They will be showing their print works created in response to asking ‘What is your individual identity’. The works will also showcase new techniques and skills they have acquired over the last twelve weeks as part of their studies.

The students have been exploring the possibilities of displaying their prints in the atmospheric spaces of the Belfry and North Gallery and the exhibition promises a new and creative use of Sir John Soane’s elegant architecture.

The show will open on Thursday 2nd May from 5pm to 9pm as part of the First Thursday programme.

It will be open daily from Friday 3rd May to Sunday 12th May from 3pm to 6pm.

Artists:

Ivy Aubynn, Lenka Cachanova, Nongaya Doody, Elitsa Harbova, Ryan Prince, Pandora Burns, Jennifer Ranirez, Andrea Bigy, Gursharon Sondh, Bonnie Reyniers, Louise Rowe, Konstantinos Panagiotakopoulous

Curated by Emma McGuire

The difficulty in trying to keep this perspective on a funeral and not allow it to turn into a battleground of competing public judgements was very much in the forefront with Reggie Kray’s service and I am reminded of it as the preparations begin for Margaret Thatcher’s funeral.

She, of course, was a politician and not a gangster. But, equally, she was clearly loved by family and friends, clearly elevated to mythic proportions by those who share her ideology and despised and hated by those who, most particularly, suffered the ill-effects of her decisions. Her rule as Prime Minister and the legacy she has left still requires debate and assessment. But her funeral should not be used as a tool of that debate: neither by those who publicly celebrate her death, nor by those who share her politics – both are equally guilty of showing disrespect and bad taste.

Personally, I would have been much more comfortable with a funeral at her local church and a Memorial Service at St Paul’s at a later date for those who wanted to make a more public statement about what they saw as her achievements, because this nearly-State Funeral cannot but give the appearance of affirming her policies. Do not forget that she declared that working-class families, attempting to defend their jobs and their communities were ‘the enemy within’. Such language not only resulted in the level of violence shown by the Police in the Miners’ Strike, but also created the context for the cover-up that took place following the deaths of 96 Liverpool FC supporters at Hillsborough – in which my own parishioners died. Consequently, the Established Church of England will not be representing the whole community, as it should, nor even the vast majority – as it did in the Royal Jubilee Service at St Paul’s.

This is the same Church of England that was branded ‘Marxist’ by the Thatcher Government because of its defence of the poor and excluded of this country in its 1985 report ‘Faith in the City’. In truth the report was not at all left-wing in its theology or its conclusions, but it demonstrated a compassion that did not fit with the hard-line economic and social policies of the time. David Sheppard, Bishop of Liverpool through that period, was clearly seen as one of those Marxists and yet – in my eyes, at least, as one of his more troublesome clergy – he seemed rather to be part of a traditional establishment that was appalled by Margaret Thatcher’s attempts to undermine our social responsibilities to one another. This was not Marxism, but Christianity – the essential values of a national church that tried to minister to the whole of the community: rich and poor, the elite and the marginalised, and get them all to acknowledge our common needs and responsibilities.

What I found most difficult at Reggie Kray’s funeral was nothing to do with expressing the feelings of families and friends about the death of this human being, but dealing with those who wanted to live off the myth by participating. It felt as if every bouncer in the East End needed to be part of the 150-strong security group, vying for attention on the tv cameras with their official ‘RKF’ (Reggie Kray Funeral) badges, to establish their hard credentials for life. I sense something of the same with Margaret Thatcher’s funeral and, once again, I say that using a death in this way is just as disrespectful as those who have celebrated publicly.

As it happens, as a Prebendary of St Paul’s Cathedral and part of the formal structure, I have an invitation to attend. I won’t be going – not because I think this will have any effect, but because – with the views I have expressed above – I think it would be hypocritical and I don’t want to be in the company of those trying to turn a funeral into a political argument. I would, however, urge my fellow Prebends, whether they agree with my politics or not, to think very carefully before they accept. In spite of its mistakes last year, the Cathedral tried to show that it was not just on the side of the bankers against the Occupy demonstrators; what will this service say to those communities who were described by Mrs Thatcher as ‘the enemy within’, and who are now – in her legacy – losing benefits, public services and homes?

May she rest in peace.

Join us for a special opening night on Thursday 4 April from 6pm to 9pm.

Exhibition opening times:

11.00am – 5.00pm on Saturday 6 April, Sunday 7 April and Saturday 13 April, Sunday 14 April

For more information please contact Alex McHallam on 07751880247 or email alex_mchallam@hotmail.com

Visit the Community Art Room page on this site for more information about the regular classes.

An exhibition by Interact, on 7th March and 14th to 20th March

“Multiculturalism is Dead.” Or is it? Nicolas Sarkozy certainly believes it is, and David Cameron has claimed that it has failed. Do the young people of today’s Britain agree?

The youth-led organisation Interact are giving young artists aged 18-30 a platform to express their views on these controversial political opinions. From Indian to Irish, UK natives to international migrants, these artists will discuss whether they believe multiculturalism exists by reflecting on their own personal experiences on cultural diversity and integration. This exhibition, in partnership with the British Council, will reflect on the current status of multiculturalism in the UK and in Europe more widely.

The exhibition opens on the 14^th of March from 6pm-9pm.

