As the global superpower of China does everything it can to establish itself as a plausible and modern nation, not only are they doing major deals with the other players in the global marketplace, but the post-industrial nation is now paying more attention to new and modern art. We all know about the antique vases and so forth, the culture of Chinese art stretches back further than most dare to look but when it comes to fresh ideas, there has been somewhat of a staple over the river of originality in past generations.


Now though, with a thriving economy and a new generation of internet users, it's impossible to rein in what citizens were putting out there. If you can't beat them then join them, or do your best to make it work in a way that suits everybody. Taking on art fairs as a status of thriving national creativity suggests that China is well and open to new and fresh initiatives which are the ultimate end goal of creative endeavours.


The Sichuan capital of Chengdu is poised to hold its premier art show and market in the spring of 2018. From April 28th to May 2nd, Chengdu city will be a hub of interests and investments as the world turns its eye on the rows of talent and ideas spewing from the corridors and shops. Magpie territory for those who like all things glamorous, original, and intellectually stimulating. Local man and co-founder Huang Yu recently announced the details of this project in Beijing.


The fair is destined to hold 30 stalls, with ten being from international artists. That leaves twenty places for Chinese talent to stand proud among the cream of what the world has to offer. Visitors to the city will also be able to explore the famous Thousand Plateaus Gallery which graces the city with permanent exhibitions of fine works. Chengdu is inland and is enjoying a prosperous period of cultural and economic growth, making it an ideal spot for this show and as a go from point for travellers who wish to extend their reach.


As Hong Kong rediscovers its heritage and adopts new principles to slowly integrate with its host nation , perhaps some of the western thought is permeating back the other way. After many years of friendly occupancy, the British mark was surely left on the small but heavily populated body of land. It's no surprise that as folk move from one place to another, their ideas and instincts for taste travel with them. The Art Basel fair that Hong Kong is famous for is perhaps a template for this new and fresh aspect to the world of oriental culture.  
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When Benedict Mason was invited to compose and perform a piece of music for the Royal Albert Hall in London, he took a fantastic opportunity to try something a bit different. Utilising the architecture and layout of the building, the artistic composer created an astonishing and submersive experience for those present.


Having worked in film in his early years, then moving onto music in his 30s, Benedict Mason has always been an experimenter. The first signs of his flair came with his use of poly-rhythmic music, then moving on to spacial awareness principles after. Some of his works have been described as conceptual art, which shows how his use of the Royal Albert Hall as an instrument makes a bit more sense.


By choreographing musicians alongside their music notation, Mason was able to instruct the orchestra to walk around the building along the weave-work of corridors feeding the stands and the main floor, to create what could only have been a magical and soul absorbing sonic experience. The show comprised of 144 musicians, all with unique instructions which they had to commit to memory.


Assigning an active role to the layout and architecture of the Royal Albert Hall was a natural choice for Benedict Mason, he's used this technique before with other well known buildings. This huge effort took three years to perfect, with experts from the Aurora Orchestra and the Chantage Choir playing their part in the delivery of the performance. Called MELD, the multi-sensory spectacle was enjoyed in 2014 as part of the BBC proms.  

​Five Must See Art Apps For Your iPad

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There is a massive amount of iPad apps for artists and art lovers, it's possible to spend a day or more simply browsing through. Most of them are fairly similar so I've done the job of finding five stand out apps that each have something unique to offer.

 
Your Art
By National Gallery of Art, Washington


A concise education in some 130+ fine works of art, providing images, details, facts, figures, and lots of background to each piece. This free app is a must have for all who appreciate the quality and cultural relevance of our finest and most exquisite paintings and artworks. The app will help you plan a visit to the museum as well as open its doors to all around the world who would love to get involved but wouldn't be able to without this software.




MoMA Art Lab
By MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art


This fancy app allows users to make amazing artworks with unique twists. It's aimed at children but it could be used by anyone. The funky and modern art inspired activities help artists to think outside of the box and form connections between creative and abstract principles. It allows saving, sharing, and also has parental controls. It's won awards for its unique ingenious nature, making it a sure bet.




Tayasui Sketches
By Tayasui.com


This ultra-realistic art app allows artists to paint, draw, colour in, and design pretty much what they want. The long list of tools are each designed to replicate the real thing, but if you're not happy with that, you can edit them yourself. With this capability it's possible to create truly personalised and unique artworks with your own settings. It supports a stylus and has pressure sensitivity, just like the real thing.




Art Guide
By Art Fund


This extensive software opens a gateway to a multitude of art that can be found across the United Kingdom. Keeping art fans up to date with all the latest exhibits, indexing all the artworks and museums available, and offering exclusive discounts through the doors, for art lovers in the UK, you can always be informed and seen at all the latest and influential gatherings.




ArtStudio - Draw and Paint
By Lucky Clan


Designed from the ground up, this fun and creative app allows users to edit photos or create their own artworks with a variety of intuitive and easy to use tools. With expert algorithms, the experience is made fun and simple, the clever technology allows the very best to come out from what users draw.  


That's the five, I'm sure there's something there for everyone. Stay tuned of course for another list sometime in the future. Have you found any apps that you like? Do put them in the comments section and I'll take a look. 

Yorkshire Sculpture Park Celebrates Forty Years since its grand opening back in 1977. The expansive green space, occupied by works of art of all shapes, sizes, and imaginary tangents continually evolves with each new wave of material. Now, four decades on, the very first and arguably the finest sculpture park in the nation is a famous landmark and popular repeat attraction for many art and walking enthusiasts.


