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The Artists Open Houses (AOH) have been an integral part of the May festivities since 1982. Even today, other cities and towns have struggled to replicate the phenomenal success of Brighton.

“This year we’ve got 243 houses (houses, flats, studios, churches, etc) and about 1300 artists,” says Judy Stevens, co-ordinator of AOH. Read the rest of this article »

BRAG
Brighton Rock Artists Group (BRAG) evolved from a group of artists who attended a workshop with screenprinting legend Chuck Sperry. The silkscreen music poster tradition still thrives in the USA today and is illustrative of the symbiotic relationship between music and poster art. Here in Brighton, BRAG hope
to reinstate the tradition of handcrafted, collectable, promotional works of art.

BRAG, Fairtrade Gallery, 26 Montague Place, 07990 511576. Until 30 April Read the rest of this article »

You may have noticed a series of display units dotted along the pavement of Brighton seafront, inbetween the piers, looking especially magnificent when illuminated at night… Wild Planet features 80 of the most spectacular images taken from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year – the prestigious annual wildlife photography competition that has done much over the years to promote the extraordinary diversity of wildlife found on our planet.

“The team that manage and develop the competition felt that there should be a new format,” says Sharon Ament, Director of Public Engagement at the Natural History Museum, who organised this touring exhibition that will visit a number of other locations in the UK over the next few years. “Brighton was the right place to start this tour, especially the seafront location.”

Each large-scale image is captioned with the story of how they were taken, alongside insights into the species captured on film, with the aim of inspiring and educating a new generation of wildlife photographers, nature enthusiasts and the general public alike.

“The Natural History Museum is there to help people understand and care for the natural world,” says Sharon. “You get a sense of empathy for the natural world when looking at these images.”

The photographs are free to enjoy throughout the day and are illuminated at night for people to view while taking an evening stroll along the promenade. The remarkable ‘Starling Flock Above West Pier’, taken by James Warnock, while the West Pier was still standing, seems to sit perfectly comfortably alongside the remains of the real West Pier, just a matter of yards away. More incongruous, but just as fantastic, is Jeff Yonover’s underwater elephant image (pictured).
And Sharon’s favourite?

“The Dalmatian Pelican,” she says without hesitation. “I’ve got a picture of it in my office, looking at me. It’s an image of the bird waking up, its one eye opened looks wise and knowing, and checking up on me!”
Wild Planet, King’s Road, Brighton. Daily, with exhibition lit from dusk until 11pm at night. Until 26 September.

Platform X

Platform X is a series of short residencies where an artist or group will be given the space to develop and present an exhibition, performance, event or other public ‘outcome’. The first residency is by painter Max Mosscrop, who experiments with forms and process to generate compositions. His vibrant geometric works are created through a playful use of rules and systems.
Platform X: Max Mosscrop, Permanent Gallery, 20 Bedford Place, 01273 710389. 2-11 April

Compost Pictures

Coming to prominence as a fashion photographer in the ’90s, Nigel Shafran’s attention has since shifted towards a
more intimate relationship between the photographer and the photographed, as seen here. A Photoworks exhibition in partnership with Charleston.
Nigel Shafran: Compost Pictures
2008-2009, The Charleston Trust, 01323 811265. 2 April-13 June

Plant Portraits

Plant Portraits is an exhibition of paintings by botanical artists that convey a plant’s technical form and structure as well as its beauty in ways that a photograph cannot. Flowers, fruits, vegetables and fungi are shown in such a way as to invite the viewer to appreciate the finer qualities of nature’s works of arts.
Plant Portraits, Booth Museum of Natural History, 01273 292777. 2 April-24 Sept

Modern Times

Curated by Lutz Becker and featuring works by over 80 artists including Frank Auerbach, Joseph Bueys, Louise Bourgeois, Alberto Giacometti, Paul Klee and Jackson Pollock, Modern Times explores the recurring tension between figuration and abstraction throughout the 20th century, and the ways by
which ideas and concepts evolve.
Modern Times, De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-sea, 01424 229111. 3 April-13 June