painters mean to you?
“This has been a dream come true, and something I’m still beaming about. Historically, the ROI has included some of the most notable painters in British history and it’s an absolute honour to be a part of this.
“Being elected a member in one way has changed everything for me, and in another way it has changed nothing. That’s quite an odd thing to say but I guess what I mean is that when I’m in front of the canvas and the subject, everything fizzles away and it’s back to the grind of painting. It never seems to get easier, if anything, it’s getting harder as I go on.”
He came, he saw, he conkered: Andrew Farmer’s annual autumn project of painting horse chestnuts
What will be your next painting project?
“My next series of paintings is focused on the humble conker (the horse chestnut). Painting these beautiful little objects has become an annual ritual. Every autumn since around 2007, I go out and collect them from under the trees, being careful to keep the spiky shell intact.
“More recently, my kids have also been supplying me with the conkers they’ve collected in the playground, which is so touching that they think of me and my work when they’re in school.
“I love to wait until the shell splits naturally and reveals the jewel inside. I paint these in my garden studio, as I listen to old records, podcasts etc. It’s a great and fun little series that I always look forward to. This latest collection includes 25 conkers, which I can’t wait to share via my website in the coming weeks at www.andrewfarmerfineart.com”
Andrew Farmer: North Landing runs at Watermark Gallery, Royal Parade, Harrogate until the tide goes out on November 12. Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
Oh, he does like to be beside the seaside: Andrew Farmer at peace with the elements as he paints
ART Of Protest Gallery welcomes Nigerian artist Ben Ibebe to York for his solo show Afrofuturism from October 28 to November 6.
This will be complemented by a “live paint” at the Walmgate gallery on the eighth day, inspired by Ben’s first seven days in the city.
“Art Of Protest encourages urban contemporary conversations on environment, consumption, identity and the global audience,” says director Craig Humble.
That misison statement chimes with Ben’s own working practice: “The inspiration for my art comes from people,” he says. “How they respond to social, economic, political and economic forces in their daily living. The issues, ideas and events arising from man’s quest to contain and contend with these forces form the subject of my paintings.”
Ibebe’s exhibition, entitled Afrofurism, will display images of dense urban architecture, vibrant markets, tradition and romance in the context of West African living.
“When Ben takes up residence at the gallery for eight days, his exhibition will feature a series of unique oil paintings with a textural quality that bridges both abstraction and sculpture via the ordered chaos of thick impasto style of painting,” says Craig.
Mansion, by Ben Ibebe
“While he is here, Ben will be setting up a temporary studio at the gallery where he will work as the exhibition takes place and will be available to meet if visitors call aheadon 01904 659008.”
Holding a BA in Visual Arts from the University of Port Harcourt, in Rivers State, Nigeria, Ben has held solo exhibitions internationally with collectors in many countries, including the United States, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and Nigeria.
His tactile paintings are highly figurative, bright in colour choice in oils and mixed media, geometric in composition, almost three-dimensional on the surface, with women deliberately accorded prominence in his depiction of everyday Nigerian life.
“The African woman is strong, beautiful and flowery,” Ben says. “They live in a male-dominated society, based on local cultural tradition with few rights, and are at the receiving end of man’s activities and yet strive so hard to eke out and sustain a living.
“So, I celebrate them by weaving my composition around them most times in their hours of needs, joy, pain and other human activities. Recently, my fixation is on the effect of Western attitudes, globalisation, human trafficking and technology on the African woman.”
To The Market, by Ben Ibebe
Ben adds: “Men come into in my compositions, but they come in mostly as allegories in my political statements and are highly stylized. Other times, they are presented as engaged in male activities: drummers, horse riders, cattle herders, etcetera.”
As for his style, “The finished paintings often come off in the style of impressionism, other times idealism, abstract formalism dovetailing into semi abstraction and full abstraction,” he says.
Looking forward to his arrival in York this week, Craig says; “We’re excited to welcome Ben to the gallery, especially with it being our first exhibition with the artist in residence.
“We would encourage anyone to come down to the gallery to meet Ben and experience his artwork in person. The striking images of Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage colliding with a globalised art world is breaking new ground in process and colour management.
“At Art Of Protest, we want to showcase local, national and international artists to the people and visitors of York.”
Ben’s work already on show in the gallery can be viewed at artofprotestgallery.com.
