Latest 7 magazine

Latest 7′s Nick Aldwinckle takes us through the highs and lows of the Hove Festival 2008 in… Norway

View of the beach from the festival

To describe the small island of Tromøya, off the South coast of Norway, as stunning is an understatement. Beautiful fern woodland, majestically craggy rocky terrain and a sandy (not to mention oddly sunny) beach looking out to the North Sea make it one of the prettiest music festivals in Europe. In the middle of summer, it never quite gets completely dark as the midnight sun plays tricks on the mind. Add to this a strong line-up of bands both established and making their first steps in the music biz along with the standard array of weird and wonderful stalls, tents, film and art installations and general hijinks and you have the recipe for a memorable week long festival.

Read on for photos and reviews of 4 days of live music »

Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain 1650-1930. A major exhibition at Brighton Museum, featuring the Royal Pavilion

The Long Gallery, The Royal Pavillion

Chinoiserie is an exotic style which has gone in and out of fashion for centuries. Is chinoiserie the new chic? This summer’s current focus on all things Chinese may herald a major resurgence in oriental influence in homes across the country. Chinese Whispers shows how it has been done before – by those with lavish amounts to spend, as well as people of more modest means – and inspires people who want to have a go at it today.

“You won’t see a prettier show this year than this visually sensuous survey of decorative art”
Richard Dorment, national art critic

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Hutch is the latest Brighton artist to be taken on by Art Republic

With 20 odd years experience in screenprinting and stencil-based artwork, Hutch has decorated walls, canvasses, t-shirts, and pull prints for fellow street artists.

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Katie Glass dons her cowboy boots and rodeos way out west with photographer Poppy de Villeneuve

If the stereotypes are to be believed then the Mexican border of the Lone Star State is not a place you go to make art.

Traditionally, the no-man’s-land where the Texas border meets Mexico is more likely to evoke images of redneck cowboys, trailer parks and J.R. from Dallas, than of creative and political communities, ripe with artistic inspiration.

But for her first solo show – ‘This is a story of hope and we are all characters in it’, displayed earlier this year at London’s Paradise Row Gallery – Poppy de Villeneuve ventured beyond the cowboys and cattle to discover a collection of people as interesting as they are diverse. And as unique and surprising as the area they represent.

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