Clips
-
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
Ross Wilson was Art Space's Artist in Residence in programme 5.
Ross graduated with a First-Class Honours degree in Fine Art from the University of Ulster, and went on to receive his Masters from the Chelsea School of Art in London.
He has had more than 25 solo exhibitions, and has been a visiting speaker at both Harvard and Oxford Universities. In 1998, he helped set up the "New Art of the Irish" open exhibition as a showcase for a new generation of Irish artists.
1997 saw Ross's first public sculpture commission in bronze being placed at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. In 1988, his second public bronze, the CS Lewis Centenary Sculpture, was placed at the Hollywood Arches in Belfast.
Ross's commissions have included those of several Nobel Laureates, and one of St Lucian Nobel prize winner Derek Walcott for the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Recently Ross has been working with communities and the Groundwork NI charity to replace paramilitary murals throughout Northern Ireland. -
MUSICAL THEATRE
Musical theatre has never been so popular - with new shows opening all the time and TV shows looking to find the next big stars. Yet, despite its heady mix of dance, drama and music, musicals are considered by many to be a lower art form.
With Northern Ireland performers Naimh Perry and Rachel Tucker both starring in big West End shows Art Space felt it was time to investigate the genre’s artistic merit. Musical theatre-lover Donna Legge packed her bags and headed off to London to answer the important question ‘is musical theatre art?’
To find out why critics often dismiss musicals Donna met up with the British Theatre Guide’s chief London reviewer Philip Fisher who has spent many an evening seated in one of the West End theatres watching the latest show.
Next she went to see local girl Niamh Perry who was discovered on the BBC One show "I’d Do Anything" and is currently performing in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical "Love Never Dies" to see what her take on the matter is. Niamh feels musicals are the epitomy of art, saying they combine singing, dancing and acting.
Finally, it was back to Belfast, and the Grand Opera House where Donna chatted with the Chief Executive - Michael Ockwell - learning how important musicals are to regional theatres. Michael explained that hosting musicals allows the theatre to put on more challenging works which may not draw such large audiences.
In the studio, Joe and Donna were joined by Patrick J. O'Reilly to talk about the subject of musicals. Patrick is Artistic Director at Belfast-based Red Lemon Productions. Patrick has written, adapted or directed numerous plays, and also created a musical called "Dinner." -
90 SECOND GUIDE - GRAPHIC DESIGN
Each week, Art Space brings you a 90 second guide to getting started in a different "art space". In this programme, our guide covered graphic design, and tips came from Mark Case.
Mark is a co-founder of a Belfast-based design agency.
Here's how to get started turning pixels into design!
Tip 1
Think like a graphic designer!
Its all about communication so don’t just look at what you want to say, think about how you should say it.
Tip 2
Less is definitely more!
Don’t use too many fonts, colours, weights. Keep the design simple and keep it memorable
Tip 3
Think technical!
Your lovely design will eventually end up on the printed page or screen so ypu need to know about resolution, file types, industry standards; what will and won’t work. Speak to people who already work in the industry and ask them how they do it!
Tip 4
Keep your fonts clear and simple:
Reserve fancy or funky fonts for headlines only. Keep body copy plain and legible, and always consider if something isn’t instantly readable; people won’t read it.
Tip 5
Be clever with colour!
Some colour combinations imply classy and cool and others imply cheapness and urgency. So think about your message and what will work best.
Tip 6
Catch their attention!
Flyers and posters have to shout, grab and hold your attention. If they’re just wallpaper you haven’t done your job right.
We also give you three weekend projects to encourage you to get started. Our suggestions for graphic design were:
1. Design a T-shirt for a local band
2. Redesign the logo of a well known high street brand
3. Get Yourself Published!
Approach a business that you know and offer them some free design -
SMALL BOOKSHOPS
Independent bookshops are increasingly a dying breed. Figures from the Booksellers Association showed that 102 shops closed across the UK in 2009. With competition not only from the internet but also from supermarkets and the new e-readers on the market place is it possible for a small bookshop to survive in the 21st century?
Local author Glenn Patterson set out to investigate just what is happening in Northern Ireland’s book retailing world.
His first stop was in Londonderry to speak to Peter McKenzie. Peter ran his book shop Bookworm for 30 years before having to close in 2008 and now runs his book business on-line. He spoke to Glenn about why he had to close and what he thinks the future is for independent bookshops.
Next it was off to Bangor to see how second hand book shops are faring. Jim Townsend, the owner of Bookends, has been in retail for a long time but only opened his book shop in 2003.
Finally Glenn headed for Belfast to Northern Ireland’s only specialist crime book shop- No Alibis. David Torrans, the owner explains how the book shop doesn’t just sell books but also holds events as well.
In the studio, Donna and Joe discussed the situation with Ronan O'Donnell. Ronan has worked for a large bookshop chain and is currently the manager of an Oxfam bookshop. -
LEIGH ALDERSON
This week's Art Space profile covered the work of dancer Leigh Alderson.
Leigh was born in 1986, and is a ballet dancer, model and actor from Portadown, Northern Ireland.
He began dancing at the age of seven at The Donna Whitten Dance School, and later The Susan McMillan Ballet School. After training with both teachers for three years, Leigh went on to the Royal Ballet School in London for eight years training.
After graduating in 2006 and up to 2008, Alderson danced with the Scottish Ballet. He danced in Page's Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, Pastor's Romeo and Juliet and In Light and Shadow, Brown's MG the Movie and Forsyth's Artifact.
In March 2009 Leigh signed with a Dublin based model agency. This year has seen him appear in the film Streetdance 3D, and sign with the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada, New Brunswick. -
MARTIN BYRNE AND QUIRE BELFAST LGBT SINGERS
For the last in this series of Art Space, music came from a collaboration between beat-boxer Dr Lilt (aka Martin Byrne) and the Quire Belfast LGBT Singers. They chose to perform the Bill Withers classic "Lean On Me".
Martin Byrne has been involved with a wide variety of different musical genres. He's been a heavy metal frontman with the bands Lotion and Hexxed, played soft accoustic folk guitar, and under his alias Dr Lilt has remixed tracks, receiving airplay on BBC Radio 1. He's also performed in the Queen's University Ensemble, and can be seen regularly performing at open mic nights around Belfast.
Quire Belfast LGBT Singers formed in April 2005 as an initiative to set up a singing group to perform at the Belfast Pride Festival celebrations in August that year. Around 15 people came to the first meeting - many of whom still sing with Quire.
Quire became an independently constituted arts organisation in 2007. With the leadership of their first musical director, Evan Ferrar, Quire soon grew from strength to strength, performing in 2006 with Gloria, Dublin's Lesbian and Gay choir, at their concerts in Belfast's Waterfront Hall and the National Concert Hall in Dublin.
When Evan had to say goodbye to Quire (and Ireland) for professional reasons in the Summer of 2006, the group welcomed a new Musical Director, Ross Anderson, and Assistant MD, Jonny McMillen-Patterson. Ross and Jonny have directed Quire ever since.
Quire have performed throughout Ireland, at community events large and small, as well as staging their own concerts in 2007 and 2008 in Belfast's Black Box as part of the annual Outburst Queer arts festival, and at The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival.
Quire's repertoire is varied, ranging from traditional to musical theatre, pop and classical. The group describe their main focus as being on singing and performance.
Credits
- Presenter
- Joe Lindsay
- Presenter
- Donna Legge
- Producer
- Simon Miller
- Executive Producer
- Mike Edgar
