By Jasleen Kandhari

Venture on an art crawl in the ‘Land beyond the Port’ to northern France with its Flemish and Art Deco architectural settings, for Nord-Pas du Calais contains the highest concentration of museums in France. Discover artistic treasures and legacy in the cities of Lille, Roubaix, Lens and Arras.

As part of the French government’s plans to decentralise the art collections from important national museums to regenerate small cities as art hubs and increase access to important collections, like Paris’s National Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou to Metz and the Palace of Versailles to Arras, the Louvre will present two hundered and fifty of its masterpieces from antiquity to the nineteenth century in a chronological manner in the Louvre-Lense museum, opening in December 2012, reflecting the history of the empires of the Middle East, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Islam and Europe. The city of Lens has a rich mining legacy, currently under consideration for UNESCO World Heritage listing, peppered with colleries and the highest slag heaps or mining mountains.

Enjoy the buzz of Lille where the successful transformation and reinvention of unwanted industrial buildings into art spaces has resulted in a culturally vibrant city. Take the metro to the outskirts of the city to Roubaix to visit the former Art Deco swimming pool, La Piscine, built on the plan of an abbey and transformed into Roubaix’s Art and Industry Museum. In 2012 La Piscine will be exhibiting Chagall whilst the current Picasso exhibition portrays a fascinating insight into this creative genius through initmate photographic portraits through the lens of the Amercian photographer, David Douglas Ducan.

Indulge further into the history of the French textile industry at the Manufacture des Flanders Museum where the history of textile-making is narrated on a guided tour, against the sound of the historical looms and textile producing machines through the nineteenth century to the present day which still do work.

Feel history come alive in Arras at the Wellington Quarry. Located between the battlefields of Ypres and Sommes, the environs of Arras is peppered with memorials to the fallen heroes of World War 1, inclduing the Battle of Arras Memorial. Discover the underground barracks twenty metres below in limestone quarries connected by tunnels where 20,000 Commonwealth soldiers prepared for the most surprising attack of WWI inthe Battle of Arras.

Underneath the paving stones of Arras’s town squares lie Les Boves chalk quarries, now converted into a subterranean exhibition space. Until July 2012 you can enjoy the interpretation of highlights of collections from the Palace of Versailles and its enchanted gardens through displays of reproduced portraits, rotating carousels or courtly celebrations and even the famous Hall of Mirrors with Baroque music tinkling in the background.

This is part of a ten year partnership with the Palace of Versailles for visiting exhibitions to be displayed in Arras’s Fine Arts Museum. Until November 2013, the glorious historic horse-drawn coaches from the Palace will be on display, a national first. The coronation coach of Charles X to the marriage coach of Napolean Bonaparte to the funeral coach of Louis XVII transform this museum into the first external Chateau de Versailles.

Culture comes alive during festivals and October 2012 shall see the three month arts extravaganza, Fantastic 2012 burst forth in the buzzing city of Lille where excess is everything. Vibrant parades and Futuro Textiles are just some of the seven hundred arts and cultural eents which include arts, design, concerts, dance and cinema along the theme of the fantastic. There will be something for everyone so watch this space!

http://www.tourisme-nordpasdecalais.fr/

Last night unveiled the new work of Paul Fryer in Soho-London.
Fryer’s prolific career in music, fashion, and art gives him enough credibility to draw in a crowd.

“Paul Fryer lives and works in London, England. He studied art briefly at the Leeds College Of Art in the 1980s but never did a degree in the subject, electing instead to be an electropop singer, and then to graduate as a transvestite DJ. In the early 90′s he was instrumental in the creation of the widely acclaimed Art-based clubs The Kit Cat Club and Vague, also in Leeds where, for reasons that are not entirely clear, he stayed until 1996.
Since moving to London he has designed books and other printed material for several artists, fashion houses and record labels as well as working as technical consultant for several contemporary artists. During this period he wrote a book of poetry, Don’t Be So…, which was illustrated by Damien Hirst and published by Trolley Books in 2001.

