This is, of course, the rightlion, by Tony Cassidy, www.flickr.com/photos/tonycassidy/428424569/

Today’s Roundup won’t be mentioning GameCity (because we covered it last week) nor Christmas (nuff said).  It will however be drawing your attention to:

Fancy writing about art or culture?  We are always interested in potential new bloggers, drop a line to editor@creativenottingham.com.  If you are an artist or running a creative business and you would like to be a Guest Blogger over a fortnight, drop us a line to the same address.  If you fancy reviewing theatre or comedy for the great local publication LeftLion, have a look at their job description.  Note that you will be paid the same as for writing for Creative Nottingham.

If you think you will be inspired by the technology at GameCity (oops) and you want to explore your inner electronic designer first, get down to Hackspace on Saturday for the Arduino (no, I don’t either) Boot Camp.  To cover the costs, the tickets are £43.05, and you will need your own laptop.

If the virtual reality of GameCity (but note, no Father Christmas reference) is not to your taste, how about surrealism?  NTU’s Professor Lei Cox has assembled the fruit of 26 years of investigation into achieving surrealism in a free exhibition at the Bonnington Gallery in town. The exhibition entitled Twenty-six years later (a journey into fiction and back again) runs until 11 November and new photographs, new video installations and some retrospective video and photography pieces.

Finally, does your auntie live in Erewash? If so, that might be enough to get you priority treatment when you apply for (small) funding as part of the Art in Empty Shop Scheme for Long Eaton and Ilkeston, the rEive initiative.  More details from Creative Greenhouse, with contacts and application information – deadline 4 November.

Editor: one out of two isn’t very good.  New blogger next week, please.

Image credit www.gamecity.org

It’s nearly time for Game City folks! Nottingham’s annual digital gaming festival is on its way and its packed schedule includes a 90s retro games night, Q&As, film screenings, premieres of new games and talks from industry leaders.

We blogged about the headliners when they were announced in July, but here are some of the events that’ll be going on over the festival’s duration.

Last Thursday, Game City announced that Eric Chahi, creator of the classic game Another World, would be hosting My Dinner with Eric. This 5 course dinner (in collaboration with ncn’s Head Chef, Thomas Edwards) will be a celebration of Eric’s contribution to digital gaming expressed through molecular gastronomy.

My Dinner with Eric will take place at Antenna on 26th October, from 6-9pm, as part of Eric’s Bootcycle festival takeover. Tickets cost £25 and are limited, so sign up now. Either email adams.restaurant@ncn.ac.uk or phone 0115 910 4510 (between 9am-4pm). A £10 deposit is required to guarantee a seat.

And on Friday 28th, Comedian Charlie Higson will be judging the Fear Friday writing competition. For the past two weeks young horror writers have been penning short stories on the theme of “The scariest Friday ever…”. The winning entry will be read by Charlie himself during a special “The Fear” event on Friday 28th October, starting at 7.30pm.

The winning entry will also be published in the Nottingham Post and on the Game City website.

And don’t forget the Zombie Pageant, also taking place on 28th October, where if you put on your best undead fancy dress, you could be in line to win the title of Mr & Mrs Zombie. Dr Sketchy’s Anti Art School will be hosting, and they’ll be setting some spooky challenges for you to take part in.

For more information about the schedule for this year’s festival, visit the Game City website, or follow Game City on Twitter @gamecity.

Photo: Aaron Lee

If you’ve not heard of GameCity, Nottingham’s annual celebration of digital gaming, then welcome! Every October Nottingham turns into a giant playground for adults and children, industry professionals and curious bystanders alike.  The festival has been running since 2004, and in that time has grown to become the world’s premier family-friendly gaming fest. Encompassing venues across the city as well as (in recent years) the most amazing tent you’ve ever seen, each year director Iain Simons and his band of organiser-elves create something bigger and better. From Sonic’s birthday party, through wall sized projectors hosting 45-person multiplayer games, to incredible artistic and moving events under the Council House dome. Well, last Thursday the headliners were announced for this year’s festival, and it’s looking pretty good:

Eric Chahi

Creator of classic game, Another World, Eric will be taking over the festival for one whole day.

