Earlier this year the Alan Sillitoe statue fund ran a competition asking for short stories on the theme of “‘What would Arthur Seaton be like today?’ (Arthur Seaton, for those of you who don’t fancy a good book, is the anti-hero of Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’) The results were announced at the Lowdham book festival in June and can be found on the Sillitoe fund’s website.

Now, the fund has opened up a poetry competition in a bid to raise more funds for a statue recognising Sillitoe’s contribution to the British literary landscape.

Full competition details can be found at the fund’s website but you’ve got a bit of time to craft entries – the closing date is 10 January 2012.

I have been searching around Nottingham for the perfect writing group. Having found several I found they were not quite what I was looking for, excellent though they all seem to be. I have particular needs – doing things for free and during the week are just two of them – so I decided that I’d have to start my own up to supplement the existing groups in Nottingham.

Where better to hold this new group than at Lee Rosy’s tea rooms on Broad Street? You’ll remember we featured Lee Rosy’s a few weeks ago and here at Creative Nottingham, we’re firm believers in the powers of tea and cake to help the flagging creative mind.

Here comes the name drop.

Lee Rosy’s has two literary associations for me – the first is that I tend to meet old Waterstone’s colleagues there for cake. The second is that during my days, running events for Waterstone’s, I sent the lovely Kazuo Ishiguro in to spend an hour supping tea and cake in Lee Rosy’s. He’s a very nice man and an excellent writer so hopefully this is the kind of celebrity endorsement everyone’s looking for.

Anyway.

I’ve never been to a writing group before – I just had an idea that I ought to get some feedback on my writing that wasn’t from my mum. I also think I need some kind of routine and a monthly kick up the backside.

The group is welcome for anyone to join and the details are:

Wednesday 7th September at 7pm, Lee Rosy’s tea room.

We have an optional homework challenge – to write an alphabet story. This is a 26-sentence story with each sentence starting with a consecutive letter of the alphabet. This one will start with ‘H’, end with ‘G’ and can contain no more than four proper nouns. It seemed like a good idea at the time – but I’m stuck on ‘U’.

For more details the group now has its own blog. Hopefully we’ll see some of you there!

“We are not lost. We are Nottingham. This is our island.”

So says the website for the first ever NOTLOST Festival, launching this summer in Nottingham. It’s running throughout most of July (1st-23rd), and aims to bring together creative groups from all areas of the arts, including music, film, theatre, design and visual arts. Its focus is very much on being an “arts” festival, rather than an “art” festival, and on promoting all art forms.

The festival involves creatives from the Nottingham area, both emerging and established, and all events are independently curated. NOTLOST is made up of more than twenty events, taking place at venues all around Nottingham. So, when you’ve eaten your fill at the Food and Drink Festival, why not go exploring and see what you find?

The rules are, there are no rules, as it were! Each gallery, artist, or group involved can do their own thing. NOTLOST simply brings all these things together. Artists benefit from cross-promotion, and visitors benefit from discovering exciting new talents.

The first event opened last Thursday with a private view, but it’s open to the public from 1 July. Entitled “Banality & Big Questions”, it’s “an exploration of the knotted relationship between the two paradoxical themes.” It’s presented by a group of artists called the 1%ers, who have been brought together from various groups and collectives by artist and curator of the event Allan G. Binns.

Banality & Big Questions is on at the Hideout, Unit 11 Fisher Point, from 1-15 July, excluding Mondays. Find out more by emailing curator Allan Binns on info@notlostfestival.co.uk.

If this event doesn’t sound like your thing, there’s plenty of other bits and pieces going on, from one-day workshops and talks to shows and exhibitions running for a couple of weeks. Why not try the Surface Gallery’s “Open Show”? Or, for the foodies among you, how about Backlit’s “gastro-performance event” at the Walk Cafe?

To find out more about what’s on, have a look at NOTLOST’s listings page, which contains information about venues, times and dates, as well as a handy map for those who (like me!) don’t know the city too well (or, more accurately in my case, have no sense of direction!).

Organised by the V&A – this highly prestigious exhibition features an exhibition by one of our own highly talented exports.  Most Nottinghamians will recognise by now the name ‘Jon Burgerman’.  He has his spiritual home here in Nottingham and is one of our most famous contemporary artists – with huge success nationally and internationally – having now found a new spiritual home in Brooklyn, New York – a veritable ‘Mecca’ for Street Artists.

Burgerman’s work will be featured in the exhibition at Nottingham Castle Gallery, starting 2 July. This is exciting news for anyone who (like me) is a huge fan of his vibrant, unusual and entertaining brand of street art.

