Archive for the ‘Dulwich OnView’ Category
Herne Hill velodrome, Lewis Robinson, Livesey Museum, Southwark Council, Veronica Ward
In Dulwich OnView, new content on August 3, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Last week I had the chance to interview Veronica Ward, the cabinet member on Southwark Council responsible for culture, leisure, sport and the Olympics. The resulting article is live on Dulwich OnView today.
I asked the councillor about the swtich over from a Tory/Lib Dem council to a Labour administration (the opposite of the national political landscape) and her hopes for the future. It also turns out that she’s also passionate about the preservation of the velodrome at Herne Hill. And there’s news that the debate about what to do with the closed down Livesey Museum is still wide open. Do read the artcile and leave a comment if you feel strongly about either of the those issues.
This is the second political interview I’ve conducted for DOV. Last year I got to interview Ward’s predecessor Lewis Robinson, who is now out of a job in the cabinet after the change of power.
happiness, Happiness Project London, Sasha, south London
In Dulwich OnView, happiness, new content on July 16, 2010 at 8:50 am
I interviewed a local south London blogger recently about happiness. Sasha runs the Happiness Project London, writing about things in the capital which can help to keep us sane (and hopefully happy) in a world of madness and chaos. There’s an interview with her on this website as part of my ongoing reserach project about the modern state of happiness.
But while I had her, I also asked a few extra questions about life in our area of London so I could write a piece about her for Dulwich OnView. She’s a really interesting character, so I figured she’d make a great addition to the South London People thread we have running on there. Do check out what she says can keep us happy in south London.
Begin Design, homelab, Horniman Museum, interior design, Kingswood House, South London Gallery, workshops
In Dulwich OnView, new content on July 13, 2010 at 10:36 am
I love finding out about new museums, collections and libraries on my doorstep in south London. We’ve all heard of the museums at Crystal Palace and the Horniman. You perhaps know about the hidden gem of Kingswood House. And some people have even heard of the Puppet Centre Trust in Clapham. And I must make a visit to the newly developed South London Gallery now it’s open.
It turns out there’s a library of home improvement at a local design studio near me. Homelab is part of the design studio at Begin Design, a studio in Forest Hill. They’re kindly opening up their space for a series of free interior design workshops later this month. There’s a piece all about the library and their events on Dulwich OnView today.
Electronic Visualisation and the Arts, Computer Arts Society, Chartered Institute for IT, community, online magazine, Ingrid Beazley, Jonathan P. Bowen, Alison H. Y. Liu, Sarah McDaid
In Dulwich OnView, what i'm reading on July 7, 2010 at 3:34 pm
The online magazine Dulwich OnView, for which I write articles sometimes, was showcased (yet again!) at the Electronic Visualisation and the Arts (EVA) conference in London this week. The Computer Arts Society and the Chartered Institute for IT. They say that since it’s conception in 1992, ‘the EVA conference series has established itself as a natural home from which to explore the richly interdisciplinary and constantly evolving world of digital visualisation.’
The paper presented on our project focussed on the social nature of our magazine, highlighting how we come together as a group to make the blog. And this, I believe, is the key to the success of the magazine – we are friends in real life and we have created an online social network which reflects that.
The paper Dulwich OnView: an art museum-based virtual community generated by the local community is available to read on the EVA proceedings website.
With thanks to the authors Ingrid Beazley, Jonathan P. Bowen, Alison H.Y. Liu and Sarah McDaid, who have done a great job of celebrating our successes.
That reminds me, I must go and post an article on DOV. I’ve got a great one waiting to go live….
Dulwich OnView, British Museum, multimedia guide, Yang-May Ooi, Fusion View, Italian Renaissance Drawings, podcast, Steve Slack, audio guide, writing
In Dulwich OnView, Museums, new content, what i'm reading on May 21, 2010 at 9:17 am
My friend Yang-May Ooi, the writer and blogging expert who taught me much of what I now about blogging, interviewed me recently for a podcast on her website.
Fusion View is Yang-May’s blog which offers her musings on life in the UK – and especially our little corner of south London – often compared with life in Malaysia where she was born. She describes it as ‘personal reflections with a cross-cultural flavour’. There’s everything on there, from recipes and reviews to videos of local sights and interviews with people from all walks of life.
Her library of podcasts is growing rapidly and one of her most recent entries is an interview with me about my work as a multimedia writer. Taking the British Museum’s current exhibition about Italian Renaissance Drawings as a starting point, we explore the process of creating an audio guide and how we turn the content into the little box visitors borrow from the museum when they arrive on the day.
