Aire Place Studios is a not-for-profit, Leeds-based Creative Studio, providing exhibition opportunities, low cost workspaces as well as a Community Hub which focuses on giving a platform to artists and creatives who wouldn’t traditionally have had such opportunities.
The two current exhibitons are being presented online and can be seen here: https://www.aireplacestudios.com/events-exhibitions/
Postcards Exhibition:
“Our project idea centres around community engagement and creativity during these challenging and unprecedented times, in which many creative practitioners are struggling with the financial and practical implications surrounding COVID-19. This process of creative documentation and community engagement appeals to us as a means of cataloguing our community’s thoughts and fears, messages of hope, and general experiences at this significant point in our history.
We have specifically chosen to communicate the project and its responses through postcards because of their tangible form, in a time where the world has become increasingly reliant on virtual, two-dimensional connections. The postcard as a souvenir of an experience, a communication tool, and as a memoir of our connections with the physical world echoes our intention to document and archive.”
Print It Exhibition:
“Mixed exhibition, intended to showcase fantastic works from local, regional, national and international artists. It includes work from a mixture of disciplines and media. At Aire Place Studios we hope to reflect the creativity and diversity of artists, as well as providing an important opportunity for artists to exhibit their work to the public. Our intention is to broaden the public perception of art.”
Dear all,
Dedication Friday is an invitation for you to send in your music dedications. The song you love and wish to share with others, a time to reminisce, to dedicate in memory of those we have lost, and a dedication to family and friends maybe. A wedding or divorce tune… Or just a little something for you!
Dear all, I have been sent someone’s view from their window this morning. Slightly obscured by the dense snow filled air with just the building in the forefront visible. Can anyone guess where this might be? And I am sure the snow is thicker on the ground by now.
Keep safe everyone.
I wish I wasn’t frightened of my own voice because then I could spend all day on social media talking to people I don’t know.
Which, at a time when old-fashioned personal contact is mostly outlawed, would mean I could make a contribution to combating the loneliness and anxiety which is supposed to be the main curse of the lock-down age, even more so than thousands of people dying prematurely, which we don’t like to think about.
My problem is that I don’t distinguish, in terms of difficulty, between talking, texting or ‘proper’ writing; any use of words is a serious business to me, so that I can take 20 minutes to fill in a birthday card. An internet conversation involving me would be made up mainly of long pauses and the only message people could take from it would be that my broadband needs fixing,
I’ve not been able to join in the great socially-distanced virtual hug we’re all supposed to be giving ourselves because, as well as my own voice, I’m frightened of strangers (plus, although it’s not immediately relevant, coat hangers, ironing boards and brassicas).
This is why I find it difficult to get involved in conversation with parcel deliveries, bus drivers, barbers, general practitioners or lost people desperately seeking directions. I know this is wrong but shyness is a terrible thing, not because it makes you unhappy, but because it makes you, in many situations, near-useless.
But although shyness is generally a bad thing, unrestrained self-confidence, as demonstrated all over the net and on radio phone-ins, can be equally problematic, by which I mean absolutely dreadful and isn’t it a pity that all the recent huge advances in popular communication have cumulated in Donald Trump?
This shouldn’t have happened because most of us have access to countless sources of information and opinion and, to quote Areopagitica, John Milton’s great tract on freedom of speech, ‘Let Truth and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worst in a free and open encounter?’
Which might have been true when it was written in 1644 and when I studied it at A-level a few years later, but now Truth looks tattered and vulnerable; after taking a beating from 20th century totalitarians it’s had to deal with 21st century PR companies, sneaky politicians, conspiracy theorists and the incessant shouting of people who want to drown out every version of truth but their own.
Milton, thinking truth had a pure and unassailable quality, would have been quite floored by the discovery of Trump’s advisor, Kellyanne Conway, that there are such things as ‘alternative facts’, which mean the result of the US presidential election can be whatever you want it to be.
This makes things difficult because when Twitter bans Donald Trump from spreading lies and inciting violence, and Donald Trump Jnr responds by tweeting that ‘free speech no longer exists in America’ I’m not sure where the very small Ariopagitica Support Group should stand.
But I’ve decided that Junior’s statement, published in every corner of America, should probably be dismissed as self-contradictory.
Jack frost had paid a call, The morn was all a-glitter. Icicles dangled from frozen gutters, The day was cold and bitter. Greetings of "good morning " Came from here and there As the hardy left their houses, To face the freezing air. I heard familiar sounds Echoing around our street, Neighbours scraping windscreens And stamping frozen feet. Clouds of exhaled breath Rose up to the sky, As if ghostly, silent steam trains Were slowly drifting by. The sound of engines running, As people warmed their cars. It was the communal defrost, Beneath early morning stars.
sourced http:/ www funnypoemsforlife com
Never seen a ComedySportz match before? Two teams of comedians go for gold with quick-witted gags and games inspired by your suggestions. It’s the all action, all improvised competitive comedy show for all ages you don’t want to miss. Who wins? YOU decide!
ComedySportz have been entertaining audiences of all ages since 2001 with their unscripted, unpredictable and unmissable brand of competitive comedy. In 2021 they’re keeping you laughing in lockdown with interactive online shows that can be watched on any device.
“…a non-stop stream of gags, sketches and general hilarity.” Lancashire Evening Post
“…skilled and funny with a remarkable ability to think on their feet.” Three Weeks ****
“Kids enjoyed the interactive nature of the show and were in fits of giggles all the way through.” Netmums
“…quick, witty, sometimes ingenious, and more often than not – just down-right silly” Yorkshire Times
Shows are every Wednesday and Saturday at 7pm GMT and last approx. one hour:
Find out more on http://www.comedysportz.co.uk/shows/ or watch on the youtube channel https://youtu.be/ep84hWQvkhU
Dear all, below are the answers for yesterday’s Monday Mind Workout that was themed around the New Year.
1.The first ball to be dropped in New York’s Times Square happened in what year?
a. 1908
2.The first time that January 1st was celebrated as the beginning of a new year was in 153 B.C. when the Romans moved the first month of their calendar back to January. For what reason did the Romans do this?
a. To coincide with elections of the two highest ranking Republic positions.
3.In 567 A.D., the Council of Tours prohibited the recognition of an official New Year. Why did they do this?
b. They disliked that the date was originated with pagans.
4.What famous Frank was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, on January 1, 1938?
b. Actor Frank Langella
5.In 1583, what event returned January 1st as the observation of the New Year in Europe?
c. The institution of the Gregorian Calendar.
6.The lyrics of the now-traditional New Years song “Auld Lang Syne” began as a poem set to the tune of a much older Scot folk ballad. Who wrote the poem?
b. Robert Burns
7. On January 1, 1877, what happened to Queen Victoria of Britain?
c. She got stuck in her throne, requiring three hours of manpower and twenty pounds of butter to get her out.
8.On January 1, 1906, the government of the Netherlands
made what law?
a. Mandatory licenses required for driving engine-powered vehicles.
The Libraries and Community Hubs are mostly closed at the moment but there are a number of online events happening with Leeds Libraries including Family History workshops (and individual telephone consultations), Tracing your Carribbean Ancestry, Hidden Histories, Yorkshire Cricket and more.
For a full list and how to book: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/leedslibraryevents