Leon McCawley: “No-one wanted to break the extraordinary spell he generated”
NO-ONE needs a second prompt when it comes to Leon McCawley. His success at the Leeds International Piano Competition, where he was runner-up in 1993, endeared him to northern audiences. Sure enough, there was a virtually full house for this generous recital, which included sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.
Yet there were more than a few times during the first half of the evening when his adrenalin seemed to take over from his judgement. That was not the case in the second half, which he devoted to Schubert’s last sonata, D.960 in B flat major.
Athletes and performers alike talk about being “in the zone”. For some, it has become something of a Holy Grail, desirable but unattainable. In other words, it is but rarely reached. McCawley found it here. He played the Schubert like a man possessed, not running amok, quite the opposite. The audience sensed it early on and kept incredibly quiet, even between movements. No-one wanted to break the extraordinary spell he generated.
In what is possibly the quietest of Schubert’s first movements, McCawley sustained a magical serenity, having taken longer than usual to start, poised over the keys but waiting. When the distant trills arrived, they carried not menace so much as weight, like a distant rumble of thunder without any rain.
Although Schubert’s multiple key-changes can easily disrupt the flow, they were not allowed to here, seeming perfectly and smoothly logical. A little acceleration here, deceleration there, which might have sounded pretentious, were all of a piece with McCawley’s intensity. This slackened not a whit in the Andante, which was deeply thoughtful and ended with the same serenity we had heard earlier.
The scherzo was fiery but light, with crisp inner voices. Gravity returned in the trio but evaporated with the scherzo’s return and peaceful conclusion. The finale was inevitably more extrovert, and even briefly stormy, but the scale was always intimate, as if secrets were being shared rather than trumpeted around the hall.
By now McCawley had the audience in the palm of his hand and could have got away with almost anything. But he kept faith with our intelligence and resisted the temptation to over-explain. It was possible to believe that this was exactly how Schubert intended it to be. Certainly it was a performance never to be forgotten.
He had opened with a brusque account of Bach’s Italian Concerto, BWV 971, which was accurate but had a scrambled feel, particularly in the final Presto. Beethoven’s E minor sonata, Op 90 was in retrospect the warm-up for the Schubert to come, shapely and with a great deal of surface feeling, but not quite penetrating to the innermost depths.
Mozart’s F major sonata, K.332 began with a pleasing clarity and ended with wit and finesse, while its central Adagio fluctuated tenderly between major and minor. But the Schubert was something else altogether.
Gould Piano Trio: Lucy Gould, Richard Lester and Benjamin Frith, right
NOT many ensembles undertake Tchaikovsky’s only piano trio. Its wide-ranging scope and the difficulties it presents, particularly to a pianist, put it outside many groups’ field of vision.
The Goulds, however, are not easily intimidated. They have recorded it, and preceded it here with Fanny Hensel (née Mendelssohn, Felix’s elder sister) and our own Judith Weir.
Tchaikovsky was pretty cut up by the death of his great friend Nikolai Rubinstein, the pianist who co-founded what became the Moscow Conservatory and also premiered Balakirev’s notorious Islamey.
After a summer of sorrow, he wrote his only piano trio over the Christmas period 1881-2, To The Memory Of A Great Artist. It reflects both the composer’s grief and the personality and prowess of Rubinstein.
The Gould’s success with the piece, played after the interval, depended to a great extent on the supreme control of its pianist, Benjamin Frith. His extremely rapid arpeggios in the opening movement, for example, were tastefully suppressed, so that balance with the strings was never under threat, and he kept his greatest intensity for the big climax after the central Adagio of this huge movement, from which the ensemble subsided gracefully.
The theme and 12 variations of the second movement, some of which are quite short, represent Rubinstein’s mercurial charm and incidents in his life, although Tchaikovsky is not specific about the details. So they require a chameleon-like response from the players. The Goulds were more than equal to the task, flashing between moods as to the manner born.
After the early repetitions of the folksong-style theme – sweetly eloquent in Lucy Gould’s violin, richly autumnal in Richard Lester’s cello – the two strings combined in tasty duet before Frith brilliantly evoked a musical box in Variation 6.
The succeeding waltz was sheer delight, while the Fugue was notable for the clarity of its individual voices. Frith really came into his own in the mazurka, where he evoked Chopin. The five-minute cut authorised by Tchaikovsky made the final variation and coda much more persuasive than if given complete.
Although going hell for leather, the players remained keenly aware of each other’s roles, while the closing funeral march, echoing the very opening of the work, was a tear-jerker. The work had sounded far better than this listener had thought possible. Indeed, I bought the disc.