Dulwich OnView, George Canning, landlord, prime minister
In Dulwich OnView, new content on April 30, 2010 at 8:30 am
There’s a bar near where I live named after George Canning – one time prime minister and famous botched dueller – which has been neglected for a long time – passed from landlord to landlord over the years until it was run into the ground. But it’s just come under new ownership and things are looking up.
It’s now under the care of a young couple who have been brought in to turn its fortunes around. After a lick of paint and some fresh ideas, the place is looking great once again. They explained their ideas for the place to me the other day over a drink, and an article about them and their pub has gone live on Dulwich OnView this morning.
They’re a great couple – a real breath of fresh air – and they’ve got some great ideas, so good luck to them!
supermarket, sainsbury's theatre, shakespeare, sonnet 23, teatro vivo
In Dulwich OnView, new content on April 20, 2010 at 11:55 am
Last week I met with a group of actors who are about to launch a new show set in a supermarket. It’s not only set there, the performances take place in the supermarket. It’s a piece inspired by Shakespeare’s sonnet 23:
O, learn to read what silent love hath writ:
To hear with eyes belongs to love’s fi ne wit.
Teatro Vivo are a theatre company making site-specific performance pieces. They’ve been putting on shows in branches of Sainsbury’s in south London for a few years and are now returning with a new show.
It sounds rather peculiar – it is – but from sitting in on rehearsals I’ve seen how it works and I’m up for going along and investigating.
The first show of Supermarket Shakespeare is this evening and there’s an article on Dulwich OnView today about where you can find them over the next few weeks.
I think I might pop along to Forest Hill on 1st or 2nd May. Anyone care to join me?
Dulwich OnView, Museums and the Web, Best Small Site, Colorado, volcano
In Dulwich OnView on April 18, 2010 at 11:06 am
Wow, our little group blog (now an online magazine) has won Best Small Site at the Museums and the Web conference in Colorado. We’re glowing with pride.
Museums and the Web is the biggest museums conference of its kind in the world, attracting 600 professionals from 25 countries.There were 15 international judges who looked at the nominated sites in detail and chose us as the winner! It’s great news for everyone involved and we’re gearing up to celebrate once our delegate is back from the States – she’s presently stuck there because of the volcano ash fandango.
There’s a piece about it on Dulwich OnView, of course.
dulwich, Kingswood House
In Dulwich OnView, new content on April 6, 2010 at 9:27 am
I did some work recently with Kingswood House – an architectural hidden gem near where I live in south London – on their strategic development of their friends organisation. The local residents are full of enthusiasm for their immediate area and have a wonderful building at their disposal, but were wanting a little more direction for their activities.
As part of their move forward now, they’ve revamped their website kingswoodcommunity.org.uk Welcome.htmlwith a new look and much more information now available to members of the public. I wrote a piece about it for Dulwich OnView as well, to help promote the site. Good luck to them!
Dulwich OnView, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Tate Britain, Henry Moore, Paul Nash, Irving Penn, National Portrait Gallery
In Dulwich OnView, Museums, new content on March 19, 2010 at 9:56 am
After going to see the Henry Moore exhibition at Tate Britain a few weeks ago I’ve found myself spotting references to Moore all over the plac.
He’s mentioned in the current temporary exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery about Moore’s contemporary Paul Nash. And there’s a portrait of him in the Irving Penn exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. (Alright, alright, I’m just showing off at how many exhibitions I go to. It’s a hazard of the job really.)
I also spotted a few of his sculptures about the place in London. Are we all left wanting Moore?
I wrote a piece about noticing these, and other, references on Dulwich OnView, which went live this morning.
The Moore show at Tate is well worth the visit. I used to not like Tate Britain shows that much as they were a bit over my head, but this one seems to have been curated, designed and the text written with the visitor in mind. Great stuff. Do go and see it.
art gallery, dulwich, Dulwich Picture Gallery, restaurant, St Valentine, Valentine's Day
In Dulwich OnView, Museums, new content on February 12, 2010 at 1:09 pm
You can’t have failed to notice that it’s Valentine’s Day this weekend. To be honest, I really can’t see the point in all the bother we put ourselves through each year. I don’t want to spend a fortune on a mediocre, over-priced meal just for the sake of it. And you have to sit in a restaurant full of other couples who are also concerned about how socially awkward the whole thing is. I like to celebrate when there’s a need to celebrate. And as a rule I tell my beloved how beloved they are as and when I want to, not when St Valentine dictates.
