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Archive for the ‘Dulwich OnView’ Category

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New website for 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!

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Henry Moore – everywhere!

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.

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A new look for Dulwich OnView

In Dulwich OnView on March 16, 2010 at 3:25 pm

One of the websites I write for is the online magazine Dulwich OnView, which celebrates life and culture in south London. It was set up by a group of volunteer writers and photographers who all wanted to get together and create something which reflects life here in Dulwich and the surrounding areas.

The site has been going from strength to strength. As an example of a community project, we’ve now been written about in a handful of academic papers, we’ve attracted interns and we’re showcased and represented at conferences and symposia across the world. And it’s all the work of a few volunteers, using free technology (we use WordPress.)

This week we launch the newly designed site, with new features and a more straightforward navigation. There are a few small glitches to iron out – as with any new website – but I think it looks beautiful. While we’ve had to pay for a redesign – kindly sponsored by an anonymous donor – we’re still using the free software to manage the magazine.

Take a look at the newly rebranded Dulwich OnView.

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What to do on Valentine’s Day? Visit an art gallery.

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.

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Live in Peckham? Wanna be on TV?

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.

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Dulwich meets Oklahoma

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.

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Red phone boxes

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.

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Christmas shopping in East Dulwich

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.

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Quiz at Dulwich Picture Gallery

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.

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Back in the classroom

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.

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