The exhibition explores the transition street art has made from the painted wall to printmaking.  A number of satellite exhibitions featuring work from international and local artists will be at various galleries around the city – including: The Lace Market Gallery, New College Nottingham, The Surface Gallery, Switch Studios and Shrunken Heads Gallery.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see this culturally important work and get insight into how this genre has developed and helped shape British culture today.

For more information, visit the Castle information pages on the City Council Website.
Image shown is Copyright Jon Burgerman.

A week for winners!

The future is bright as Nottingham Trent University student wins top Women in Property Award. http://bit.ly/jHkxOL

Budding artists rewarded – Nottingham in Bloom winners will be presented with their prizes this Thursday. This popular competition was launched in Old Market Square back in April, with almost 1,300 photographic and paintings submissions. Well done to all who took part. http://bit.ly/jL7Zvj

Poetry profile – congratulations to East Midlands Book Award winner Mark Goodwin, for ‘Shod’ published by Nine Arches. Well done to all who entered. http://bit.ly/jL7Zvj

Eclectic cultural offers from
the New Art Exchange

Music: Reggae Vibes Night at New Art Exchange this Friday 7.30 – 11.30pm.
A chance to be part of the NAE community and take a journey through the forms of this musical genre.

Art: Walk and talk – Wednesday 29 June / 6 July / 3 August – 1.30pm to 2.00pm
A chance to discuss and gain insight into the current exhibitions at NAE.

Poetry: Blackdrop! Poetry / Spoken Word – Open Mic – Thursday 7 July, 8-10pm

Film: Stalker, (1979) (Pictured) – Saturday 9 July, 3-4.30pm. Directed by Andrei Tarkosvky.
A cult movie about the surreal and disturbing vision of the future, by the director of ‘Solaris’.

Photography: On our Reception TV – photographic portrait of Skopje and Suto Orizari – June-July 2011.

For a range of other events on at NAE over the next few weeks, visit their website for more details.

To coincide with the beginning of the glorious coming months, Nottingham City Council launched The Festival of Reading last week.  From 4 May 2011 onwards all the way to mid July, libraries around Nottingham will be hosting book readings, film screenings and talks for book lovers of all ages and genres.  The most up-to-date schedule can be found on The Festival of Reading website which also tells you about the free events and the ones you need to book tickets for.

And along with adding to your growing collection, if you want to donate some of your older reads to Nottingham’s Year of Reading campaign, then The Big Book Drop is just the thing for you. From 9 May to 10 June 2011, you can donate books in new or good condition at various locations across the city including leisure centres, children’s centres and schools. The focus is to encourage both children and adults to read more by offering free books at while-you-wait locations.

Being someone who must have a book to read at breakfast, another one for the bus, and yet another one for coffee breaks at work, I’m all for spreading the word (quite literally). While real life is exciting enough, being able to access other realms and times through the pages of a book gives me unbridled joy.  And so does the idea of sharing this with others.

Some of these responses would be best followed up by the Monty Python team – with added humour and zeal – but in their absence, I will do my best to continue this thread in ‘honour of Creativity’.

It is noted that the question of ‘happiness’ poses an interesting challenge for us all – especially in these dreary times of political wrangling, austerity and wars.  To keep our costs down, many of us have tried to seek comfort in the TV – sat with a bag of munchies and a beer – but we can’t rely on that either – there’s nothing cheery on that any more – it’s all doom and gloom. And otherwise, if I have to watch one more episode of The Sweeney, I’ll ****?!@**….!!!  

Anyway, it’s really doesn’t sit right with me, to feel so led by TV or media. Artists are very individualistic, and like to lead themselves – be it in ‘tribes’ sometimes – (don’t we?)  So, I’ve stopped watching the news and TV generally, and have started reading back issues of The Dandy to get my laughs instead – much more informative.

I’m sure that most of you out there in the creative community would agree, that creative people are often under-estimated for their valuable contribution to business, and ultimately, our impact on society.  But do you think maybe it’s because we don’t make ourselves heard enough? Do you think maybe it’s because we don’t always realise our true value either?

Without creative people where would the world be? For example, without music we could not sing or dance, express our emotions – happy and sad, anger or exhilaration – the things that help us to get through the events in life – good and bad. Without a good book to read, or a great picture to look at we might have nothing to see, ponder or inquire over – to make us feel delight or disgust!  Without video games we might never get the chance to be an ace race-car driver or fly a space ship.  Whatever it may be, we can say that everything about everything, somewhere down the line, has involved ‘creatives’ and creative deeds.