That said, you may still want to make a gesture to your better half at this time of year. My personal recommendation would be to take your partner along to a local museum or gallery and look at something lovely together. If you’re feeling flush, then why not splash out on afternoon tea in the cafe as well and help to generate some revenue for the arts.
To this end I took a look at what I might go and visit in my local art spot, Dulwich Picture Gallery. There’s an article all about what I found there on Dulwich OnView today.
Peckham. Channel 4, city life, countryside, television
In Dulwich OnView, new content on January 19, 2010 at 10:30 am
Channel 4 are looking for people who live in Peckham (which comes within the remit of Dulwich OnView) to take part in a new television programme about life in the city. From their description I suspect they will take people who love the countryside and hate the city – and vice versa – and swap their homes for a week. It’s a new idea for a programme, but it’s a tried, tested (and now I reckon quite boring) format for making television.
Either way, if you’re interested in finding out more, there’s an article with all the details on Dulwich OnView today.
Dulwich Picture Gallery, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Dutch Italianates
In Dulwich OnView, Museums, new content on January 15, 2010 at 9:45 am
There’s a beautiful group of paintings in Dulwich Picture Gallery called the Dutch Italianates – that is Dutch artists painting in an Italian style in the 17th century. There’s a strong emphasis on landscapes, and it’s known that Dutch artists were indeed there in the Italian countryside at the birth of Italian landscape painting.
The pictures have been on loan recently to Oklahoma City Museum of Art, where they were displayed in a special temporary exhibition. They’re on their way back to Dulwich now. Dulwich OnView has published an interview with the Gallery’s Director Ian Dejardin about the paintings. He talks about the influences on the Dutch artists in Italy, their significance in art history and his favourite paintings in the collection.
We published the interview in two parts, with illustrations from DPG’s collection (part one – part two). Or you can read the full transcript of the interview on OCMOA’s website.
Dulwich Picture Gallery, Sir John Soane, phone box
In Dulwich OnView, new content on January 5, 2010 at 9:43 am
Here’s something interesting.
I learned recently the deisgner of the red phone box – now sadly no longer in production – was a good friend of Sir John Soane, architect of, among many other grand projects, Dulwich Picture Gallery. There’s an example of this iconic piece of design in the grounds of the Gallery as a nod to the inspiration from whence it came. If you look closely, the top of the mausoleum in the Gallery has a similar shape to that of the red phone box. And it’s a design which has spread far and wide ever since. Examples of the old phone boxes can be found all over the globe. I found one recently in Bilbao. There’s a piece all about it on Dulwich OnView today.
East Dulwich, Christmas shopping, online retail
In Dulwich OnView on December 11, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Argh, I’ve left all my Christmas shopping too late again! With the postal system up the spout, if I order anything online now I’m not going to be guaranteed to receive it before I’m supposed to start handing out presents.
I’m going to have to shop locally. Here’s a piece which went live this morning on Dulwich OnView, about where I’ll be sourcing some unique and creative gifts. And by shopping nearby I’m helping to support the local economy.
Full of Christmas cheer now.
Dulwich Picture Gallery, quiz
In Dulwich OnView, Museums, new content on October 27, 2009 at 9:32 am
It’s that time of year again when Dulwich Picture Gallery gets ready for the annual Gallery Quiz. Teams of six compete in the grand setting of the Gallery – surrounded by beautiful paintings in the famous enfillade – and see their scores projected onto a large screen at the end of the Gallery. There’s a piece promoting the quiz live on Dulwich OnView today.
Dulwich OnView, Dulwich Picture Gallery, online writing
In Dulwich OnView, Museums on October 12, 2009 at 5:02 pm
I’ve had a great day today, working with Dulwich Picture Gallery and a couple of local schools. The Gallery are running a project which sees sixth-formers from two schools coming together to create a local online magazine about cultural life in the area. There’s an arts focus of course – it’s being paid for by an art gallery – but it’s thought that it will reflect more than just DPG.
They are using the free software from WordPress we use for Dulwich OnView and which I also use for this site.
I taught a session about online writing – how that differs from writing for traditional media and some helpful hints about writing in the world of the blogosphere. We’ll be following their progress on Dulwich OnView. Their magazine is due to go live in about a month of so.
Sue King, Mel McCleary, Jeannie Avent Gallery, East Dulwich
In Dulwich OnView, new content on September 25, 2009 at 11:53 am
I’ve just written another piece about my neighbour Sue King, a glass artist.