Fanny Mendelssohn has only in recent years begun to be recognised for the superb composer she was, having languished far too long in her brother’s shadow. Her Piano Trio in D minor was written in 1846, the year before her death, although not published till 1850. So she never heard it, in public at least.
The work opened the evening. At once it was clear that the players were listening and responding to each other in the pleasing Allegro, and there was an equally charming lightness of touch in the gentle Andante. The 3rd movement, Lied, with its piano prologue, reached a surprisingly emphatic climax. In the finale, the Goulds again allowed the music to speak for itself – not as easy as it sounds – and this time its climax was beautifully prepared.
Judith Weir’s Trio – the first of two so far – dates from 1998 and is a beguiling piece. Although not programmatic, it is inspired by locations. The Venice of Schubert’s solo song Gondelfahrer (Barcarole) lies behind its opening, and it was easy to sense the bells of St Mark’s and the lights twinkling on the water, although the gondolier seemed to be making heavy weather of his paddling.
Scurrying strings with piano interjections marked the opening of the scherzo, with fiercer, lower timbres in its more accented trio, the two eventually coming into collision like satellites swerving off course.
African energies had been the inspiration here. Darting melodic snippets, looking for an alliance, resulted from her vision of deserted Hebridean beaches in the finale. This is spacious writing, gloriously uncluttered, and the Goulds revelled in it: music to hear and hear again, especially when played with such love.
Accessible Arts & Media hits 40! Pictured here is an Inclusive Music Project performance, Sing Out!, in 2019. Picture: Elly Ross
YORK inclusive arts charity Accessible Arts & Media’s 40th anniversary concert takes place at Temple Hall, York St John University, on Saturday afternoon.
“We’re all pretty blown away that we’ve managed to reach 40,” says creative director Rose Kent. “All the more incredible is that Hands & Voices [the singing and signing choir] are 25 and the Inclusive Music Project programme is ten this year.
“In true Accessible Arts & Media style, we’re marking our big 4-0 milestone with a special Big Birthday Bash with our friends from Communitas Choir and York St John, and we’re delighted that it’s a sell-out.”
Accessible Arts & Media started life as York Film Workshop in 1982 and registered as a charity, Old Dairy Studios, in 1988. “From 1992 to 2007, Old Dairy Studios delivered an annual Youth Month programme, giving young people in York the chance to record television and radio shows, form bands and record and perform music,” recalls Rose.
A rebrand in 2002 saw Old Dairy Studios re-launch as Cube Media. Meanwhile, in 1992, Artlink York was set up, as part of the national Shape disability arts network, changing its name to Accessible Arts four years later. “This was the beginning of Accessible Arts & Media’s long history of supporting learning-disabled people to unleash their inner artist,” says Rose.
Accessible Arts & Media was formed by the merger of Accessible Arts and Cube Media in 2008 and is now based at Sanderson House, Bramham Road, York.
“Over the past 40 years, Accessible Arts & Media’s creative projects have helped more than 10,000 people find their moment to shine,” says Rose.
Here she picks out her highlights:
* Being among the first organisations in Great Britain to introduce singing and signing to the mainstream, with the formation of the Hands & Voices. Still going strong 25 years later.
* AbleWeb started in 2011 as an online radio station run for and by learning disabled adults; developed into an inclusive information website that ran until 2018. AbleWeb team, all learning-disabled adults, created content for the site and made films and podcasts with community groups.
* Developing iMUSE, a multi-sensory creative environment that helps reduce stress and anxiety. Accessible Arts & Media is one of a handful of organisations worldwide that uses iMUSE, working with people with mental ill-health, people living with dementia and people with complex disabilities.
* Inclusive Music Projects were launched as a weekly inclusive music club for young people in 2012. Now provides a year-round programme of music activities for disabled and non-disabled children and young people from York and the surrounding area.
“As a small local charity, we’re really proud to have reached our 40-year milestone,” says Rose. “With our Hands & Voices choir turning 25 and our IMPs programme reaching ten years, we figured the best way to celebrate our triple whammy was to put on a show.
“What’s more, we’d love to hear from people who’ve taken part in our projects over the years. So, if you ever recorded at Old Dairy Studios, Cube Media or Studio Cube, joined in one of our Youth Months or came along to any of our projects and events, we’d welcome your Accessible Arts & Media memories! You can contact us at aamedia.org.uk or via our social media, facebook.com/aamedia.org.uk/ and twitter.com/aamedia_org_uk. We can’t wait to hear your stories.”
