Playroom 27|02|09

‘The sense of play… allows for surprise, the unexpected, discoveries.’
David Hockney

Play Room is a collaborative exhibition featuring work of upcoming illustrators, fresh from the MA course at London’s Camberwell art institution.  Their visual feast will be on display between 10th and 24th March 2009. Play is something that never leaves us. As children we negotiate the world through play; our understanding of the world is developed in play. Everyone has had a childhood, whether it was a pleasant one or not. Most people long for this time again. There is a warm nostalgia that envelopes childhood. We yearn to be back there with those magical toys and cubby-houses made of old sheets. Naivety and the child-like freedom have a resonance that evokes these nostalgic feelings in the collective psyche. The work exhibited represents the range and possibilities of narrative and displays the distinctive personalities of the artists in one space. Each artist brings to the fore their own narrative, illuminating a sense of themselves and their experiences. This is then shared with the viewer and ignites their own memories and personal nostalgia. It is this sense of playfulness and curiosity that unites each of the artists and illustrators exhibiting. The freedom of expression and exploration of narratives is the essence of the exhibition, which showcases fresh, contemporary presentation of illustration, design and print. The artists showing at Dreamspace gallery are MA visual art students at Camberwell College of Art. Originating from International backgrounds and diverse practices such as fine art, design, craft, and book arts, these artists treat materials and subject matter with their own personal visual language. This exhibition showcases collage, drawing, printmaking, painting, sculpture and book arts. An ongoing experimentation and collaboration exists between these artists, one that invites you to engage and participate. Matthew Dale, one of the artists, explains, “The show comes at a key moment for us in the development of our practice. This show anticipates our MA showcase in July at Camberwell College of Arts.”

Are there any lessons to be learnt from history? 27|02|09

This isn't the first recession the architecture profession has faced, so are there any lessons to be learnt from history? See Adrems's MD Del Hossain's interview for BD Magazine alongside Peter Murray, chairman of Wordsearch and Paul Morrell, former senior partner at Davis Langdon.

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=763&storycode=3135043&c=2

Faces of the Recession - Adrem's Stars 26|02|09

Over the next 12 months, Today reporter Sanchia Berg will be following the lives of four people who have been made redundant and are looking for work. Broadcast on Radio 4, Adrem’s very own candidate, Lucy Bennett, is one of those telling her story. Follow her journey here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7900000/7900449.stm

Wait! How many meanings to a word? 25|02|09

Translating single moments into individual images is one of the objectives of Lindsey Copeland’s forthcoming exhibition at the dreamspace gallery. Copeland’s week long exhibition, entitled ‘Wait’, explores all facets and the many definitions to the frequently used expression, ‘wait’. Using acrylic on canvas and distinctive black and white enhanced only by accent colours, Copeland examines how the smallest moments in time can produce some of the largest effects within a person’s life. She successfully evokes thought about the ways in which class, culture, and all interpersonal relationships can affect an individual. Her work, influenced by psychology and human behaviour, will be on display for a limited time between 6th April and 10th April 2009.

Even in a global credit crunch our aspirations for luxury remain high! 25|02|09

25,000 subscribers were recorded in Saudi Arabia within hours of the launch of the iPhone.

Saudi mobile operator Mobily notched up 25,000 subscribers within hours of its launch of Apple’s iPhone 3G in the kingdom. “In just a few hours of launch the number of walk-in customers and those who applied online reached 25,000,” said Ali S Al-Dakhee, Mobily’s youth segment manager in comments published by Saudi Gazette on Monday.

Now available at 500 sales outlets of Mobily and affiliates around the kingdom, as well as in the UAE through Etisalat, the iPhone 3G combines a phone, widescreen iPod and internet device. The phone comes packaged with pre and post-paid Mobily subscription plans. An 8GB post-paid subscription is priced at SR2,255 ($601), 16GB at SR2,650, with a monthly fee of SR99. The pre-paid prices are SR2,400 for 8 GB and SR2,800 for 16GB.

However, the device does not allow users to send or read text messages in Arabic and the web browser does not render Arabic text properly.  These would be rectified and introduced within three months, said a spokesperson of Mobily, the Saudi affiliate of Etisalat.

Taken from the Arabian Business website on 23/02/09