Category Archives: Uncategorized
Hello 2013!
Well here it is – a brand-new year, with new ideas, new projects and of course, the inevitable website overhaul … bear with us as we prune, rake and plant. We will be back soon with the latest from the edge of Brighton. Beware – may contain biodiversity, kites, beehives, wildlife corridors, happenings, wind and perfume! Happy 2013,
Your friendly Involuntary Park Rangers, CiCi & Johanna
We are moving studios …
It’s all change here at Involuntary Park HQ as we’re moving into a temporary studio space, sprucing up the big project gallery space at BLANK Studios and are generally shaking things up! While we’re in flux, please send any post or other ‘real stuff’ to Involuntary Park c/o Studio One at BLANK – our street address and email contacts remain the same, see contact page.
Involuntary Park residency at Foredown Tower & Camera Obscura
Coming up in July 2012: an Involuntary Park residency with a double-bill of courses at Foredown Tower & Camera Obscura, a unique water tower structure located on the edge of the South Downs. CiCi will be teaching a series of workshops entitled Wearing the Downs, while Johanna is offering her course Painting in the Landscape. See flyers below for details, and for all bookings, please contact Jayne Routley on 01273 422632.
White Night Festival Brighton & Hove takes a year out in 2012
We’re very sad to hear that the fabulous city-wide White Night festival has been put on hold for 2012 due to funding cuts. This is a real shame, as the hugely successful and completely free all night arts festival had developed into a major cultural event and much loved date in Brighton’s busy arts calendar over the past 4 years, with thousands of people taking part. In 2011, it boasted over 70 separate events, and many Brighton artists and arts organisations [including your friendly Park Rangers here at Involuntary Park] dedicated a significant amount of their time and resources to make it all happen, creating extraordinary and inventive experiences and art works. However, the organisers at Brighton & Hove Arts and Creative Industries Commission say that they will take a year out to re-assess funding possibilities for the festival to take place in the future. Roll on White Night 2013!
Further information:
White Night website
Involuntary Park’s WN event in 2011
LAST weekend of THE EXCHANGE
Deer Feeding Station Cafe at THE EXCHANGE
Don’t miss the LAST weekend of THE EXCHANGE!
Have homemade delicious food in our Deer Feeding Station Cafe, and come and swap workshops for stuff.. something you can do? Because it’s the last weekend we are specially interested in people who can swap songs, dances, jokes, music! For our art? But anything is good with us… just tempt us..
Saturday workshops are:
11:00-15:00 (drop in)
Facilitator: Parliament of Feathers
Screen Printing workshop -Print your own t-shirt!
12:00-13:30
Facilitator: Veronica Walton
Dowsing for Health, Missing Objects & Geopathic Stress- have a go at dowsing!
12:00-14:00
Facilitator: Charlotte Hyde
Shoulder, hand & neck massages (short drop-in sessions)- a massage & a cup of tea?
14:00-15:00
Facilitator: Eva Weaver
Glass Walking- Could change your life!
15:30-16:30
Facilitator: Johanna Berger
Urban Deer Hunting-a workshop in drawing and watercolour sketching- Guided in-situ painting in Portslade.
Urban Deerstalking in Portlade – Artists Open Houses blog post by Peter Chrisp
Urban Deerstalking in Portslade. Map by Johanna Berger, Involuntary Park 2011
Peter Chrisp took part in the Involuntary Park stalk last week and has written about the experience in his blog for Artist Open Houses:
“Last Thursday, I had an intriguing invitation from CiCi Blumstein to go Urban Deerstalking in Portslade. As part of this year’s HOUSE festival, we would set off from Blank Studios on ‘a hunt to catch sight of the legendary Portslade deer.’
We got to the studios at 6pm and had a free glass of wine. CiCi, and her fellow deerstalkers, Joseph Young and Johanna Berger, told us that they’ve declared the whole of Portslade an ‘Involuntary Park‘ – an urban area reverting to an overgrown, feral state. We would be stalking metaphorical deer, emblems of wildness, regeneration and creativity. We would also have to develop an inquisitive, alert ‘deer sense’.” … Peter’s blog continued here …
Urban Deerstalking in Portlade – Deer Corner, Involuntary Park 2011.
Photo: Johanna Berger
What is Art Worth? A short symposium about value, art and exchange
What is Art Worth? A short symposium about value, art and exchange
As part of THE EXCHANGE at BLANK, Involuntary Park present a 90 minute symposium on the value of art in the age of austerity. Three short presentations looking at value and art from a personal and political perspective will stimulate debate and conversation as we unpick how art and artists operate in the global marketplace; look at alternative models of exchange as an art form in an historical context; and how improvisation in art acts as a model for equal exchange, posing a challenge to current value and power structures.
Presenters: Johanna Berger, CiCi Blumstein and Joseph Young.
Saturday 21 May, 18:00 – 19:30
£5 / £3 concs (including a complimentary glass of wine or juice).
Tickets available from:
“Urban Deerstalking in Portslade” this Thursday
This Thursday 12th May at 6pm, come on a short trip with us as we take you on a hunt to try and catch sight of the legendary Portslade Deer.
Meet at Blank studios, 108 North St Portslade. BN41 1DG
Tickets available from http://www.brightonticketshop.com £5 / £3 concs (inc a complimentary glass of wine)
Involuntary Architecture & Lebkuchen Houses
The scene today in the IP studio, after architects and lecturers of the Architecture course at Brighton University came to see us to discuss plans & possibilities for the Portslade Project – a great meeting, resulting in some excellent ideas and Involuntary Architecture …
Architect-devoured Lebkuchen House
Involuntary Park 