To join the waiting list for returned tickets for Saturday’s concert, contact Accessible Arts & Media at info@aamedia.org.uk or on 01904 626965.
PRODUCER and conductor Ewa Salecka will lead York choir Prima Vocal Ensemble in Song Of The Universal, their November 6 concert of Ola Gjeilo music at Riley Smith Hall, Tadcaster.
The York choir will be joined by The Mowbray Orchestra and pianist Greg Birch in a one-off performance of inspiring, enchanting orchestral and choral contemporary works by the Norwegian composer.
“With cocktail-style seating and bar facilities available throughout the Riley Smith Hall, this gem of a venue – just a short drive from York – promises a musical evening to appeal to every taste,” says Ewa (pronounced ‘Eh-va’).
Gjeilo’s distinctive sound is marked by sweeping melodious lines in waves of rich harmony, heavily influenced by cinematic-style orchestration. His work has been a constant highlight of Prima’s repertoire and a personal favourite of Ewa for many years.
“His music has the broadest appeal, being accessible to everyone” she explains. “There’s something for all listeners, from classical connoisseurs to those who simply love an instantly enjoyable stirring melody.
“For more than 12 years now, we’ve been one of the most versatile community choirs in the area,” says Prima Vocal Ensemble producer and conductor Ewa Salecka
“Additionally, the works are raised to new levels by the use of poetry and lyrics of the highest artistic standard.”
Prima have enjoyed collaborations with the polished musicians of The Mowbray Orchestra for many years. “They are outstanding professionals,” she says. “It’s always a thrill to work with instrumentalists of this standard.”
Her praise for the Prima singers shows no limits too: “I’m eternally proud of the achievements of this non-auditioning group. For more than 12 years now, we’ve been one of the most versatile community choirs in the area,” says Ewa.
“I love to create performance opportunities for people and I’m always looking for original material that will both appeal to and broaden the musical palette of the choir. In return, they always reward me with a passion and dedication that is genuinely humbling.”
The 7.30pm programme will include the British premiere of two Gjeilo works: first, the Dreamweaver suite, based on a Norwegian folk poem, recounts the dreams of its main character through the poetic verse of lyricist Charles Anthony Silvestri.
The poster for Prima Vocal Ensemble’s Song Of The Universal concert in Tadcaster
Then, in Song Of The Universal, Gjeilo has created another signature uplifting sound, one that enhances the faith and belief in humanity expressed eloquently through the lyrics of American poet Walt Whitman.
To conclude the evening, Ewa will conduct Prima and the Mowbray string musicians in Gjeilo’s celebrated Sunrise Mass, originally intended to be performed before the pandemic. “In this featured work, movements of the Latin Mass are uniquely set to original English titles, reflecting the composer’s wish to express a very human emotional journey,” she says.
“Sunrise Mass memorably concludes this metaphor with Gjeilo’s masterpiece, The Ground, here in its original orchestral and choral glory.”
Extending a welcome to all in the Riley-Smith Hall’s relaxed, informal ambience, Ewa says: “Come and join us for what promises to be a unique, intimate and emotionally charged evening of the very best in contemporary choral music.”
Prompt booking is recommended at primavocalensemble.com/event-details/song-of-the-universal-concert-of-music-by-ola-gjeilo-1.
HULL Truck Theatre’s second half of their 50th anniversary season unleashes Ladies Unleashed, the third instalment of Amanda Whittington’s trilogy.
In the wake of Hull Truck hits Ladies Day – the one set at York Racecourse to coincide with Royal Ascot switching to Knavesmire in 2005 – and Ladies Down Under two years later, now the Nottingham playwright celebrates friendship, growing older and living for today.
Directed by artistic director Mark Babych, Ladies Unleashed reunites four friends, Hull fish factory workers Jan, Pearl, Linda and Shelley in 2022 on the peaceful, magical retreat of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in a story of secrets and mysteries, reunions and an imminent wedding, twists and surprises.
“Seventeen years! It’s absolutely frightening! I was checking when I started, thinking it must be ten years ago, but in fact it was 2005, and the world has changed so much since then,” says Amanda.
“I can’t believe it’s so long since we first went to Ladies Day with the fish factory foursome, and to Australia in Ladies Down Under a few years later. Creating these stories for Hull Truck was a magical time and the audience response was unforgettable.
