Where were we? Liverpool was a great adventure, sunshine and dazzle ships, the positive of the double negative and lots of good people in the sunshine – good to go Cultivating outside of (East) London.   July First Thursday was almost as as frantic as ever, well frantic in terms of getting it all hung and ready. The sun has been roasting us down rapidly changing Vyner Street (still no word on when they pull our building down, but the likes of us will not be hanging on here much longer).  Will we make it to our third birthday? We should have killed it ages ago

Little Summer Benefits opens this Thursday evening, a two week show that we said, in the last blog , that we’d “tell you about we’ll tell you about in another blog in a minute or so”. and so here indeed is that another blog and such while all you artists moan about there being nowhere to show your work and we hit our heads on the wall and deal with your apathy. Stop moaning and grab the chance while you still can! .This week at the last artist-run space still standing in the rapidly turning in to some kind of soulless gentrified seven pound a bite sandwich zone we bring you the 2014 version of Little Summer Benefits

MARCELINA AMELIA

LITTLE SUMMER BENEFITS – An affordable art event.  – Opening night, Thursday evening, Opening night, 17th July 6pm until 9pm. Featuring an evolving LITTLE SUMMER BENEFITS wall of smaller pieces of art priced as low as £1 and no more than £200. Paintings, prints, drawings, photographs and more… an affordable affair for everyone’s benefit. Art tarts, painted vinyl, What Julia Made, Ben Naz punk queen prints, Quite British Accent Blimey pieces, slang pennants….  Bring your own drink, we’ll bring the art and the sunshine (well we’ll probably bring some drink as well)

Artists featured on the wall include ANNA ARBITER, BEN NAZ, CARNE GRIFFITHS, D7606, EMMA HARVEY, GARETH MORGAN, GILES SKERRY, HELEN GRANT, JULIA MADDISON, MARCELINA AMELIA, MARTIAL DUROU, MATHEW TUDOR, MICHELLE MILDENHALL, PETER SULO, QUIET BRITISH ACCENT, SEAN WORRALL, ZOE CROSSE and more t.b.c (artists who wish to get involved during the two weeks should contact us via info@cultivatevynerstreet.com).

Little Summer Benefits is also a fund-raiser for Cultivate and an exercise in keeping the doors open and the art and the artists flowing for where would it go without art? There has to be art…

DESIGN WITHOUT ART IS DESIGN WITHOUT HEART….. If you close the galleries then you’re cutting off the source, what the hell is a makerspace anyway? Where’s the seed? Something more than talk? Are we going to see anything more than a load of hot air and fancy press release? is it going ever be anything more that locked doors and spin? Ever get the feeling we’re being cheated? Enough of the talkers, rather looks like we’re one of the last of the do’ers down the actual street now, still lots going on around us though, still plenty to explore down the side streets and in the tower blocks

the STINGING NETIL ART FAIR, 2011

We just noticed that It was three years ago this week, back in 2011, that the seed that evolved to become Cultivate was germinated in the car park at Netil House London E8 (and we’ve not had a day off since).  Here’s a photo set from back there, wonder where all those artists are now, well some of them are still around, some have become household names or household bleach or household germs or something like that, one said he was “too big” for Cultivate now, good for him, anyway, here’s a set of photos from the day that kind of started it all and this weekend we shall be off to the Fete, we told you about the Fete in the previous blog earlier today, we’ll tell you about it some more in another blog in another minute or so….  we’re excited about the Fete and the idea of a better Woolworths and an East End for everyone, not just those who can afford an expensive sandwich if you know what I mean.

Three years since the Stinging Netil then, see you down the street, see you at the Fete…  Hopefully see a few of you at Little Summer Benefits

Mathew Tudor, Piky, Sean, Emma Harvey, all up on the wall…

Liverpool Art Car Boot Fair last week…