The shortlist is announced…

It’s out – the 2009 shortlist for the Best of Manchester Awards has just been announced. And the nominees are:

ART

Contents May Vary the artists collective have been nominated. Formed in 2004, this group of MMU Fine Art graduates has, for the past five years, staged a number of innovative group exhibitions and contributed to events as diverse as Artranspennine08, the Northern Art Prize and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Contents May Vary were also shortlisted for HONK, a touring exhibition that featured animation, drawing and performance – but where the ‘gallery’ was in fact the back of a white van.

Rachel Goodyear has been shortlisted for a portfolio of beautiful, yet unsettling, pencil and watercolour drawings. Goodyear has recently exhibited at Cornerhouse in Manchester and as part of Liverpool Biennial at Tate Liverpool in 2008; her work, as you might expect, shows great technical skill. But it is her interest in creating discomforting, ambiguous narratives, often presented as a ‘cluster’ of drawings unique to each gallery or display space, which drew particular praise from the judges.

Owl Project is another art collective, this time comprised of Simon Blackmore, Antony Hall and Steve Symons. Drawing on influences such as woodwork, hobby-style electronics and open source software, Owl Project has produced a range of semi-sculptural, semi-comical musical instruments that have been exhibited across the UK and Europe and premiered at events such as the Sonic Arts Network EXPO, Lovebytes and Futuresonic. Owl Project has been shortlisted for its portable ‘rustic’ instruments, the iLog, the m-Log and the Log1k.

The judges also awarded special commendations to Nick Jordan, who, with fellow artist and collaborator, Jacob Cartwright, was an artist research fellow at Manchester Museum, and Maurice Carlin, an artist who also founded the Islington Mill Art Academy and co-founded the Sounds from the Other City festival.

MUSIC

Jayne Compton has been shortlisted for a diverse portfolio that includes long-running experimental club night, Club Brenda, ‘a genuinely uncompromising underground art happening’, according to Compton that blends live music, art and performance. Compton has also been shortlisted for her Switchflicker Records label (which launched the Ting Tings with That’s Not My Name) and an upcoming Arts Council book, Strange Trees.

Natalie Curtis was shortlisted for a photography portfolio that includes portraits of bands such as Doves, the Paris Riots and Silversun Pickups. Her quiet documentary style has lead to a series of startlingly warm and intimate shots – and was singled out by the judges for its freshness and direct approach.

Max Moran has been shortlisted for a portfolio that includes the video-based music blog, ThisTownSounds.com. Running since 2007, the blog has premiered White Lies’ first ever filmed interview, as well as early performances from the likes of Florence & The Machine. Moran has also been recognised for his sell-out club night, Hot Club, its laid back sister session, Hat Club and, more recently, Moran’s burgeoning record label, Hit Club.

The music judges also awarded special commendations to Paddy Steer, an ‘unsung hero’ according to one of our panel, for his contribution to the Manchester music scene over the past 25 years; and to classical composer Joe Duddell who has curated (and conducts) the Elbow and Hallé Orchestra performances that form the centrepiece of this year’s Manchester International Festival.

FASHION

Paul Griffiths has been nominated for his shop and clothing label, Babycakes. Despite being only two years old, Babycakes is already a smash hit: the label’s store opening in Manchester was met with a 400-strong queue, while its limited edition t-shirt designs regularly sell out within hours of their launch. Babycakes plans to open London and Los Angeles outlets in early 2010.

Holly Russell is an alumnus of Manchester School of Art whose shimmering, stunning graduate collection features hundreds of hand-sewn scarab beetle wings. Russell has also collaborated with a metal worker to incorporate aluminium into her designs and an astronomer to create embellished digital prints. Hugely ambitious but with a realistic approach to the fashion industry, Russell hopes to take up an MA in Fashion Womenswear at the renowned Royal College of Art.

Katie Webb is another Manchester School of Art alumni. Her understated, architectural collection is a stark contrast to Russell’s, featuring neutral colours and luxe fabrics such as leather, cashmere and silk. The judges highlighted Webb’s minimalist designs and technical skills, as well as her environmental awareness and subsequent drive to source fabrics from the UK and Europe.

The fashion judges also awarded a special commendation to Jen Scott-Russell, the milliner who runs the successful Northern Quarter-based shop, H’atelier.

The winners will be announced live at an awards ceremony at Urbis on 23 July. The BOMA exhibition runs 24 July-20 September, also at Urbis.

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Tick tock, goes the clock

The Best of Manchester Awards close for entry at Midnight this Friday (1 May).

Don’t forget, don’t miss out, do get online and do get your entry in.

All the information you’ll need is here. Good luck…

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The anticipation is almost too much to bear

We like to think we’ve been busy here at BOMA Towers, but our efforts are nothing in comparison to what the Manchester International Festival lot have been up to. Not only have they managed to raise a staggering £3.1 million in sponsorship (has no one told them there’s a recession on?), they’ve also lined up what promises to be a best-yet series of performances, events, gigs, debates, installations and, er, bingo for this year’s festival.

Details of some events have already gone on sale – and give a taster of what we can expect. They include Rufus Wainwright’s debut opera, Prima Donna, and, over at Manchester Art Gallery, a strange fusion of jaw-dropping architecture and the music of Bach. What are we going on about? International architectural practice, Zaha Hadid, is in the process of creating a visually and acoustically perfect pod. This pod will sit inside the main exhibition space at the Art Gallery and would, in itself, be worthy of a visit. During the festival, however, three internationally acclaimed musicians will perform Bach’s solo instrumental works from inside it. It’s this ability to leap across boundaries, in this case architecture and classical music, in Wainright’s case, opera and contemporary music, that makes MIF so, well, Mancunian.

