Students and schoolchildren from Brighton swapped pencils for placards today (February 15), taking to the city’s streets as part of a coordinated day of national action against climate change.
Organised by University of Sussex students as part of the Youth Strike 4 Climate movement, the protest saw hundreds march through the city and call on the government to declare a climate emergency.
Read the full article on the Brighton & Hove Independent
Half term is here once again, but fear not parents for there are plenty of fun activities happening across Brighton and Hove to keep the kids entertained.
Here’s our guide on what to do in the city during the half term break (February 18 to February 24).
Read the full article on the Brighton & Hove Independent
We all know the story of Cinderella. Having lost both her parents at a young age, she’s forced to live life as a scullery maid who’s constantly at the mercy of her wicked stepmother and cruel stepsisters. That is, until she meets her Fairy Godmother and is transformed into a princess with a dress that shines, a tiara that sparkles, and a pair of glass slippers that, in spite of their glaring impracticality, glisten beautifully.
Much to the dismay of her jealous step-siblings, Cinderella does go to the ball, she does dance with Prince Charming, and she does – eventually – get her happily ever after. We all know the story of Cinderella… or rather we all know that story of Cinderella; the Disney one, which has been staple childhood viewing since it was first released in 1950.
To read the full article, published on Museum Crush, click here
Brighton MP Caroline Lucas is to join more than a hundred students and schoolchildren during a Youth Strike 4 Climate march through the city this Friday (February 15).
The Green MP will address students at the Clock Tower as they take part in a coordinated day of national action protesting the Government’s failure to slash emissions in line with targets to keep global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees.
Read the full article on the Brighton & Hove Independent
A community-based boxing initiative that aims to support at-risk youths in Brighton and beyond has received fresh support from Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne.
WBC Cares, which offers disadvantaged youngsters an opportunity to turn their lives around through a 12-week boxing programme, launched in Brighton last year following a successful pilot in Croydon.
Read the full article on the Brighton & Hove Independent
Campaigners fighting to restore the crumbling arches on Madeira Terrace have launched an online petition urging the council to reconsider their plans for the promenade.
The petition suggests that rather than using crowdfunded cash to renovate three of the arches at the western end of the terrace, close to Palace Pier, it would make more sense to restore ones that are closer to Concorde 2.
Read the full article on the Brighton & Hove Independent
Budding environmentalists from the University of Sussex are rallying to organise a student strike in support of a global climate change awareness movement.
More than 100 demonstrators are due to take part in the Youth Strike 4 Climate march in Brighton this Friday (February 15) as part of a coordinated day of national action.
Read the full article on the Brighton & Hove Independent
The medium of painting in distemper is likely to be, to the causal art enthusiast, something of a grey area. A contrast in historical times with the more popular tempera, the term refers to an ancient type of paint that comprised of water, chalk and pigment, bound by adhesive of either vegetable or animal origin (excluding eggs).
Works including The Entombment, by Early Netherlandish painter Dieric Bouts, and The Raphael Cartoons are believed to have been created using distemper; as are a number of paintings by the French artist Édouard Vuillard. Yet due to the fact that it could be easily marked and notoriously wasn’t waterproof, it was more often employed by artists to paint banners or decorations for temporary celebrations and, despite being rendered obsolete by the growing availability of oil and latex-based paints, was used continually through to the end of the 19th century.
To read the full article, published on Museum Crush, click here
The story of the business relationship between artist JMW Turner and writer Sir Walter Scott contains enough twists that you’d almost be forgiven for dismissing it as a work of fiction.
Painter and poet first collaborated together on Scott’s Provincial Antiquities and Picturesque Scenery of Scotland in 1818, while Turner was still living at his Sandycombe Lodge in Twickenham, and culminated in the publication of Turner’s illustrated editions of Scott’s poetry and prose after the author’s death in 1832.
During the intervening years, the pair’s partnership fluctuated between fruitful instances and fractured intervals. Though they admired each other greatly, their relationship was marred by moments of suspicion and miscommunication; accusations of ‘slurring’ and palms ‘itchy’ for money.
