Tuesday 19 June 2007

Impressionists by the Sea - Royal Academy Exhibition

7 July - 30 September
This exhibition explores the origins and development of the fashionable contemporary beach scene from the early 1860s to the early 1870s, in the work of Eugène Boudin, Manet and Monet. It looks at beach scenes of the 1880s, in which the Impressionists, notably Monet, turned their backs on the depictions of people and used their new approach to painting to capture the effects of weather and light on the coastline.

Monday 18 June 2007

Willersey Village fete - Performers wanted

Willersey village are looking for performers and musicians to work with children / families for their village fete on August 27th. Interested parties please contact Jenny Bond on 01386 853430

Thursday 14 June 2007

Win a weekend break at Farncombe Estate

An all-inclusive weekend photography course at the beautiful Farncombe Estate in Broadway, and three sets of family tickets to the Malvern Autumn Show, are to be won in a competition organised by Destination Worcestershire. The competition, running throughout June and July, invites people to capture their favourite images of the county – so don’t forget to take your camera out with you this summer.

Entries will be judged in three categories: landscapes and gardens of Worcestershire, family days out in Worcestershire and iconic Worcestershire buildings. Ten of the best pictures in each category will be chosen by local professional photographers and will be featured in a special competition gallery on the Destination Worcestershire website (www.visitworcestershire.org). The images will be displayed throughout August to show visitors what a wonderful place Worcestershire is, and what a wide array of attractions the county offers.

Web browsers visiting the site will then be invited to vote for their favourite picture and the photographers with the most votes in each category will win tickets to the Malvern Show which is held at the Three Counties Showground on 29-30 September. The Show attracts more than 60,000 visitors, all keen to enjoy a feast of country life, with flowers, fruit and vegetables, exquisite crafts and traditional fayre, countryside pursuits and quality shopping, set in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty.

The photographer with the most votes overall will also win the grand prize of the weekend photography course at Farncombe Estate at Broadway. The winner will be tutored in the art of digital photography by a professional photographer and enjoy full-board accommodation set within 300-acres of privately owned parkland.

With an abundance of beautiful countryside and glorious gardens in the county, budding David Baileys won’t be short of interesting subjects to focus on. A leisurely walk round Witley Court, Bodenham Arboretum or Croome Park will provide you with plenty of inspiration for capturing pictures. There are flowers galore at the Dutch style Gardens of Hanbury Hall, Spetchley Park Gardens and Eastgrove Cottage Gardens. If you are feeling energetic, you could walk up the Malvern or Lickey Hills and zoom in on some stunning scenery.

There are literally dozens of places across the county offering great days out and fantastic photo opportunities and you can find full details at www.visitworcestershire.org. The website also provides information on places to stay, eat and shop and many more exciting things to see and do across Worcestershire. You can also call 01905 728787 for further information.

If you would like to see your photo on the Worcestershire website, and have a chance of winning the competition, you should send your image(s) in jpg or gif format to tourism@worcestershire.gov.uk.

Ivan Knezovich, Chairman of Destination Worcestershire said: “Residents of Worcestershire are very fortunate to have such beautiful countryside right on their doorstep. Just a quick look at our website will show that we really are spoilt for choice as there is so much going on and so many places to visit. With another glorious summer predicted this is a perfect time to get out and about, enjoy some superb scenery, watch the local wildlife and explore the county in which you live and work while at the same time getting some fresh air and exercise. Our photography competition is a great way of getting people to record their experiences and show others what they are missing. It will be interesting to see their images and a nice addition to our website.”

Competition for Outstanding Amateur Pianists 2007

You don't have to be a professional pianist to make it to the stage
Do you have this passion for the piano? Do you practise in the evenings and at the weekends just for the sheer love of it? Have you dreamt of performing on stage in front of an audience but never thought it was possible? If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then this is the competition for you!
There are two categories – CLASSICAL and JAZZ – with a winner in each category. All you have to do is choose the category you want to enter (that’s the easy part!) and then submit a 15-minute recording of your piano playing. You might find yourself up there on the stage performing in the finals to a packed house. (Imagine how impressed your friends and family will be!)
This year we have some fantastic opportunities to offer our winners: the Classical winner will be invited to perform a movement from a concerto of their choice with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Jazz winner will perform with Julian Joseph and his band at a top London jazz venue. The winners performances from the finals will be broadcast on Classic FM and the Jazz.
Six finalists will be invited to perform at one of London’s most prestigious venues – Cadogan Hall, in November 2007, in front of a distinguished jury including Jamie Cullum, Julian Joseph, Piers Lane, Noriko Ogawa, Jason Rebello, Martin Roscoe and Gwilym Simcock.
More details and how to apply from www.thepianists.co.uk

TAKE PART IN A NEW CHANNEL 4 PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES



RENEGADE PICTURES are looking for a number of exciting and talented contemporary photographers from all disciplines and backgrounds to take part in a new CHANNEL 4 arts series, HOT SHOTS.

From an open online competition in conjunction with the photography website FLICKR, the UK’s most exciting undiscovered photographers will be asked to take part in a challenging new photographic competition.
Over three weeks filming in August 2007, the selected photographers will undertake a series of assignments, testing their skills in a number of different photographic genres. Their work will be assessed by world-famous members of the photographic community, amongst them photographers, buyers and curators. Only one photographer can win the overall competition.
If you are interested in hearing more, and think you could be the HOT SHOT we are looking for, email your name, email address and a contact telephone number to: photos@renegadepictures.co.uk

NOTE: Applicants must be over 18 and have not have earned more than £30,000 from photography in the past 12 months.