We’ll be handing over the keys to the festival for the entire first day, resulting in a wonderful medley of Chahi-focused events; there’ll be a Director’s Commentary of Another World, a behind the scenes look at From Dust, a rotoscope workshop and a presentation on the volcanology studies that helped shape From Dust.

Richard Lemarchand

Director of the chart-topping Playstation series Uncharted will be on hand for the whole week, featuring in a number of events, including leading fans through the whole Uncharted series in a one-off Creator’s Commentary.

thatgamecompany

If you were lucky enough to be in attendance of their last GameCity event, you’d agree it was pretty special. If not, this is what you missed:

So far, no event has come close to the emotional outpouring resulting from GameCitySquared’s performative playthrough of Flower. Creating a large scale projection beneath the dome of Nottingham’s Council House, audience members were showered with real petals as the mesmerising visuals and hypnotic soundscape left everyone in a state of pure bliss.

This year, Producer Robin Hunicke will present a late night, large scale projection of Journey, thatgamecompany’s follow up to flow and Flower. This looks set to be our most visually stunning event ever. Do not miss it.

Amanita Design

Amanita Design founder Jakub Dvorský will be on hand to unveil the upcoming and highly anticipated Botanicula and Samorost 3 which we were very privileged to get the World’s first look at during a previous GameCityNights event. We are really excited to be hosting the UK premiere of Two-time Academy Award Winner Jan Svěrák’s enchanting new film, Kooky, on which Jakub was lead designer. Using puppetry and live action, Kooky is both an inventive, thrilling family adventure and a celebration of the childhood imagination.

Ian Livingstone

Ian is one of the co-founders of Games Workshop, the Nottingham-based international giant of tabletop gaming. He will be penning an entirely new work of fiction for the brand-new GameCity magazine, of which not a lot else is known at this stage…

We’ll definitely cover other announcements as they crop up, but for now, pencil into your diary the week of 25th-29th October. It’s going to be a lot of fun…

Photo: Phil Campbell for Media Camp http://mcnotts.weebly.com/index.html

So, it’s Monday morning and you’re trying to clear that groggy feeling following the Mansfield Road beer festival. There’s something you should be doing – work? Probably. But something else. Ah yes, it’s getting yourself a ticket for Media Camp  or, better still, booking yourself a slot to present at Media Camp 4.

For the unitiated, Media Camp is a one-day event for anyone wanting to share experiences of using digital and social media and to explore new technology, challenge understanding and look to the future. The Creative Nottingham iphone is champing at the bit to find out more about LoveFre.sh and I did hear a rumour that there’ll be a repeat performance of the last Notts Girl Geek Dinner talk about Facebook and privacy – well worth a watch if you can get there.

So, the details. Well, it takes place at Lace Market House, 10-5.30 and it’s free! But if you can’t make it all day then there are a range of tickets for just the morning or afternoon sessions. For full details pop over to the website or, if you can’t make it, then follow it on Twitter. What are you waiting for? An Alka Seltzer and a ticket for Media Camp. Job done.

Greig Stewart laser harp extravaganza, courtesy of www.gamecity.org

It’s back! GameCityNights, the monthly after-dark, adults only exploration of videogame culture, kicks of Season Two tonight – tonight! – at Antenna on Beck Street, Nottingham. Starting 6 there’ll be a couple of hours business and networking before the fun starts properly at 8pm.

Tonight, from 8pm, you can see videogames developer and comedian Graham Goring pushing the boundaries of taste, Theremin Hero Greig Stewart is set to deliver a dazzling display of unique hands-free gaming and laser harp wizardry, pay tribute to one of history’s greatest sci-fi television shows, Time-Freeze, with Nottingham’s own sitcom spoofing artists The Megaphones and listen to One Life Left’s Derek Williams present a live Free Market Economy segment.

GameCityNights run on the last Friday of every month at Antenna in Nottingham, Beck Street, NG1 1EQ. Entry is strictly 18+ only, tickets £5 in advance and for students, £6 on the door for the general public. Due to limited capacity, pre-booking is advised.

It occurs to me that I haven’t yet mentioned the new exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary this week. It opened on Saturday and features two – count ‘em – internationally renowned artists in Anne Collier and Jack Goldstein. The exhibition runs until 27 March so you’ve got a while to check these out, or go several times, if it takes your fancy. Nottingham Contemporary, Weekday Cross, Nottingham and don’t forget (many people do) that it’s shut on Mondays.