He recently left the Italian house Fendi after 5 years as musical director. His critically acclaimed multimedia show Electronic Elvis was successfully performed at several London venues in 2003 & 2005 and was released on vinyl in 2005.
He has shown at various shows and galleries including Lead By The Nose, Livestock Market, 1996; The Quick And The Dead, Leeds City Art Gallery, 1998; Sleight of Hand, Transposition, Curtain Rd 1999; 2001 A Space Oddity, James Birch, A22 Gallery 2001; The Courtauld Collection Show 2002; The BBC4 Launch, Old Saatchi Gallery, 2002; The Ark, T1+2, 2005; New Gothic, Tate Britain February 2006.
His solo shows so far include: Carpe Noctum, Trolley Gallery, 2005; Petit Mal, Masonic Temple (in association with Kirsty Stubbs Gallery), 2006; Radiations, Julius Werner Berlin, 2006.” -Paul Fryer Site

Below is a photo and video log of his new exhibition shot by JEJ for FACADE

CIRCUMSTANCE
Film from Iran
Directed by: Maryam Keshavarz

A young love story forbidden in Persia due to morality issues,
and condemned by fanatics which ends up in tragedy due to circumstance…

The film takes us to a trip of 2 young girls living their lives as regular teenagers in Tehran, going through their streak of rebellion in a land full of restrictions.
With a bit of fun frills and thrills as well as hilarious comedic scenes this film keeps us captivated.

Film maker Maryam Keshavarz explores the warmth and inner life of a liberal Iranian family-exploring the love in different relationships.
She also manages to give emphasis on how such strong and intimate relationships can be vulnerable to authoritarian pressures
from the angle of a father, a mother, a brother, a sister, and an orphaned pretty girl (who could pass for Jasmin Gauri’s younger sister) subjected to such a circumstance.

This feature is indeed an unflinching look at how repression can corrupt and infest even the strongest and most intimate relationships.
The greatest challenge in the Utopian sanctuary of the family faces not from the repressive government regime,
but only when that repression infiltrates from within the ranks of the family.

A film to watch.

D/E: Issue 4 Out Now

In the Spring issue of frieze d/e Hal Foster talks about Gerhard Richter: ‘The extraordinary thing about Richter is that he is able to use a Pop idiom to rethink deeply philosophical problems in painting.’

Plus, Jan Verwoert listens to Karl Holmqvist’s own brand of drag performance and Kito Nedo shadows Mariana Castillo Deball as she follows the fate of Mexican artefacts.

Also featuring: Romuald Karmakar; Ulrike Ottinger and Vincenzo Latronico on the rise of English among non-native speakers in the art world.

Plus, in ‘Das Ding’, Roman Ondák chooses a single object of special significance: The Showcase.

With 19 reviews from 12 cities including: Amy Sillman at Capitain Petzel, Berlin; Andreas Gursky at Gagosian Gallery, New York; Nelly Rudin at Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich and Markus Schinwald at Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz.

SUNDANCE LONDON: SPECIAL EVENTS AND PANELS ANNOUNCED

Rufus and Martha Wainwright to perform and participate in Q&A following World Premiere of Sing Me The Songs That Say I Love You ~ A Concert for Kate McGarrigle, a film by Lian Lunson

Worldwide Theatrical Premiere screening of documentary about global-selling rock act Placebo
Robert Redford to introduce film about the environmental work of HRH The Prince of Wales

London, 21 March 2012 — Sundance Institute and The O2 announced today the programme of Special Events and panels that will take place at the inaugural Sundance London film and music festival, from 26-29 April at The O2. These events and panels were programmed by Sundance Institute, which annually hosts the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah – the premier independent film festival in the United States.

Among the Special Events announced today are: ‘Rufus and Martha Wainwright sing Kate McGarrigle,’ an intimate performance by Rufus and Martha Wainwright following the world premiere of Sing Me The Songs That Say I Love You ~ A Concert for Kate McGarrigle, Lian Lunson’s film about the music of their mother, folk singer Kate McGarrigle; The debut theatrical screening of Coming Up For Air, a documentary about Placebo, which will be followed by an extended Q&A with the band and filmmaker Charlie Targett-Adams; Robert Redford will introduce a screening of Harmony, a documentary about the three decades of work by HRH The Prince of Wales to combat climate change and the global environmental crisis, which will be followed by an extended Q&A; the 25th anniversary screening of River’s Edge, which first premiered at the 1987 Sundance Film Festival; and multiple panels on the creative process of independent filmmaking, reflecting the year-round work of Sundance Institute.

