Creativity is pouring out of everywhere........long may it continue.

 A damp late night art last week it was good to still see people out and about supporting the event, now we are supposed to be gliding into a couple of months of quieter gallery activity but as I sit down to make up the list from this week it really does not feel like it. I managed to see Warning this is Contemporary art gallery that opened recently and it makes a good edition to the Belfast art scene and we will all be looking forward to what ever it shows next. It shows there is an appetite for more experiential work shown in a contemporary commercial space. The rain slowed me down somewhat on Thursday but Michael Harts exhibition, Spectrum showing at Queen Street Studio gallery stood out as a really good  small contained well resolved exhibition. Michael has been given the artist of the week slot on the site as a result of it. I brought two people around the galleries that had not visited most of them before and once again they were surprised by the breath and  standard of the work. Not realizing there was so much Art activity going on locally. We just have to shout about it more. The Art college degree  and MFA shows  opened on Friday, I can't comment yet as I leave it to go this week rather than wade through opening night. But there should be a wide selection of every discipline.  On until next Saturday and open late on Thursday night. Before I do go I wonder if creativity has all become too specialized ? It something I've been thinking about for a few years and came into the forefront of my mind again this week when noticing that a section of Leonardo De Vinci's drawings are to be shown at the Ulster Museum. In his time a creative person could move  freely between artistic disciplines painting, sculpture and why not invent a helicopter? all outpourings of a creative mind. If he was alive now and going through our present art school system what would he come out as? in my opinion he would certainly have less opportunity to work a cross disciplines.

Anyway onto this week:

Exhibitions coming to an end:

• Open shutters Iraq @ Belfast Exposed 15 June
• Temporary art repair shop, Tobios Sternberg 23 June
• University of Ulster Degree/MFA shows 16th June 
• Things that fall in between @ R Space 16th June
• Melanie Woolley @ Art Tank Gallery 21 June
• 10 x 10 Firsty @ Sync Space 15th June
• Walled garden Sculpture exhibition  @ Bangor Castle 30th June

Belfast Book Festival starts today

Tuesday

• A year of life,death and Survival in Afghanistan, by Kate Fearon , talk /Book Launch at Crescent art center
• Conflict /Alan Ingram at Belfast Exposed talk 2-3pm

Wednesday

• Commemoration / Hazel Francey @ Belfast Exposed talk 2-3pm

Thursday

• Collecting / Sara Bevan @ the Golden Thread gallery talk  2-3pm
• Pop up gallery, Selected Cathedral studios artists   Sinclair House, Royal Ave 6-9pm
• Recovery, Sharma Yee @ ADF 6-8pm
• Vuillard Sichet @ Naughton gallery 6-8pm

Friday

• Remembering ,Triona White Hamilton @ The  Golden Thread gallery talk 2-3pm
• Martin Clayton senior curator of prints and drawings at the Royal Collection @ Ulster Museum talk 12-1pm £2
• Leonardo De Vinci 10 drawings from the royal collection @ The Ulster Museum
• Fenderesky gallery open 2-5pm

Saturday

• Draw on Life, drop in dressed model art class, Northern Bank building 11-5pm
• Janet McClean curator of European Art at the National gallery of Ireland  @ Naughton gallery talk  11.30
• Fenderesky gallery open 2-5pm

Sunday

• Naughton gallery open
• Ulster Museum Open
• Culturlainn open

Gossip and other:

Platform arts are looking for new co directors, Shan Mc Anena  of the Naughton Gallery has become director of The festival at Queens and Ben Crothers is keeping the place ticking over  while she is away. Catalyst arts is looking for members proposals for their up coming exhibition in the Waterfront.The Belfast film festival is over for another year the applications are open for this years RUA. This as usual has caused a bit of chat on the forum part of the site. Over the next month or so I'm going to be researching members to get their opinions on developing the site further, there will be an opportunity to  say your piece so please do. The Conor and Lowry exhibitions are down at The MAC and Eithne Jordan's  small works are being installed opening on the 22nd June . If you have anything broken Tobias Sternberg in Ps2 is looking for objects to turn into  sculptures so take the opportunity, it's quite a workshop he has built in the space and it is interesting to see what he has completed so far. The Caldwell gallery are doing something different for their summer exhibition having it off site. I went to an exhibition in Newtwownards Art center  last week on a wet day and was very disappointed, the Olympics is not supposed  to push art out of any space yet there was an exhibtion of NI sports heroes, all photo display boards and TV's that were not working, all this in their main exhibition space it was very disappointing. Just as well so many other exhibitions were not. ;-) its nice to be home and great to be in Belfast. See you all out and about or online.

Love and Light

Bronagh lawson

www.creativechangeni.com

twitter@creativchangeni