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Local artists will be making their way to St. Aubin tomorrow to sell their work and raise money for 24 local charities, while spreading plenty of kindness.
Every Friday, Express presents a selection of online and offline exhibitions, performances, workshops, events and other historic, creative and delicious content to help islanders get their weekly dose of culture.
Here’s this week’s offering…
This year’s Kindness Festival, which takes place on Saturday 4 September at St. Brelade’s Parish Hall, will have a distinct artistic touch to it.
Local painter Brian Clarke, who organised the event, has reached out to fellow artists willing to donate their work for an Affordable Art Fair which will aim to raise funds for 24 local charities.
Several have answered the call and will be bringing their work to St. Aubin tomorrow, where Brian himself will have 106 paintings on sale between £20 and £240.
He said the fair will not only be the opportunity for artists to help raise money for some good causes but also to clear out some space in their studios, admitting he had up to 90 piled up in his.
“We know lots of people have been busy creating art during the lockdowns and the pandemic restrictions, so it will be very exciting to see what’s out there and It’ll be a great opportunity for artists to show some of their work after a very quiet 18 months and to help some local charities at the same time,” he said ahead of the event.
Pictured: Brian hopes the fair will help raise money for 24 local charities.
A number of other activities will also be available during the event, including face-painting, a crime-busting competition, music, oxygen healing, with cakes and other goodies up for grabs, with local musicians taking to the stage to entertain visitors.
The charities taking part will also be bringing games, arts and crafts, books, equipment demonstrations, a raffle and even the opportunity to enjoy a ‘pat’ with a therapy dog.
“Kindness is the strongest possible proof of our common humanity,” Brian said. “Anthropologists believe it’s the evolutionary key to human-kind’s survival and development over many thousands of years. Kindness was very evident especially during the early months and lockdowns of the covid-19 pandemic, and I believe it’s alive and vibrant right here in Jersey in 2021.
“The charities at the Kindness Festival are proof of that but we can all perform acts of kindness, with no thought of a return. We can all help to change the world, one kind deed at a time, one act of kindness at a time, and if the Kindness Festival motivates us all to do that a bit more, then the day will not just be fun, but worthwhile.”
CLICK HERE for a full list of the charities involved, their activities and where they'll be stationed.
Aureole Music's online community choir has released two sea shanties to celebrate the island’s “wonderful” maritime and fishing community.
Members of the local sailing, surfing, fishing and other maritime communities feature in the mash-up, which was recorded earlier this year.
The aim of the recordings is to help raise money for Healing Waves and Wetwheels Jersey - two charities which “give access to the ocean to vulnerable islanders and giving everyone the opportunity to do what everyone can do” as Nicky Bowley, who leads Aureole with her husband, explained.
The Alliance Française is launching a new online conversation class for all Channel Islanders. The one-hour class will focus on discussions about history, culture or lifestyle, and will also give students the opportunity to learn more about the islands and meet new 'neighbours’.
The Alliance, which is hosting an open day on Saturday 4 September between 10:00 and 16:00, has also announced its new calendar of cultural events, which will include a Cineclub, kicking off on 17 September with ‘Antoinette dans les Cévennes’, a monthly pub evening at the Blue Note Bar starting on 24 September, as well as Culture Talks and workshops for kids.
Pictured: Jersey Post commissioned Lauren Radley to create the set of stamps.
Local artist Lauren Radley has illustrated a set of 12 stamps, each honouring one of the island’s parishes.
The layout of each stamp contains a scroll with the parish name incorporated into the design. The background shows the shape of each parish and features stylised elements and landmarks belonging to each of the parishes.
“There is something so special about a map; everybody has a place that they can relate to and has a fondness of, and if I can bring some joy by capturing that love and nostalgia of a place through an illustration, then that makes me very happy!” Lauren said.
The stamps are available from all branches of Jersey Post to use on local letters along with six stamps for UK priority self-adhesive stamps.
CLICK TO ENLARGE: Local artist Russell Layton created a digital version of John Singleton Copley’s famous painting out of fish-shaped pixels.
Local artist Russell Layton has given a fishy twist to John Singleton Copley’s famous painting ‘The Death of Major Pierson’, which is on permanent display at Tate Britain and regularly features on Jersey bank notes.
His ‘Battle of Jersey’, which is up for sale at Private and Public Gallery, is a digital remastering of the original painting painstakingly created with thousands of coloured pixels.
Upon closer inspection, the pixels reveal themselves to be tiny fish motifs, inspired by the French fishing fleet’s recent incursion into St. Helier harbour in protest at what they perceived to be unfair treatment by the Government in respect of their post Brexit territorial fishing rights. Click the photo above to enlarge it and explore the details.
Award-winning choir Musical Originals will be at the Town Church on Saturday 4 September at 18:00.
Under the direction of Imogen Nicholls, they will perform works ranging from Mozart to Arvo Part, with Sean Frost, organist at St. Clement Danes Church on Fleet Street performing preludes by Buxtehude and Karg-Elert.
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