Yorkshire Sculpture Park sits nicely between Huddersfield, Barnsley, and Wakefield, with Sheffield, Nottingham, and Leeds not in the far distance. Opened by art teacher Peter Murray, the YSP was intended to make art accessible and as the clock ticked on, it more than fulfilled this original wish. Now one of the highest regarded and most influential collections on the planet, this quiet and green corner of the north hosts multiple events and continues to bring in visitors from around the world.


Murray has said that he wanted the park to be in Yorkshire as a tribute to two of Britain's finest sculptors, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore (BBC). Bringing the three dimensional and solid world of sculpture into the outdoor environment was a brave decision, as most typically presented in museums and galleries, adorning a green hillside with various imaginative creations wasn't to everyone's taste. Although opposition from locals at the time of construction manifested with complaints about the amount of people and the practical unusuality of the situation, the park went ahead and has enjoyed prosperity and a positive impact on the local geography.


To celebrate their fortieth year in service, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park outlined a list of events with a “Weekend of Wonderful Things” recently and several new works of art placed in prominent locations. With poet in residence Simon Armitage continuing to score sculpture park themed verses, inspirational talks by Tony Cragg and Cornelia Parker, two influential sculptors, 2017 has been a bonanza year for the YSP and sets the scene for many more years of accessibility to art and cultural enrichment.   
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Climate Change Sets The Scene in Denmark this summer, and the ARoS triennial event beckons the crowds towards the museum in Aarhus, right through an urban beach and a wild forest. This fantastic location in the post-industrial township draws people in from all around to pay witness to the 140 various artworks on display. Of these several dozen pieces, twenty three of them have been commissioned especially for the show. What began in June and is due to end in September, this triple production is in the second chapter of its outlined set-list.


The European Capital of Culture has been hosted by Aarhus this year, which makes the event a little more special. The international community have their eyes turned on this otherwise humble and little known part of Scandinavia. This status increased their annual budget significantly, which has paid for a whole host of events throughout the area all year.


The theme of climate change inspired this year's title “End of times, Beginning of times”. Perhaps the idea is that we need to end our age of energy gluttony and consider more appropriate ways of living our lives. The art works on show are intended to communicate the urgency of the situation but also to inspire people to begin thinking of solutions. It's not all guilt trips and shame mongering, although I can't imagine a climate change art exhibition without it.


Placing a large amount of public and visible art in the town has been a welcome change for many residents, the cultural relevance of Aarhus has rocketed since the exhibition began. With an emphasis on nature, the environment, and progressive evolution of the way we live being the theme of many pieces, Aarhus must be quickly becoming one of the most enlightened places in the world.
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In a valiant effort to attract more minds to the long lived and vital world of construction and architecture, the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. have been running annual events. These are not just bricks and mortar attractions, no, these are innovative and fresh ideas that bring the crowds as well as demonstrate the principles close to construction workers' hearts.


This year, Studio Gang have been asked to show their stuff and make a scene worthy of the industry. And that they did. With over 2500 metallic cardboard tubes, a cylindrical utopian landscape has been crafted and placed centre stage in the atrium. Named Hive, the recycled creation stands 60 feet high and has been designed to not only look fantastic, but to also sound great too. The acoustic properties have been paid particular attention, and according to their spokesperson, the building within a building allows room for “intimate conversations and interactions” (Co.Design)


Following other acts including Icebergs from James Corner Field Operations and a Labyrinth from BIG, the Chicago based Studio Gang have continued the theme of outlandish and inspirational when it comes to making the construction industry cool.  

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All kinds of illustration and fanciful photography are gaining attention at the moment, diverse and delightful images can tell stories all on their own. Jan Pypers, a Belgian photographer, has created an online exhibition called Nightgardeners. In the exhibition of stills, nocturnal images are presented with key features and abstracted light due to the late hour. Jan asks us to invent our own backstory to each image, prompting the imagination in ways that well made art can do.


Juno has been in orbit around Jupiter for an entire year, and the craft bas been able to transmit digital images of the splendid gas giant in crisp and stunning detail. The project was mainly concerned with data that couldn't be detected with a visible light camera, so we as a whole are very lucky that one was brought along anyway to capture these fantastic shots.


Illustrator turned designer Pete Reynolds has recently been commissioned by the San Francisco Shipyard to create a selection of images that use his two primary talents to depict a story involving the location and the life that it harbours. Take a look at the work on Fubiz, then pay a visit to Pete Reynold's website.


When it comes to mixing photography and painting, Valentino Rosso has a technique and ethos worthy of being shared. By paying attention to realism but adapting the works according to the way we perceive motion and light, Rosso has brought out a fabulous and captivating selection of images that absorb the imagination.


As thinking creatively is a skill that must be learned and sharpened over time, being young is an ideal stage for getting the key skills in. By learning to think outside of the box and to apply knowledge from one area into another, we invent new channels of expression and communication. The Royal Society of Arts understand this concept and have paid particular attention to the selection of these ideal toys designed to spark creative talent at a very young and important age.  

An elegant mechanical tree is standing proud in Milan this season, the sculpted creation creates bubbles filled with smoke from its ghostly white branches. This themed installation art has an ethereal quality that gives sensations of magic and myth, albeit with the simple know-how, we can allow our imagination to wander. The fusion of textures, with the installation itself as a tree shaped down-turned fountain, the bubbles, and their contents, the display seems alluring and mystical.


The multi-sensory art exhibition is installed at the Cinema Arti, and has been co-created by London based creative pair Studio SWINE and clothing retailer COS. It is titled “New Spring”.
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