The event is FREE and all age groups are welcome, with nibbles and drinks available. If you can’t make it on the 14^th, then the exhibition will be open daily from the 15^th-20^th of March.

“Multiculturalism is dead”, Preview
7th March 2013
6pm-9pm 

Our First Thursday preview will display a series of works, which have been made in collaboration with three London-based professional artists. Thirty young individuals have taken part in a workshop and created pieces, which visually express their feelings towards the theme. Working in mosaic, screen-print and photography, this series will introduce the topic of our theme in preparation for the full exhibition opening on Thursday the 14^th of March.

We are very pleased to host ‘Death and Mourning’, an exhibition of recent photographs of death and loss by students studying at The University of Greenwich.  

It is easy to forget that death comes to us all, but whether we like it or not, our existence is unquestionably finite. In fact, the one thing, and perhaps the only thing that we can be sure of, is that we are going to die.  Photography is by definition, a melancholic art. Photographs refuse to forget, they cling to the image of the past as if their lives depended on it. Thus, to take photographs of death and the void that death uncovers, can only be critical.

The exhibition opens with a Private View on 7 February from 6pm – 9pm

Exhibition opening times – Thursdays to Sundays 11pm – 4pm

In a contemporary take on the traditional nativity play, they are presenting an installation of audio and text in the Belfry during the week leading up to Christmas.

‘Welcoming the Child’ takes inspiration from Hugo Ball’s surrealist ‘Simultaneous Nativity Play’ in order to think through questions of textuality and performance in relation to the nativity play as a central although not-exactly-canonical feature of the landscape of western theatre.

Visitors are welcome daily at any time from 17.00 – 21.00 and also for matinee performances on Sundays from 11.00 – 13.00.

The winter nights are long and dark and the church’s stone floors breath out cold vapours. Wrap up warm, or bring a blanket! Wander around the vestibule, belfry and gallery, haunted by manifestations of moving images, interventions and performances and entwined with the smell of incense. Then settle down in a pew and cast yourself adrift in the films and sounds of haunted landscapes and haunted seas.
Warming winter drinks will be served on all days from 6pm.
Curated by Sarah Sparkes.

Image from Sharon Kivland’s film ‘Reisen: the smoke of steam trains’ 2011

Programme
December 6th 6.00pm – 9.00pm
First Thursdays Opening Night

Exhibition of audio-visual installation and performances throughout the venue and continual screening of Haunted Landscapes, a selection of artists’ short films in the nave of the church.

December 7th 6.00pm – 10.00pm
Adrift
A special programme of live soundscape performances and film screenings including an edited show reel of international films, “Haunted Sea” first shown at Folkestone Triennial 2011in the main body of the church. Exhibition and performances throughout the venue.

December 8th 2.30pm – 7.30pm
Exhibition of audio-visual installation throughout the venue and continual screening of Haunted Landscapes, a selection of artist’s short films in the nave.
7.30pm: GHost selects John Carpenter’s The Fog for a Phantasmagloria Film Night.

(note: there is an entry fee of £4.00/£2.00 for the Fog screening)

www.host-a-ghost.blogspot.com

ARTISTS
Tymon Albrzykowski, Nick Baxter, Inez de Coo, Phillip Goodman, Romeo Grünfelder, Victoria Haviland, Birgitta Hosea, Calum F Kerr, Sharon Kivland, Ellen Lake & Chris Green, Mario Lautier Vella, Arabella Lee, Hayley Lock, Joanna McCormick, Amy McDonough, Jude Cowan Montague, MYSTERIUM, Anne Robinson, Eva Rudlinger, Sabine, Schöbel, Stasis 73, Pauline Thomas, Sally Waterman, Neil Wissink

Exhibition open 1 November to 30 November

Thursdays and Fridays: 6pm to 8pm

Saturdays: 12noon to 5pm 

We are pleased to welcome Pedro Pires to the Belfry at St John on Bethnal Green.

Pedro is a Portuguese artist based in London who has taken inspiration for his solo exhibition from the following text by Gonçalo M. Tavares:

“If there was an electricity to make the dark appear, just as there is an electricity to make light appear, the number of possibilities would double, but it would also double the monthly bill. …To give the deserved importance to the darkness, it should be a necessary act to switch it on. One only gives importance to what has a cost: switching on the darkness and paying for it, it is urgent,” thought Mr. Juarroz, just a second before bumping his knee against a table. “Who turned the light off?” Yelled an irritated, Mr. Juarroz.

M. Tavares, Gonçalo (2004), O Senhor Juarroz, Caminho, Lisbon.

www.pedropires.pt

Artist Eleanor Wemyss will help you explore the church in a new way using a range of different and unusual materials. ‘Lines’ will be at the heart of the experience with plenty of space to express yourself.

At the end of the afternoon the results of your efforts will be displayed in a large puzzle and mobile displays!

The workshop is free and suitable for all ages and abilities.

Musicians from London’s pioneering world and jazz ensemble, the Grand Union Orchestra, and an East London choir that moves the heart and lifts the soul, the Sanctuary Voices, are joined by music makers and singers from all ages and cultures in this joyful musical celebration of the true spirit of  Black History Month.

The concert is free – book your place on:

http://tradingvoices.eventbrite.co.uk 

‘Trading Voices’ is supported by Tower Hamlets Arts and Events.