From this I have decided, that for me, the time to do something different is NOW!  To make better use of the creative freedoms I have, and investigate how I can put my ideas and practical skills to use – to enhance my life, and the lives of others.

I’ve made a start by ensuring there’s now always something good on my TV – (I don’t mean the headless Buddah – that isn’t good, that’s just bad photography!) I was going to skip my old set, but a friend of mine has improved it – and now it makes me happy, so it will stay.  Even though there is a small tear on the face of the clown, I see this as my reminder to make the most of my day.

This is also my contribution to the reuse-revolution, in readiness for the post-digital switch-off….

• Three new jobs on the Creative Nottingham site yesterday [Sunday]. Check them out:  http://www.creativenottingham.com/jobs-2/
• TODAY [Wednesday]: Market of Ideas at Nottm Contemporary, 11-4. Spontaneous exchange of ideas, secrets, music and art. Details: http://www.nottinghamcontemporary.org/event/market-ideas
• Free poetry reading, Thursday 7.30, Nottm Contemporary http://www.nottinghampoetryseries.com
• If you want to exhibit at Hackspace Party at end May, need to email them by 1 May: http://nottinghack.org.uk/?page_id=602
• Be part of contemporary performance art during NEAT, all ages, genders, abilities. Deadline apply is 9 May, details: http://www.hatchnottingham.org.uk/?p=1271
• There is a good listing of exhibitions currently on at Art Not: http://www.nottinghamvisualarts.net/artnot/exhibition/apr22/1444/evolution-stitch
• The Nottingham Festival of Reading kicks off 4 May with various events at Central Library, details: http://nottinghamfestivalofreading.wordpress.com/programm/
• Recycle our wedding outfit with Latin American flare and join the festival, 28 May, in Market Square: http://www.nightoffestivals.com/programme/2011-event/

As well as these tweets, we regularly re-tweet items of interest from the wide range of creatives and organisations we follow.  Why not join our nearly 2,500 followers?

• directly: creativenotts
• if you have an Iphone, you can get our Appwhich also makes it easy to read the blogposts as well
• and the website has the twitter feed in a box on the side.

Watch the birdie!

Do you agree with this statement – and is it possible that being more creative gives us more reasons to be happy?

A toolkit to get everyone started on the path to ‘happiness’ has been launched this week, through a new group called ‘Action for Happiness’.  And it started me thinking, about what this really means – how it might manifest for me and for my community in Nottingham. Surely, you can’t just tell people to be happy – we’re either happy already, or not, aren’t we?

Not necessarily, maybe there is a need to look at what they have to say.

I think we’d all agree that taking on new and exciting challenges makes us happier – from the pure and simple sense of achievement and pride. And so why not set yourself some additional ‘creative’ challenges to help yourself, and others.

We know that Nottingham is a creative place, so on that basis, does this also mean that it’s a happy place too?  Making lots of money shouldn’t be your main objective, and it certainly isn’t guaranteed to make you happy – but if you begin from a sense of pride and achievement, and meet new people in the process of growing a reputation for being enthusiastic and selfless – this is a good place to start.

There are plenty of creative individuals out there in Nottingham that may hold the answers. We’d love to hear what creative actions make you and others happy, so let us hear them.

Visit the ‘Action for Happiness’ website and see if you can pick up some tips for life. Get those creative ideas buzzing!

The Walk has always been a favourite place of mine – not only because of the great menu and ambiance, but also because of their quaint, tucked-away feel. Providing Nottingham with just the right combination of delicious and cosy, they have now expanded to satiate the intellect by recently launching their very own book club – The Walk Cafe Book Club

Launched in January 2011, this group is led by Pam Reader a self confessed ‘Readaholic with a passion for movies and theatre’. Along with selecting a new book every month the club also plays host to well known authors, and in the future trips and other events are being planned around these readings. The  selection is largely democratic with members getting a chance to make suggestions and take their pick from among a list of topical and interesting reads.

Having said this, the next book club meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, 31 March at 6.30 pm with ‘Nights of Villjamur’ by Mark Charan Newton as the book in consideration. In addition to this, Nicola Monaghan the award winning author will also be in attendance to discuss her novels ‘The Killing Jar’ and ‘Starfishing’, and other projects she is currently working on. Being a founding member of the Nottingham Writers’ Studio and a part time teacher on the University of Nottingham’s Creative and Professional Writing courses, Monaghan’s inputs will definitely be useful to emerging writers looking to be published.

To attend what promises to be a lively evening especially for those with a passion for creative writing, just turn up at the cafe and you’ll fit right in. If you love discussing books over a nice cup of tea or a glass of wine, then this is definitely a stop to make.