To read the full article, published on Museum Crush, click here
The start of a new year often brings with it a renewed sense of hope. For many it heralds the opportunity for a fresh start, and brings with it a resolve to try and change your life for the better. This year, however, the mood among many music fans living in Brighton was more sombre.
When it was revealed in early October that Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, a beloved independent music venue operating for just over seven years, was to close at the end of 2018 after its lease expired, there was an outpouring of grief on social media. Many lamented the announcement as being a significant blow to the city’s grassroots music scene, and labelled it a cultural wake up call.
It’s a sentiment shared by Sally Oakenfold, who managed Sticky Mike’s and continues to oversee operations at The Hope and Ruin: “All late-night venues are facing difficult times because of licensing, lack of development, and [the threat of] noise complaints.
“I don’t think people quite realise the severity of what is happening.”
The seriousness of the situation appears to have been noted in parliament, however, where an inquiry into the economic, social and cultural benefits of live music has been launched. According to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the British live music industry attracted more than 30 million revellers in 2016, with music tourism contributing £4 billion to the UK economy in the same year. Yet while attendance levels at concerts and festivals continue to grow, the number of grassroots music venues (GMVs) in Britain has drastically declined.
Similarly to Ms Oakenfold, proprietors of both the Green Door Store and Latest Music Bar – two of the Brighton’s most popular late-night live music venues – blame the decline of GMVs on a lack of support and funding from government and local councils.
Latest Music Bar owner/director Angi Mariani considers Brighton council to be intransigent in helping her keep her venue sustainable: “Although we contribute a lot to Brighton being a music city, and the council pays lip service to wanting to create the conditions for music to thrive in the city, it is only lip service.”
Toni Coe, production and programming manager at the Green Door, calls it a cultural crisis: “Indie venues are essential community hubs for alternative culture; a culture that exists through a universal love of music and the arts. Something incredibly positive that improves emotional and physical health, and creates a sense of belonging for even the most vulnerable.
“It doesn’t just exist for the young, it provides a community for people from all walks of life.”
Brighton has long been looked upon as a city that nurtures emerging musical talent. The British and Irish Modern Music (BIMM) Institute (formerly the Brighton Institute of Modern Music) was founded in the city in 2001. Since then they have been providing specialised higher education courses in all areas of the music industry, from song writing and guitar, to music production and event management. In the years since it was established, BIMM has branched out internationally, opening more colleges in the UK, as well as in Ireland and Germany, and counts George Ezra, Ella Mai and Tom Odell among its most notable alumni.
Ms Oakenfold sees GMVs such as Sticky Mike’s as providing a similar platform: “They’re places where people go to see performers they’re unfamiliar with, it’s where people get to cut their teeth, it’s where people get to put on their first show, it’s where DJs get gigs, and where people start out and then build a following and move on to bigger venues. That is our purpose, but that isn’t being recognised by the powers that need to recognise it.”
Her fear is that if the number of GMVs continue to decline, we’ll see fewer headline acts at concerts and festivals in the years to come, and more club nights fronted by former X-Factor and Love Island contestants.
“I guess there is a place for that, but I feel it’s a bit like Brighton is losing its soul.”
Lasting resolutions to the crisis may appear to be in short supply, but there is hope to be found. This year the Music Venue Trust, whose mission is to protect, secure and improve UK GMVs, launched the Pipeline Investment Fund Challenge, designed to encourage key stakeholders within the UK music industry to join forces with those on the grassroots circuit to do more to tackle the full range of challenges causing music venue closures.
Funding and support on a local level though, would appear to be the most agreed upon solution among GMV owners.
“People need to recognise their own ability to influence this crisis and take steps to protect their local venue,” says Toni Coe.
“If the council were more actively involved in the support of GMVs with promotion for local live shows and perhaps a central information/resources point for tourism then that would be great. After all, live music in Brighton is the city’s leading tourist attraction.”
*Published here as part of my NCTJ portfolio
James McAllister, Journalist 