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Directors ChoiceIan Dejardin, Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery, writes about some of the paintings in the permanent collection.
With wit and intelligence, Ian gives us at times sublime, at times hilarious, insights into the nature of the pictures and the artists behind them.

By Iain Betterton, manager of Dulwich Picture Gallery’s shop.

Scala’s new Director’s Choice series starts with Ian Dejardin’s personal tour through the permanent collection at Dulwich Picture Gallery. The series aims to be a refreshing new approach to re-examining already well known and loved bodies of artwork, through the eyes of those who have ultimate responsibility for their upkeep, display and interpretation.

Ian is better placed than most Directors for the task, having been Curator at Dulwich for many years before taking over the hot seat. His choice of 40 works from the collection contains some of the major works, a few lesser known gems, and some complete surprises. Those who assumed there was little else to know about the Dulwich collection ought to think again, and be prepared for some, at times sublime, at times hilarious, insights into the nature of the pictures and the artists behind them. Continue Reading »

Sexercise

By Erica Green, fitness and lifestyle coach

No need to feel guilty watching Wimbledon, your exercise can come later.

Illustration by Tahra Morton

Illustration by Tahra Morton

“20 minutes of moderate sex burns about 93 calories – about as much as a couple of sets of doubles tennis.”

Does sexual activity count towards the Governmental recommendations of 30-50 minutes of exercise 3 to 5 times a week? Continue Reading »

We know that there are a lot of you out there and many of you read Dulwich OnView. Anne Shelton was a Dulwich resident for many years and her niece, Kelly Richards, is organising a tribute concert to be held in Eastbourne at the end of July. Kelly writes:

Poster for The Not Forgotten Anne Shelton Tribute Show31st July 2009 will be the 15th anniversary to the day that Anne sadly passed away. The world not only lost one of the greatest female singers that England has ever produced, but also the most kindest, loving lady that one could have ever met. I thought that it would be a fine tribute, to such a fine lady of song to produce a show in her memory, and in celebration of her life, and what better than to add to that a 1940’s theme?

The next step was to produce the show for a worthwhile charity, as Anne spent so much of her life working for all sorts of charities, and was well known in the show business circle as a great fund raiser. There are so many worthwhile charities that deserve so much support, but the one that I felt would be most appropriate for this show is the Not Forgotten Association which is a charity for disabled ex-servicemen and women from all conflicts from WW2 to current day warfare. This also is the charity for which Continue Reading »

And now the nudes

Suddenly, life drawing is trendy. Classes have sprung up across London; Radio 4’s Front Row investigated the phenomenon, and Channel 4 has run ‘live’ life drawing classes in the afternoon, with artists like Maggie Hambling providing the expertise. Dulwich, of course, has long been ahead of the curve, as Anna Sayburn explains.

I went along to one of Dulwich Picture Gallery’s popular life drawing classes for three consecutive evenings last year, with tutor Luke Jones. Not having picked up a pencil since school, it felt like a bit of a leap, but I was curious.

One of my life class drawings

One of my life class drawings

The class was a mixture of art students wanting to brush up their drawing, amateurs improving their skills, and a few beginners, like me. However, as we went round the room introducing ourselves and our experience, I felt surprisingly nervous and out of my depth.

I needn’t have worried. Everyone was friendly, and far too immersed in their own work to have time to laugh at my efforts. I began attempting a charcoal outline of the model’s lovely curves – only to be told by Luke to avoid lines, and to attempt to model the body with patches of dark and light, shade and highlight.

Much harder, but eventuallyI began to get the hang of  it. It felt closer to modelling in clay than drawing on paper, as we moved quickly through some five minute ‘warm-up’ poses – for us or for the model, I wondered?

One surprise was how quickly one got over the slight shock of seeing an adult stranger standing naked before a class of people, all gazing intently at her. Continue Reading »

Old Flames: a poem

Dawn Kozoboli is a local writer who loves swimming at the Brockwell Lido, soaking up the sun at the side of it, and like many others, is inspired by the water, the open space, and the people there.

Illustration by Rosa Goodman

Illustration by Rosa Goodman

‘Some come to swim, some to sunbathe, some to mend broken hearts and some you can see are just about to have their hearts broken….’

He, the visiting Eurocrat,
She, the linguist queen at home.

She loves the Lido for
being uncomplicated,
regal in its simplicity:
just get in and swim.

Paradigms
of every kind
they just float away.

No tense
but the present,
the only aspect
- this.

