How Palestine art goes to public

Palestinian artists have been invited to show their work in Jordan. It's always good news when an artist gets the chance to go public, although this one will involve the inevitable waits at checkpoints and The Bridge

Source: Today in Palestine!

http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/blogs/culture/4202-palestinian-artists-invited-to-present-their-work-across-the-bridge-that-both-connects-and-separates-them-from-jordan

Pussy Riot set free

The punky protest girl group that bravely stood up against the Mr Lupin culture in Russia has been let out of jail, partly as a result of world-wide support. This is good news for anti-authoritaran activists everywhere; and as you probably weren't in Moscow at the time, here is what the fuss is all about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grEBLskpDWQ
And if you would like to support them, go HERE

UPDATE 24 OCTOBER:
The most likely background to the above is that it was a PR stunt intended to demonstrate Lupin's 'leniency'. On 17th August 2012 Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevitch were sentenced to two years imprisonment for their involvement in the Pussy Riot action at a Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Moscow. While Yekaterina Samutsevich has been released, the struggle continues.

Walking Doon The Gallowgate

Amazon/Kindle

This is a fine piece of light reading (with plenty of punchlines) as well as a vital chunk of social history. I'm a bit of a stone-face but I laughed out loud a couple of times. And it wasn't only over the whelks - or the mysteries of kissing. I could almost smell the place Dave Moffat is talking about; Anyone who has been a child will recognise  plenty in this shadowy but colourful memoir - and Walking Doon the Gallowgate is bound to find room on virtual bookshelves anywhere there is an ex-pat Glaswegian. That probably means everywhere.

Calum Mackenzie 1945 - 2012

Calum working at Glasgow Print Studio, 2007 behind Jim Pattison

 Calum Mackenzie, contemporary of this blogger, died on Monday 13th August 2012.
As the Glasgow Print Studio announcement put it, 'Many will know of Calum as the charismatic first Director of Glasgow Print Studio (1975 - 1983) whose ambition took the print studio from a basement in St Vincent Street to substantial premises in Ingram Street, the first visual arts organization to move into the Merchant City.

It was the first such artist led organization and it is fair to say that he put the visual arts on the map of Glasgow with a number of innovative exhibitions and social events including the legendary Loveliest Night of the Year'.

Exhibitions that he played a large part in curating included The Scottish Cartoonists, Paintings by L.S. Lowry and Mark Gertler - The Early and Late Years. He also enabled the Print Studio Press, giving a number of writers the opportunity to be published for the first time. These included Liz Lochhead, Alasdair Gray, Alan Spence and James Kelman.
   Calum re-joined the print studio to develop his own work as an artist, creating 'truly amazing' digital work with great success, exhibiting at Glasgow Print Studio on a regular basis and to great acclaim at the Royal Scottish Academy in 2010.