Monday 4 June 2007

RSA NATIONAL STORY COMPETITION

Brief
Scientific advances that have the capacity to significantly alter existing concepts about what it means to be human are at the forefront of current ethical debates. Recent issues such as cloning and stem cell research are examples of science pushing against our traditional beliefs about nature and those human characteristics that define our ethical boundaries. How far do we want to go in altering our current sense of what it is to be human?

Can we imagine a world where people are able to choose from a menu of enhancing techniques – intelligence, physical strength, disease prevention, age extension among others and so define their lives? What would life be like in such a world? What ethical dilemmas might it raise?

Prize
£1,000
To be presented to the winner at the RSA conference on Ethical Futures scheduled for November 2007. The winning entry will be showcased at the conference and in the RSA Journal.


Entry criteria

The competition is open to anyone who is not a professional writer or video producer (i.e. anyone whose main paid activity is writing or video production is not eligible)
An entry form is not required
Written entries should be in Microsoft Word format and multimedia presentations should be sent on a CD to:
Dr Sandra Wint
RSA
8 John Adam Street
London WC2N 6EZ

Entries must be original and unpublished – this must be stated on the first page (see item 7)
Entries must be sent electronically to: sandra.wint@rsa.org.uk
Entries must be a maximum of 2000 words or 10 minutes in length
Winner only will be notified
Please submit your name, contact details and story title on the first page of written entries and a separate file containing the same details should be sent along with multimedia presentations.
Only one entry is allowed per person


Closing date for entries: 30 June 2007

Still Life exhibition at Hanbury Hall


School Road, Hanbury, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire
Saturday 9 June – Saturday 15 September 2007

Visitors to Hanbury Hall can enjoy an artistic delight with Still Life, a unique exhibition that takes its inspiration directly from its stunning 18th century surroundings.

Completed in 1701, Hanbury Hall is a homely William & Mary style house, famed for its fine painted ceilings and staircase. The stunning 20 acre garden, recreated in keeping with the period of the house, is surrounded by 395 acres of parkland, with beautiful views over the surrounding countryside. Fascinating features within the grounds include an orangery, ice house, pavilions and a working mushroom house.

It is the hard work, attention to detail and imaginative energy behind the scenes at Hanbury Hall that has provided the inspiration for Still Life, and it is within the industrious spaces surrounding the immaculate gardens that the exhibition can be discovered. The participating artists have taken inspiration from the painstaking backroom work that is needed to create the serene beauty of the perfect garden landscape. They explore the sense of calm and well being that comes with the harnessing of nature into a perfectly ordered garden space – and what happens when that order is challenged.

The magnificent 1740s Orangery will be the starting point for the exhibition, which will then carry visitors through groves and old orchards, along walled gardens and down a tunnel, before arriving back at the main house. Visitors will experience new and existing works by the participating artists, including a blossom snow storm, majestic swans and giant weeds. The exhibition will form a loose narrative, which will be carefully interpreted.

Participating artists include:

Daphne Wright, an Irish born artist, currently living and working in Bristol. Her visually stunning work has been exhibited in Limerick, New York, Buffalo, Cork and Boston.

Jane Prophet, a Birmingham born but London based artist whose large scale works reflect her interest in science, technology and landscape. She has worked on a number of internationally acclaimed projects that have broken new ground in these areas.

Roger Hiorns, a Birmingham born artist who now works in London. His work disrupts the viewer’s perception of the boundaries between representational and non-representation. His work has been exhibited in Los Angeles, Tate Britain and at the Royal Academy of the Arts.

Paul Morrison studied at Goldsmiths' College 1995-98. Since his first solo show in London in 1996 he has shown widely in the UK, Europe and the USA.

Meadow Gallery was developed and established in 2001, producing site sensitive temporary outdoor exhibitions in stunning surroundings, and commissioning new work that empathises with, and yet challenges, the unique surroundings of its working environment.

Previous exhibitions have been held at Burford House, Ludlow; Mappa Mundi, Hereford and Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire.

This is an opportunity to experience a unique art exhibition, specifically inspired by the landscape of Hanbury Hall. It is an opportunity to enjoy a house and garden steeped in history and to combine that with a magical exhibition that takes this history as its inspiration, and therefore can only been seen and enjoyed in its original environment.


Hanbury Hall (National Trust), Nr Droitwich, Worcestershire

Opening Times -
Gardens: From 18 to 30 June Sat-Wed 11am to 5.30pm
From 1 July daily 11am to 5.30pm
From 1 to 15 Sept Sat-Wed 11am to 5.30pm
House: Sat-Wed 1pm to 5pm. The National Trust shop and tea-room are also open.

Gift Aid admission* -
House and Grounds: Adults £6.80, Children £3.40, Family £17, Groups £5.30 each (for 15 or above visitors).
Garden and Grounds: Adults £4.50, Children £2.25, Family £11

* Including a voluntary 10 per cent donation; visitors can however choose to pay the standard admission prices which are displayed at the property and at www.nationaltrust.org .uk
Standard admission applies to groups.

For further press information:
Contact Esther Blaine on 07910 487 856 or email: estherbmarketing@aol.com

Farncombe Estate Centre's Fan Box

Where to find us and what we do

Farncombe Estate is situated just outside the Cotswold village of Broadway. We are approximately 50 minutes from Oxford, Birmingham and Bristol and easily located from the M5, M40 and M42.

There is a direct rail service from London Paddington to Moreton in Marsh which is our nearest rail station. To help rail travellers we offer a return taxi collection service from the station.

For a location map and further directions please visit our website.