John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “In programming the Special Events and panels for the first-ever Sundance London, we were afforded total creative freedom, and what resulted are a number of unique events that we hope will broaden the experience of attending the festival for all to enjoy. The common element highlighted throughout the festival is a celebration of those who think creatively and independently about something in their lives.”

Previously announced events and performances for Sundance London include the Opening Night event An Evening With Robert Redford And T Bone Burnett, Placebo perform a rare intimate concert and Tricky and Martina Topley-Bird performing Maxinquaye.

Programme information and ticket packages are available at www.sundance-london.com. Individual film tickets will be on general sale from 4 April.

LORD PUTTNAM URGES CONTINUED INVESTMENT
IN UK DISTRIBUTION TO BUILD AUDIENCES FOR FILM
FDA Yearbook 2012 reveals latest statistics on film and cinema audiences
UK box-office powered to record heights by record investment from UK film distributors
New trailer highlights British stars and stories set for release
Call for improved copyright enforcement to capitalise further on industry growth
Sustained funding to support film distribution for UK audiences

LONDON – Tuesday 20 March 2012. In a keynote speech to the UK film industry today Lord David Puttnam of Queensgate CBE, President of Film Distributors’ Association (FDA), stressed the importance of continued support and public investment in UK film distribution during this Olympic year and beyond, to allow UK cinema admissions and box-office to continue to flourish.

In announcing publication of the FDA Yearbook 2012, the release of a new cinema trailer highlighting British achievement in film as part of the GREAT campaign for 2012, and an approach to copyright to support investors and creators, Lord Puttnam said:

“The FDA Yearbook is packed with evidence and comment on an outstanding, modern, success story: a copyright-based business sector – in this case, film distribution – which delivers significant economic, social and cultural benefits to Britain and the wider world.”

“The key to the digital future – or rather, the present – lies in forging new models, creating and sustaining new relationships with audiences. Here in Britain, we want our creative industries to remain at the forefront of the digital economy. A vital step for the technology sector is to signpost legitimate search options far more clearly and to delete links to sites that promote illegally sourced content. If the UK is to get a new Digital Copyright Exchange emerging from the Hargreaves and Hooper reviews, I hope the Government will ensure that it focuses solely on information to assist licensors and licensees to link up, rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel that is commercial trading.”

Lord Puttnam also called for a new public information campaign, once the various government-backed reviews of aspects of copyright have run their course, to illustrate the role of copyright in enabling the creative industries to develop, attract jobs and investment, and deliver valuable experiences to audiences. Intellectual Property is one of the areas in which the UK really flourishes with over 10% of national exports being derived from the creative industries.

AUSENTE (Absent)
Film From Argentina
Directed by: Marco Berger

When the most likely suspect to the would be predator becomes the prey and the hunted…

A beautifully shot low budget film of intense psychological drama of a lost forbidden desire.
Stylish photography from the start of the film conveying erotic/sexuality without blatant nudity, to basic mood and light treatment for effects towards the end…

A young student Martin creates an excuse to end up in his P.E. instructor’s home.
Sebastian (Martin’s P.E. teacher) ends up in a situation initiated by his young pupil unaware of his intentions.

In this case its the unlikely under age who tricks the adult into a very awkward situation, but then again towards the end was it really the adult’s intention to understand the young one or perhaps in ones confusion he actually gets succumbed to his own hidden desire?

Marco Berger’s 2nd feature film “Ausente” (Absent) was awarded in the Rio Negro and Valdivia Festival and also won best feature in the Berlin Film Festival

Prospero World presented a select group of Filipino fashion designers in aid of the Ayala Foundation.
This event was held on the 8th of March 2012 at the Victoria House Ballroom in London WC1.

Below is a video log filmed by JEJ for FACADE.

Carey Santiago

Michael Cinco

Jasper Garvida (dresses) Mich Dulce (hats/head pieces)

Rajo Laurel

Randy Ortiz

Lesley Mobo

Jun Escario

Lulu Tan Gan

Wynn Wynn Ong (accessories/jewelry)

A video log filmed by Bong Pats for FACADE

A video log filmed by JEJ for FACADE