coda

That was definitely the year that was

An unbelievable year has just become history, and god knows what historians will make of it. What with the Covid19 pandemic, populaces on both sides of the Atlantic bitterly divided on important political issues, not to mention Christmas being cancelled, it’s been nothing short of a disaster. And the arts especially have mostly been relegated to a position of low importance in the scheme of things, causing much stress and hardship. Apart from some of the larger artistic venues and projects, many performers, venues, galleries and artists have been left to fend for themselves, some becoming incredibly innovative and some unfortunately succumbing.

We mourn these losses and only hope that in 2021 some sort of renaissance occurs. Art in all its forms is the life blood of our culture, nourishing the souls of individuals therein. It is not money, conflicts or ideologies that make the world go round. It is Mankind’s creativity in all its many remarkable forms.

Ars longa, vita brevis, as they say in Yorkshire.

The times they are a-changing for Bob Dylan

Apparently Universal Music has purchased Dylan’s entire songwriting catalogue of over 600 songs. The deal includes of course all Dylan’s well known classics such as Blowin’ in the Wind, Mr Tambourine Man and, one of my favourite songs ever, Like a Rolling Stone. The price? Probably upwards of 300 million dollars.

There seems to be a trend of this sort of thing. Stevie Nicks has sold a major stake in her songwriting catalogue and Hipgnosis Songs Fund acquired the rights of songs by Blondie, Barry Manilow and quite a few others.

I’m not sure I’m down with this. I like to see artists' work inherited and looked after, managed and treasured by a family member or members, or

top: Pocket Sinfonia who perfomed at BREMF online; inset: Bob Dylan

individuals who truly care about the artist’s legacy. I don’t want to see The Times They Are A-Changing being used in an advert for a state-of-the-art electric car or a new brand of washing powder, or My Back Pages used to promote services to discover your family tree. And heaven help us what a misinterpreted With God On Our Side might be used for!

“Revel in your time!”

I’ve always thought this purposeful advice and encouragement given to a bioengineered being by his creator in the film Blade Runner was very good advice, even for humans. And, although it’s been incredibly sad to see a small number of galleries close and some theatres and artists struggle during these difficult times, the concept seems to have been taken on board by many festivals and artists, their imaginations and innovative dynamism coming to the fore.

Here are a few inspiring examples:

Sussex Sculpture Studios reinvented and rebranded the studios to become Art Junction, including an online Art School offering livestream courses in sculpture and drawing.

Epitomising this attitude, Lesley Samms MSc, founder and managing director of Pure Arts Group and Pure Arts Foundation, created Pure ART360, an innovative digital event delivered dynamically online via many platforms.

Based on the artist open studios concept, it includes an online private view and live broadcasts from artists’ studios around the world, streamed simultaneously on Crowdcast and Facebook.

Lesley says “At a time of such uncertainty, and with strong emotions of fear and anxiety swirling around wildly, there was no decision to be made other than to go online. It was our ethical duty to provide a portal of positivity and hope for all those who needed us. It took us a few weeks to work out what we were doing technically and a few more months of the new normal to understand what our artist community needed and from there we created Pure Talks, where I chat to interesting folks about subjects relevant to artists and we created Pure ART360 to support artists in getting confident and visible on digital. Going forward whatever the future holds we will maintain a blended

top: Lesley Samms; below: Stradivarius Trio – Andrew Bernardi, Maria Marchant and Jonathan Few. photography by Sir Charles Burrell

approach to the support we offer to artists – some online and some in the real world and we literally can't wait to deliver another large scale art fair! Fingers crossed for October 2021.”

We here at ingénu/e have of course taken the online route temporarily. However, when we return to print format, hopefully in spring 2021, we will still balance that with all we have learned and gained from online activity and the extended reach that gives one.

The EM Forster theatre at Tonbridge School, having been put into tier 3, decided that their Christmas pantomime, Robin Hood and his Socially Distanced Merry Men, would be filmed and broadcast over the Christmas period.

West Dean College of Arts and Conservation are running over three hundred online short courses, from beginners to advanced levels.

And some festivals went all out in overcoming the pandemic problem.

The 20th Shipley Arts Festival, brainchild of internationally renowned violinist Andrew Bernardi, overcame all obstacles and managed to deliver fully its programme of events throughout the year.

The Brighton Early Music Festival brought us ten films ranging from the subversive Joglaresa and their medieval protest songs, to the Bird Charmer, virtuoso recorder music inspired by birdsong, and Trumpet Marine, who graced the cover of our last issue.

Petworth’s two festivals, the Arts Festival and the Literary Festival, were merged into one online festival, with a fantastic array of talent to view. Too numerous to mention all who performed or were interviewed, the festival was an absolute treat of many genres of music and literature.

Celebrating Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, Arundel’s Hanover Band created a digital festival, an online festival of Beethoven symphonies and iconic chamber music. The quartet in residence, The Consone Quartet, came together with The Hanover Band Chamber Ensemble performing a series of Beethoven’s Septet and the Opus 18 String Quartets.

The Harp on Wight International Festival served up a variety of free online concerts and workshops during October, some still available on their website.

And let’s not forget Tenterden Folk Festival going online in 2020, as did the Hailsham Festival, which also included an Artists’ Virtual Art Trail, streamed performance and an anthology of local writers.

In addition, quite a few artists are now delivering their classes, workshops and tutorials online. You can find some of these in this issue.

To all these marvellous festivals and innovative beings we say a hearty well done! And anyone who feels we have omitted them, please accept our humble apologies. It’s been that sort of year!

below: Consone Quartet; opposite top: Lise Vandersmissen, who performed at the Harp on Wight International Festival; opposite bottom: Billy Joel

2020 in retrospect

For a bit of fun, try singing this along to the music of Billy Joel’s song ‘We didn’t start the fire’ – it more or less works!

Jerry Corbin, Momentum, Novichok, Little Mix Lady Gaga, Maradona, Kim Kardashian Boris Johnson, Harry Styles, Meghan Markle, JeffreyEpstein Harvey Weinstein, West Coast Wildfire, BLM protests

Kanye West, Joe Wicks, refugees, Scandi Noir, Brad Pitt, Libyan war and Kourtney Kardashian Kim Jong Un, Adele, Fifty two / forty eight Harvey Weinstein, Kylie Jenner, Justin Bieber, Brexit

Michael Gove is a liar A Scotch egg is a meal, sorry no it’s not Michael Gove is a liar Close the pubs, eat outside, wear a mask at all times Grayson Perry, pandemic, Captain Tom, Donald Trump Lunar eclipse, Covid 19, Beirut explosion Kobe Bryant, Wuhan city, Ghislaine Maxwell, Kamala

Harris Death of George Floyd, Barnard Castle, Tensions with Iran

Joe Biden, VE day, Ed Sheeran, NHS Vaccines, Caroline Flack and Iggy Azalea Mark Wahlberg, Sam Smith, Trafalgar Square protest Local lockdown, theatres closed, Billie Eilish, wash hands

Michael Gove is a liar A Scotch egg is a meal, sorry no it’s not Michael Gove is a liar Close the pubs, eat outside, wear a mask at all times

(disclaimer: ingénu/e magazine is not responsible for any opinions voiced in these verses!)

"Society is under the delusion that art is something you have extra, like crème de menthe or something. But societies don’t exist with no artist. Art is a functional part of society. We’re not some kind of decadent strip show that appears on the side. We’re as important as prime ministers and policemen" – John Lennon