Grief may be around the corner; Continue Reading »

From Frankenstein to Reggae sauce, the first Sydenham Arts Festival celebrates a fine artistic heritage, with a panorama of events running from Friday July 3. Festival Director Jonathan Kaufman took a few minutes out of his hectic schedule to tell us more…

DOV: Where did the idea of a Sydenham Arts Festival come from?

Jonathan Kaufman

Jonathan Kaufman

JK: The festival grew out of the highly successful Independent Booksellers’ Week at Kirkdale Bookshop last July. We had six or seven events over a week and at the time said: ‘Next year we’ll have an arts festival!’

From this small seed, word soon got round and before we knew it Lewisham Council were funding us and we had created a committee of volunteers willing to help. It’s the first year we’ve done anything like this, though Sydenham Music stage their International Festival every year (and have done successfully for ten years).

DOV: What type of festival did you want it to be, in terms of style and atmosphere? It seems quite varied and with a big emphasis on community involvement.

JK: The aim of the festival was always about celebrating local artistic talent – there are so many actors, artists, musicians, writers, dancers and poets in the area that it was natural to make that the focus. We do have some performers and participants coming from beyond, but the majority live in SE26 or SE23. Besides that we have striven to make the festival diverse, with wide appeal, and something for everyone, young and old. Continue Reading »

Local glass artist Sue King talks to Dulwich OnView about her work and her studio in south London.

As I sit here writing in my study, I can’t help casually glancing* over out of the window and admiring the striking glass sculptures in my next door neighbour’s garden. That’s because I live next to Sue King, an artist who creates these stunning pieces of fused glass. So I went to pester her and find out how she does it.

Sue works using thin strips of coloured glass which, when laid out flat on a sheet of clear glass and then fired at temperatures around 800° C then fuse together, to create these seamless and mesmerising pieces.

Continue Reading »

An unbelievable range of people benefit from education programmes at Dulwich Picture Gallery

There are art workshops for refugees and asylum seekers, literacy through art programmes for very young children, art for older people, storytelling for young primary children, art with drama for primary children, Learn Together Art Club for parents and young children… to name but a few.
And there is a very wide range of public courses too, covering all age ranges and aspects of art.
Images speak louder than words and there are 11 of them below, and more in the coming weeks.  

For more information visit the Education pages on the DPG website
Article about the Youth Club project ‘Kennington Kids: Raw Urban’

The Blue Elephant Theatre in Camberwell has collaborated with Sweet or Sour to present Short Cut(s)/Catharsis, a double bill of performance art which showed last week.

shortcutsLaverne Hunt talked to the director and one of the actors, and went to the press night.

Catharsis depicts the personal quest of a disgraced man for rebirth through a series of choreographed rituals and visual confessions. Blending live projections, introspective movements with ambiguous written and spoken words, this performance art piece explores the themes of redemption, inner struggles to regain dignity and self-esteem.

Illustrator Daishu MaShort Cut(s) is a performance installation inspired by the Ancient Greek and Medieval theories of The Classical Elements. Referring to R. Altman’s film, Short Cuts, this experimental piece re-interprets some of D.H Lawrence existentialist poems through movement, spoken words and multimedia to explore the feelings of isolation, resistance and the constant fear of alienation experienced by 5 lost souls condemned to wander eternally in the Abyss.

The Blue Elephant is tucked away in a side road off the Walworth Road. On arrival you are welcomed by a dimly lit contemporary bar  hung with illustrations from past and present.

I had been invited to interview Bronwen Sharp, a Dulwich based actress. She has a fresh and sweet personality full of enthusiasm Continue Reading »

To Ulaanbaatar or bust!
To Ulaanbaatar or bust!

The Mongolites, aka Oscar Park and Harry Donnelly, are driving 10,000 miles in an old Citroen Saxo to raise money for street children in Mongolia.

As part of the Mongol Rally 2009 the spirit of adventure has certainly guided two young chefs Oscar Park and Harry Donnelly’s approach to fundraising. From a Poker Night at Dulwich Tennis Club, a Krispy Kream Sale at Dulwich College to an Art Auction at Tapas Restaurant No 22 and Swishing in St Barnabas Church Hall, The Mongolites (as they dub themselves) are inventive fundraisers.

Swap your Designer Clothes!
Swap your Designer Clothes!

Have you discovered Swishing?  Swishing is the green way to acquire designer clothes. For conscience-free ethical shopping you swap your designer clothes at a Swishing Party. Oscar and Harry organised just such an event  in St Barnabas Village Hall. For those who didn’t make it there is the facility to swish online.

The Mongolites depart Continue Reading »

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