Also opening this week is Sisyphus Rising, a new exhibition featuring works by Robert Luzar and Rachel Maclean. Sisyphus, as our scholarly Greek readers will tell you, was the chap who had to roll a boulder up a hill only to see it roll back down and have to do the whole thing over and over again. Like that scene in Ice Cold in Alex but without the beer at the end. The exhibition promises to be slightly more arty than John Mills so get yourself to Backlit (open Thursday-Sunday) at The Factory Dakeyne St, until 13 February.

Finally! So exciting to feature architecture on here! A rare treat indeed. Nottingham Trent University are hosting RIBA’s exhibition of modern architecture which features 50 East Midlands building gems from the last 50 years. So if you missed this exhibition when it was at Nottingham Contemporary last August  then here’s a second chance.

That’s it for this week!

As part of that, Sideshow, the complementary fringe cousin of the British Art Show, has commissioned three live review shows covering all the art happening in Nottingham at the moment.  The first of these shows is tonight, at the Tethervision Studio, Huntingdon Street. If you want to be part of the live studio audience, book your free place online; if you’re a little camera shy, then don’t worry, as the show will be available for free on Tethervision afterwards.

Also kicking off tonight with their official launch is Nottingham’s annual GameCity festival. GameCity is quickly establishing itself as the UK’s premier family-friendly games-as-culture event, with such delights this year as Mario’s birthday tea party, Pac-Notts (live Pac-Man through our streets), Lego stop-motion animation masterclasses, a spy party invitation, and a demonstration of game designer Keita Takahashi’s plans for his playground at Woodthorpe Park. Phew. For the schedule, clicky here – GameCity 5 runs from tomorrow morning through until Saturday.

But wait! We’re not finished yet. The New Art Exchange has got a series of events on this week, to coincide with their British Art Show exhibition and the October half-term. For the full listings, have a look at our community site. Events kick off from 11am this morning! Busy busy…

Photo by Olaf Gradin www.flickr.com/photos/gradin/1382530296/ (and, no, it is not a younger me)

MyGo – A Toyshop of Digital Art” – six new media artists take over an empty shop in the Broadmarsh shopping centre from Thursday 22 October until 6 November.  It is at the “top end”, Drury Walk.  The organisers, Engagement Party say

Presented as a toyshop, *MyGo* is a refreshing art experience which uses sound, moving image and new media technologies to create a cabinet of digital curiosities which people can interact, engage and play with.

but obviously all readers of this blog will be going along for the digital art experience and not because they want to play with toys.  That means, especially those of us old enough to remember the iconic arcade game Pong, we won’t be paying any attention to Thomas Sweeney’s “Ping (But) Pong”, a physical re-interpretion of the 70s’ classic Pong game.

Looking again at Pong will make old people nostalgic and may make young people sarcastic.  But any visitor to the GameCity festival will be amazed at how far we have come.  GameCity5, which modestly describes itself as “the World’s best-loved independent videogame festival”, runs from 26 to 30 October in Nottingham.  Like the Sideshow Art Festival described in Wednesday’s blog post, there are so many things happening in GameCity5 that only your own visit to their website can do them justice.  And keep re-visiting, or follow them on twitter: @GameCity, to keep up as events are confirmed or added.

But if the vision of Pong above has reminded you of a well-spent youth, there is one particular event in GameCity5 of special interest: Urban Pac-Man.   They say:

To celebrate his 30th Anniversary, we’re creating a huge game of Pac-Man played on the streets, alleyways, and public spaces of Nottingham City Centre

Saturday, 10.30 to 1.30, from Broadway.  Dream on!  Game on!

And with so many exciting things to do and see – it will be hard to know where to start. So we’ll try and help you out.

Nottingham is an extraordinarily creative city with great potential – most of us know it – but we need to get the message out there to prove it. There is no better way to do so, than Creative October – now well and truly under way.

Supported by Nottingham City Council, the month-long celebration covers a whole range of creative talents the city has to offer – and it’s worth giving you a reminder of just some of the events taking place during the first week.

Details of the following events can be found on the Nottingham City Council website.

• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Masterclass
• Sunday Tea Party with Jeanne Roberts
• TEA PARTY and launch of fashion and craft exhibition at Dwell
• Tour and presentation of the Nottingham Creative Business Award winners
  - Moot and the One Thoresby Street art complex
• Hetain Patel showreel
• Graphic Design – Nick Chaffe at the Train Station
• Exhibitions – John McLean Photography at Castle Galleries,
  Katrin Moye Ceramics at Stuart Thexton and Scene Photography
• Nottingham Playhouse exhibition
• Lakeside Arts Centre showreel
• Maber exhibition
• Q Byke exhibition
• Scene Photography
• Antenna Mondays, Beck Street
• Create and Celebrate and the best of Nottingham film makers
• Nicola Monaghan and Michael Pinchbeck (previous Creative Business Award Winners)
• Labels Album Launch
• Dance4 presents The Featherstonehaughs: Edits
• Artful Minds – Art Exhibition
• Creatively Confident
• Oxjam
• You Minx Window Exhibition
• Local Designers Market

If you want to put your own creative talents to the test, look out for events that are part of THE BIG DRAW.  The Campaign is taking place in 20 countries around the world. It aims to encourage and connect visitors to museums and gallery collections, urban and rural spaces – and the wider community – through the medium of drawing in new and enjoyable ways.  A very worthwhile mission – so look out for opportunities to join in.

Presenting a nostalgic reflection on memory and history, ‘UNNAMED’ is the new Exhibition by Yelena Popova, at the Lakeside Arts Centre, Wallner Gallery. (See picture).

A Russian born artist now living and working in Nottingham, Yelena is currently a second year student at the Royal College of Art (MA Painting).

Open until Sunday 7th November, opening times can be found on the website.

A reminder that Monday 4th October is Wine Tasting Night at Antenna.  See the Antenna website for further details.

First of all, it is of course the Food and Drink Festival starting TODAY, Thursday 23rd. With celebrity chefs aplenty, cooking demonstrations, and many free and paid events, there’s surely something to sink your teeth into (groan!) so don’t forget to pass by the Old Market Square before the festival closes on Sunday.

Also happening throughout the month of October, Nottingham City Council’s ‘Creative October’ looks to showcase the crème de la crème (ok – no more food references, promise!) of the creative industries in Nottingham. As such there are plenty of things happening which we here at Creative Nottingham will shout about as soon as we get the info – so if you’re planning something for Creative October, get in touch! Currently confirmed are  a bevy of showcases from the Hive, Nottingham Trent University’s enterprise development unit:

It’s going to be an exhausting few weeks!

Image courtesy of GameCity

Hot on the heels of our recent update on all things game-related in Nottingham, we hear that some of the details of next month’s GameCity5 have just been announced. Soon after the gathering of game gurus at the G5 Summit (and a little after a CreativeNottingham insight into the inner workings of this high profile festival) the news is in about the events, activities and encounters due to take place around the city from 26 to 30 October.  This sounds like something special both for fervent enthusiasts and confirmed non-gamers like me.

“GameCity is part of Nottingham Trent University’s Centre for Contemporary Play initiative and celebrates the wider cultural aspects of play in all its forms.”

Apparently the GameCity5 arena will feature a series of relaxing spaces where you can try out upcoming (but still secret) games. Over the course of the festival, celebrated illustrators will decorate each space in their own unique style.

Just a few of the special events are:

Gamesblog Breakfast - a full English and the chance to talk all things videogames with hosting by Guardian Gamesblog correspondent Keith Stuart and a different special guest every morning.

Adam Saltsman in action - children get to inspire this celebrated games designer with their own character designs and plot ideas. He’ll then work non-stop to create an original game using as many of the suggestions possible and you’ll be able to play the final game.

Pac Man Lyon/tea party - play the world’s biggest game of Pac Man around the streets of Nottingham via GPS and celebrate your adventure at a special tea party!

Join the LEGO Universe! - play Lego Universe before it’s released or have fun with the real life version. 

OpenGameCity - this set of tools will be launched to allow you to share and shape your experience of GameCity.

Plus we hear there’ll also be a world exclusive performance of the soundtrack from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - performed by its composer, comedy, a stop motion film workshop for children, a keynote speech from a VVIP (speakers from previous years include include Parappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura, Noby Noby Boy visionary and playground pioneer Keita Takahashi and Media Molecule’s Alex Evans) and more. Watch this space…