SUSSEX

Gathering the work of 14 artists, designers and photographers from around the world who use LEGO® bricks as their medium or inspiration, the Brick by Brick runs at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery until Sun 18 June.

This free exhibition of International LEGO® Brick Art sees creators use this simple plastic construction block as their starting point to create stunning, thought provoking and often humorous artworks which will appeal to art enthusiasts and brick fans alike.

Participating artists include The Little Artists, David Hughes, Ekow Nimako, Janet Curley Cannon, Hannah Gibson, Little Big Art, Zino, Eat My Bricks, Samsofy, Michael BrennandWood, James Paterson, Valentino Fialdini, AME 72 and Jonathan Rolph.

Toronto based artist Ekow Nimako, began using LEGO® bricks in his professional practice in 2014 and has since cultivated a unique approach to sculpting this iconic medium. Comprised of black bricks only, Nimako will be exhibiting four captivating artworks, which reference mythology, West African proverbs and afrofuturism.

Michael Brennand-Wood has created four stunning artworks especially for this exhibition. Using a range of colours, shapes and sizes of bricks, he has created a series of abstract montages which have a mesmerising appeal to them.

Collectively known as The Little Artists, John Cake and Darren Neave collaborated to replicate a series of well-known contemporary artworks and icons of popular culture using LEGO® bricks. Look out for their versions of Damien Hirst’s Shark Tank and the Bates Motel from the film Psycho.

Brazilian photographer Valentino Fialdini will be exhibiting one of his large-scale photographs which show empty rooms and corridors. Using specialist photography and lighting techniques, Fialdini tricks the viewer’s eye in to thinking that these miniature LEGO® rooms are life-sized.

American born artist Janet Curley Cannon, who is now based in Berkshire, will be exhibiting her artwork Not on the High Street Anymore. This installation was constructed using her husband’s childhood LEGO® bricks and makes reference to the demise of the UK’s high street.

Inspired by the wide range of artworks on show, a LEGO® graffiti wall, a build table and a selection of LEGO® related games and competitions will also give visitors the opportunity to try their hand at creating their own construction brick artwork.

For more details, visit: www.hmag.org.uk

Ahead of their massive shows at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sat 8 – Sun 9 July, Blur are playing a series of warm-up shows around the country. They’ll play the Winter Garden on Sun 21 May, their first show in the town since 1995.

They’ll be joined for their Wembley shows by special guest Paul Weller, as well as The Selecter; and Snooker Champion/DJ Steve

Davis has been added to the Sunday night line-up.

Since announcing their arrival with debut album Leisure in 1991, Blur went on to revolutionise the sound of English popular music with five successive UK chart-topping albums Parklife, The Great Escape, Blur, 13 and Think Tank, along with a string of Top 10 singles. One of the biggest British bands of the last three decades, they’ve also collected ten NME Awards, six Q Awards, five BRIT Awards and an Ivor Novello Award, and played live to thousands of devoted fans across the globe. www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk www.blur.co.uk

Some of the world’s finest beer, wine and cider producers are again showcasing their wares in Lewes this summer as part of These Hills festival. Thousands of people will descend on the East Sussex town for this widely acclaimed two-day event.

These Hills showcases beer from more than 35 international breweries across three sessions on Fri 16 - Sat 17 May, with producers from as far away as Melbourne and New York offering their premium brews at the festival’s fantastic rural venue - a mere 20-minute walk from the town’s train station.

“Our inaugural festival was held last year, and we were delighted that it sold-out despite some of the largest rail strikes in UK history,” says festival organiser, Daniel Tapper. “This year promises to be even bigger and better with much more on offer than just beer, including low intervention wine and cider and dishes from a roster of award-winning streetfood stalls, such as Slice Culture, Original Patty Men, Caccia & Tails and Field & Flame. We’ve also introduced a dance tent with an incredible line-up of DJs and live music.”

Perhaps unusually for a food and drink festival, These Hills features a series of folk rituals on the Saturday evening session, starting with a procession and culminating in the burning of an effigy as ‘an offering to the beer gods.’

“It’s an absolutely stunning setting surrounded by the South Downs National Park, including

rolling fields of barley, which of course is a key ingredient in beer,” adds Tapper. “As such, it felt right and proper to perform some kind of ceremony as a thank you to mother nature. The exact details of the ritual are top secret but we promise it’ll be a real spectacle.”

The event is being organised by Beak Brewery. Since launching two years ago, the Lewes-based business has tripled capacity and now exports its beer to a dozen countries, including Australia, Singapore and Japan. The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) recently named one of its beers, Parade, as one of the world’s best IPAs.

For more information and tickets (£25pp), visit: www.beakbrewery.com/ these-hills

Tickets include a 10% discount on bulk purchases, access to the festival along with a free drink, tote bag and bespoke glass.