She and another neighbour from my street, Mel McCleary - a textile artist – are putting on a joint exhibition at the Jeannie Avent Gallery in East Dulwich, starting next week. The show is called ZEST and is reflective of their love of bold colours and striking designs. There are some images and more details about their artistic background in the article on Dulwich OnView, which went live this morning.
Dulwich OnView, Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery
In Dulwich OnView, Museums, new content on September 18, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I’ve been working the Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery for about seven years, helping them to slowly broaden the appeal of the Gallery and to widen the demographic of the membership. We’ve been running different types of events and trying to create an image of the Gallery that is less stuffy and traditional than most people might initially think. Numbers are up and the kind of people visiting the Gallery is slowly starting to change. I’m not saying we’ve reinvented the wheel there, but we’ve been taking baby steps.
One of the ways of getting the message out has been the community online magazine Dulwich OnView, for who I write regular articles about life in and around south London.
I also recently helped them to rewrite some of the content for the Friends’ online presence on the Gallery site. It’s all online on the Dulwich Picture Gallery website.
Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gail Gosschalk, Sue King, Nic Webb, swamp cypress, spoons, Ikea, Habitat, flat-pack furniture
In Dulwich OnView, happiness, new content on August 25, 2009 at 8:08 am
A few weeks ago I went to Peckham to meet a craft artist called Nic Webb.
He’s been working recently with a huge pile of wood from Dulwich Picture Gallery. The swamp cypress tree there was cut down last year because it was sick. He’s been turning the wood into, wait for it, spoons. So off I trundled to meet the spoon man. And here’s the result – an article on Dulwich OnView.
These aren’t any ordinary spoons. They’re beautifully crafted pieces, all very individual. Meeting Nic was a wake up call to the power of the craft maker movement in London at the moment. He spoke about how the design for each spoon is led by the natural shapes and patterns in the wood – there’s no one design he works toward. Each piece is an individual.
We’re bored nowadays of having mass-produced rubbish in our homes from Habitat. Let’s go back to having hand-crafted, beautiful objects with some integrity. And let’s get to know the people who make these things for us – craftsmen, designers and makers all have great stories behind them and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know some of them of late. I wrote pieces recently about glass designer Sue King and local artist Gail Gosschalk.
I think there’s a bit of an overlap with my happiness project. I suggest we’d all be happier if we fill our homes with objects that have some integrity to them, rather than flat pack furniture and cheap crap from Ikea. Of course, that’s easier said than done – hand-crafted items are usually comparatively expensive. But meeting Nic and talking with him about his work certainly made me appreciate the power of the craftsman once again and I believe it’s a movement worth supporting.
I’m going to look for craft artists to include in the happiness project. Let me know if you have any good suggestions.
Lordship Lane, Herne Hill, Breakspeare, Champion Hill, Gipsy Hill
In Dulwich OnView, new content on August 23, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I just found some more stories behind local place names in south London. There’s a piece about them on Dulwich OnView.
Do take a read of the article if you’ve ever wondered where the names Lordship Lane, Herne Hill, Breakspeare, Champion Hill or Gipsy Hill come from.
Queen Victoria, Royal Surrey Zoological Gardens, Walworth Road, Lost Zoo of Southwark
In Dulwich OnView, new content on July 24, 2009 at 9:18 am
Lions, tigers and bears all used to live in the former Royal Surrey Zoological Gardens, just off the Walworth Road. Who knew?
Apparently Queen Victoria used to pop down there for a nosy at the animals, from time to time.
There’s a piece about the Lost Zoo of Southwark on Dulwich OnView.
Sue King, fused glass, Cockpit Arts, Maker Difference
In Dulwich OnView, new content on June 26, 2009 at 9:15 am
From my study, I see over the fence into my next-door neighbour’s back garden. I’ve long admired the striking glass sculptures which adorn her lovely garden. Sue King makes stunning fused glass pieces herself. Last weekend I took a trip to her studio in Deptford – part of the Cockpit Arts open weekend where the public are allowed in to nosy around the studios and buy artworks from designer-makers.
There’s a brilliant vibe in the studios and they are proud to be an incubator of creativity. Artists renting there don’t simply get a space in which to practise when they pay their fees – they get business support and commercial encouragement too. It’s like a community in there. They even have a manifesto, called Maker Difference, which encourages us not to buy objects d’art from Habitat or Heal’s, but to go and meet artists and get something completely unique. It’s inspirational stuff.