“Since then, the two Ladies plays have been a firm favourite on the amateur circuit across the UK. Barely a month goes by without a production somewhere in the country, keeping the play alive since its original production. It’s such a gift as a writer to know what affection your characters are held in.”
Pearl (Fenella Norman), Jan (Allison Saxton) and Linda (Sara Beharrell) have not seen Shelley (Hull-born Gemma Oaten) for years, but when she suddenly turns up, Linda’s plans for a weekend of quiet contemplation (“not a hen party,” she says) take a different turn as tensions rise with the tide.
“I’ve always set the plays in the present day, so now Pearl is in her early 70s; Jan, mid-60s; Linda and Shelley around 40,” says Amanda.
Gemma Oaten in rehearsal for her role as Shelley in Ladies Unleashed at Hull Truck Theatre
“A whole generation has gone by, and I was quite reluctant to get back on the bike, after doing Ladies Day as a one-off, but then I did another one two years later, and so the characters are still very much alive in village halls and community centres.
“I thought of all the people who’ve been in Ladies Day or seen it, and there were discussions with Nick Hern Books, the publishers, who’ve been really instrumental in keeping the Ladies alive all these years.
“Then I started talking to artistic director Mark Babych about new ideas for the 50th anniversary, and a new Ladies play was floated. I was curious to think about where they were a generation later, but presenting it as a stand-alone play, looking at getting older and the benefits and challenges of doing that, when you don’t normally do that with characters from earlier plays.”
The third instalment was commissioned pre-pandemic. “There was a first draft, then the lockdowns, and when I came back to it, there’d been more changes,” says Amanda.
“I write about where we are, where we’ve been, so it’s partly a play about time. Writing dialogue for those characters again, I found it was like they’d never been away. They were just back in the room.
“It felt instantly right, and then it was about putting it in a dramatic framework that felt contemporary.”
After a day at the York Races in Ladies Day and a trip to Australia in Ladies Down Under, Amanda now sends Pearl Jan, Linda and Shelley to Lindisfarne and lets the island work its spell on them, like in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Tim Firth’s Neville’s Island.
“That was exactly the thought behind it, to get them to a place they can’t get off, a place that had so much history and texture, and, like Hull, had a great fishing industry, giving it that connection with the past.”
Ladies Unleashed cast members in the rehearsal room: from left, Martha Godber, Nell Baker, Fenella Norman, Sara Beharrell,, Allison Saxton and Gemma Oaten
Here was the cue for two new additions to the Whittington ranks of women, young fish workers Mabel (played by Martha Godber) and Daisy (Nell Baker), whose friendship from Lindisfarne’s past stirs anew as the island itself becomes restless, the sky darkens, the air chills, and the winds of change blow skeletons from closets. Whereupon past, present and future collide.
“I thought, what happens if the past comes alive and the young women they might have been awaken, working on the island a century earlier?” says Amanda. “This was the chance to bring magic realism into the play, and that’s been a lovely thing to open up.”
Women’s stories are at the heart of Amanda’s plays. “That’s very much what I’m about as a writer. It felt very natural for me to do that, and right from the beginning of my career that’s the voice I’ve always spoken in. Even now it’s still not common but it’s a characteristic of my work,” she says.
“John Godber’s plays, Arthur Miller’s plays, are never talked about as ‘male plays’, but women’s plays stand out because there just aren’t as many. Ladies Unleashed is about a female world, and as the women of Holy Island’s past come alive, it shows how women’s lives have changed so radically and yet how some things have still not changed.
“Thankfully, there are lots of untold stories from history about women that are being told now, but they’re not stories just for women; they’re stories for everyone.”
Ladies Unleashed plays out in the age of #MeToo and a rising focus on women’s rights. “It’s released something in the last few years that’s not about men versus women, or oppressing women, particularly as there are damaged men as well,” says Amanda. “That’s the spirit of my work, with women giving their perspective on a century of change, and in 2022 it’s really welcomed by audiences.”
What are the ladies unleashing, Amanda? “What holds them together is that core of friendship, and the key to that is their work as fish factory workers, but they all have something they need to be released from, barriers to break through, and part of that comes down to how that differs in the different generations and how that’s changed,” she says.
Hull Truck Theatre in Ladies Unleashed, September 29 to October 22. Last performance, 7.30pm. Box office: 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk.