Tickets for the opera and chamber music events are selling out fast. And, if they don’t tickle your fancy, the full MIF programme will be unveiled later this month. Rumour has it that one of our BOMA judges, the Turner Prize winning artist, Jeremy Deller, is working with MIF this year. We’re keeping everything crossed that the rumour turns out to be true – Deller is one of the most exciting artists working in Britain today.

Image shows what we might expect from the Zaha Hadid installation at Manchester Art Gallery…

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Do us Brits have all the best ideas?

Reading an article in The Guardian about the creative industries, we came across this quote from David Kershaw, the chief exec of ad agency M&C Saatchi:

‘Brits still think at the more outrageous end of the spectrum. They start with new and shocking ideas and a willingness to make scary leaps – and that is really important. It’s important not to turn leaps into steps. We have to avoid incrementalism.’

We agree. Though, obviously, we’d argue that the word ‘Brits’ should really be usurped by ‘Mancs’…

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Turner Prize winner joins Saville to judge BOMA 09

We admit it: we’re as giddy as kippers at the fact that we have just confirmed our line-up of 24 judges for this year’s Best of Manchester Awards.

And if we do say so ourselves, it’s a bloody good line-up. Entrants to this year’s awards (which opens for entries next week) will have to impress:

ART
Looking for original and imaginative work across the spectrum of visual arts, from illustration, graphic design and photography to painting, sculpture, street art and mixed media work will be: Rob Carney, Editor of Computer Arts magazine; Kate Day, Director of Manchester Craft & Design Centre; Jeremy Deller, the British artist who was awarded the Turner Prize in 2004; Nick Johnson, Deputy Chief Executive of Urban Splash; Kwong Lee, Director of Manchester’s Castlefield Gallery; Tim Marlow, Director of Exhibitions at White Cube in London; Aileen McEvoy, Interim Executive Director of Arts Council England, North West; Peter Saville (pictured), the seminal graphic designer and Manchester’s own Creative Director; and the Burnley-born painter, Liam Spencer.

MUSIC
Looking for original and imaginative work throughout the field music, from up-and-coming guitar-based bands and live acts to electronic music and sound art, (including performers, producers and promoters) are: Luke Bainbridge, Deputy Editor of the Observer Music Monthly; Justin Crawford, DJ, producer and Director of Electriks Ltd.; Caroline Elleray, Head of A&R at Universal Music Publishing; Yvette Livesey (pictured), Chief Executive of In The City; Dan Parrott, Senior Music Producer at Channel M Television; writer and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer; DJ Semtex of BBC Radio 1Xtra; and Tim Thomas, producer, engineer, musician and songwriter and Director of Blueprint Studios.

FASHION
Looking for original and imaginative work in fashion, styling and fashion photography are: Flic Everett, the journalist, broadcaster and owner of fashion boutique, Rags to Bitches (winner of our very own 2008 Best of Manchester Fashion award); Wayne Hemingway (pictured), former head of label Red or Dead; Claire Lomax, Co-Founder of Flux Magazine; Jessica Lowe, Press & Marketing Manager for Harvey Nichols Manchester; David Mallon, the head of labels Elvis Jesus, Ringspun and high fashion retail outlet, The General Store; Karen Nicol, a couture embroidery and mixed media textile designer and visiting professor at the Royal College of Art; and Alison Welsh, menswear designer, design consultant and Programme Leader and for the BA (Hons) Fashion at Manchester Metropolitan University.

The awards open for entries next Monday (16 Feb). Keep watching for details.

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Beat the crunch – get creative with your clobber

Ah, sweet January: that long month whose only highlights are maxed out credit cards, dark days and, new for this year, a recession. Luckily for you, our 2008 Fashion Award winners, Rags to Bitches, are offering a credit crunch-defying event later this month.

RTB are running a customising workshop at Urbis on Sunday 18 January. Showing you how to get to grips with your sewing machine (or just a needle and thread), the workshop teaches some clever techniques for updating old clothes or adjusting vintage threads. And, best of all, it’s completely free and accompanied by the usual RTB Sunday teas, live music and honest-to-goodness fun.

Rags to Bitches customising workshop. Sunday 18 January, The Social, Urbis, 2-4pm, free. Email info at rags-to-bitches dot co dot uk for more details.

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So you think you’re a designer?

Urbis is getting organised ahead of time – by launching a design competition to create the new visual ID for the 2009 Awards.

The competition is open to any design agency based within Greater Manchester, with the ‘prize’ an £8,000 contract and the chance to work with Urbis on the marketing campaign for the 2009 awards and associated exhibition.

‘The Best of Manchester Awards are about much more than an awards night,’ says Vaughan Allen, Urbis’ Chief Executive. ‘They are about supporting the creative industries in Manchester and helping an emerging generation of creative practitioners step up to the next level of their careers. For 2009, we wanted to extend that support to Manchester’s enviable graphic design community, by inviting designers based in the city to work with us. The end result of this competition will be some great design – and the chosen agency will not only get a paid contract in return, but the chance to work on one of the city’s most creative, and creatively fulfilling, projects.’

The competition runs until 17 December, with the chosen agency contracted to work with Urbis before the Christmas break. If you’d like to find out more, get your skates on. Email c dot ashworth at urbis dot org dot uk ASAP.

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