I was so impressed with the studios and with Sue’s work that I wrote a piece about it for Dulwich OnView, which went live this morning.
Lost Southwark, south London, local history, Cuming Museum
In Dulwich OnView, Museums, new content on June 12, 2009 at 10:40 am
There’s a new exhibition of paintings, etchings, drawings, maps and all sorts of 2D material chronicling the history of Southwark life and architecture at the Cuming Museum in south London. Popped along to see it last week and to write a piece of Dulwich OnView about it. Lost Southwark is definitely worth a look if you live in south London and are interested in local history.
dulwich, Gail Gosschalk, Paris, artists
In Dulwich OnView, new content on June 5, 2009 at 10:32 am
Just posted a lovely little interview on Dulwich OnView with a local artist, Gail Gosschalk, who now lives in Paris. She’s back in Dulwich this weekend to show some of her work in an exhibition.
The way she describes her work makes me want to follow suit. I could easily live in Paris, sipping coffee and penning articles at whim. What a life that would be ….
In Dulwich OnView, new content on May 26, 2009 at 8:08 am
In January I stared into my cultural crystal ball and wrote a piece on DOV predicting the hottest tickets in south London in 2009. Thought I’d revisit my guess work and see how I did. There’s a quick piece on DOV today.
Some I got right. Some I got terribly wrong. I would’ve thought ”The Dulwich’ could have written a song, at least.
Dulwich Festival, Artists' Open House, Camberwell College of Art, fried chicken
In Dulwich OnView, new content on May 20, 2009 at 3:07 pm
As part of Dulwich Festival each May, there is an annual Artists’ Open House – two weekends on either side of the festival when local artists in around the Dulwich area throw open the doors of their homes and studios and invite the great unwashed in to see their work. (And hopefully make a purchase or two along the way.)
I went along to see some of them this year and wrote a piece about some of the artists I met for Dulwich OnView. My particular favourites have to be the students from Cambwell College of Art who, have been inspired by the abundance of fried chicken boxes in the locale. What inspiration!
Dulwich OnView, Lewis Robinson, Southwark Council
In Dulwich OnView, new content on May 1, 2009 at 7:40 am
I met this week with a local councillor in my area (London Borough of Southwark) and chatted with him about arts and culture provision in the borough. He’s Cllr Lewis Robinson, the Executive Member for culture, leisure and sport and he’s also the councillor for one of the wards in Dulwich, so he’s a good guy for us to get to know.
The motto of Dulwich OnView is
celebrating people and culture in south London.
He’s a reasonably important person in the world of culture in south London, so we thought it would be best to interview him.
Take a look at what he had to say.
facebook, facebook groups, dulwich
In Dulwich OnView, new content on April 8, 2009 at 8:27 am
I recently reviewed my facebook profile and decided to cull a few of the groups I’m in. Do I still need to be in the group Every time your misplace an apostrophe, God kills another kitten?
I’m also a member of a few facebook groups linked to the local Dulwich area. It got me thinking about what else might be out there. There’s some strange stuff in the world of the Internet, and some of it is closer to home than you think.
Read my musings, and some of the funnier groups in my local area, on Dulwich OnView.
Alleyn's School
In Dulwich OnView on March 17, 2009 at 6:35 pm
A piece on Dulwich OnView about a new multi-million pound theatre in Dulwich at Alleyn’s School. The building won’t only be used by the school, but is also going to be made available to community organisations. Great news for us in Dulwich.
Here’s the article.
Gemma Weekes, Love Me
In Dulwich OnView, new content on January 27, 2009 at 10:04 am
Here’s an interivew with newly published author Gemma Weekes, who I spoke to a few weeks ago. Her new book Love Me, is out now. She’ll be speaking at the Blue Mountain Cafe in East Dulwich on 4 Feb.
Here’s the interview.
In Dulwich OnView, new content on January 16, 2009 at 11:12 am
In Dulwich OnView, new content on December 26, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Here’s a link to a quick piece I wrote for online magazine Dulwich OnView. It’s about my good friend Tegwen Tucker, who is an actor and voice over artist. You might have heard her as the continuity announcer on BBC FOUR.
In the interview, I asked here about her likes and dislikes – the same question asked of artists who have taken part in Dulwich Picture Gallery’s current temporary display What Are You Like?
It’s based on a Victorian parlour game where players have to answer a series of questions about themselves (favourite food, favourite place, pet hate etc) and then draw them up into a picture. The fun then comes in looking at everybody’s picture anonymously and trying to decide who is who.
To see Tegwen’s responses, click here.
