LINK Culturefest 25-27th May 2012

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:50:40 +0100

BLOCK T is proud to present LINK CULTUREFEST, a weekend festival that aims to showcase and celebrate the culture, art and people that make up the diverse community that exists in Smithfield and its surrounding areas. Between the 25th and the 27th of May LINK CULTUREFEST will host a series of events for the public, participating artists and curators. The three day programme will feature Art Exhibitions, Live Concerts, Open Studios, Artist Talks, Screenings and Performances. This year’s festival will bring together a number of creative enterprises located between Stoneybatter and Capel St. and includes over 100 participating artists. The festival will be hosted in up to 20 different buildings around these areas, encompassing the gallery and studio spaces of participating organisations, as well as breathing life into a number of vacant properties.
We are delighted to welcome three international partners, Château de Servières in Marseille, Castelo d’If and Platafórma Revolver in Lisbon from which eighteen selected artists will be hosted by locally based artists and studio spaces in Dublin. This project will focus on developing a model for a continuing transnational exchange programme. LINK CULTUREFEST will facilitate a dialogue between art spaces and professionals in the area, with the purpose of developing lasting national and international relationships across the cultural field
BLOCK T presents LINK CULTUREFEST with a number of partners that have been integral in the establishment of a thriving cultural and creative community in the area. These friends include The Joinery, New Art Studios, bio.space 033, The Complex, Lighthouse Cinema, Market Studios, Supafast Building, Ormond Studios, Brunswick Mill Studios, Stoneybatter Guild, Flatpack Studios, The Chancery Studios, The Visual Arts Centre, The Little Green St. Gallery, Lilliput Press, Loom Studios and support from d.ploy.
LINK CULTUREFEST is a BLOCK T initiative. BLOCK T is a multi-disciplinary creative organisation located in Smithfield.
LINK CULTUREFEST is kindly supported by Dublin City Council, The Arts Council, The French Embassy in Ireland and Smithfield Area Business Association.

NEW Darkroom courses - April / May

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:24:05 +0100

DPD01
Introduction to the Black and White Darkroom
This course is a basic introduction to printing and film development.
Block T will provide all chemicals needed for the duration of the course and paper for the first few weeks.
Course Pre-Requisites
Must be able to use a manual or automatic analogue camera to produce a well-exposed black and white film. (35mm or 120)

Course Overview
You will learn:
Darkroom safety, how to use equipment and mix chemicals
Creating photograms
How to develop and store black and white film
Creating contact sheets
Black and white basic printing
Creating test prints
Using multi-grade filters

Course Format and Duration
4 x 3 hour sessions. There will be two separate courses running mornings (11am to 2pm) and evenings (6:30pm to 9:30pm). Six students per class.

Course Dates:
Monday Mornings – April 23rd, 30th, May 7th and 14th
Monday Evenings - April 23rd, 30th, May 7th and 14th

Course Fees:
Day Time course €155
Evening course €165

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DPD02
Intermediate Black and White Darkroom 1
Block T will provide all chemicals needed for the duration of the course and paper for the first few weeks.

Course Pre-Requisites
Completed course DPD01 or have a basic knowledge of developing film and black and white printing

Course Overview
You will learn:
About “pushing” and “pulling” negatives in the developing stage and develop a “pushed” film
How to enhance your black and white print through dodging, burning and split-grade printing
This course will enable students to create a fine art black and white print

Course Format and Duration
4 x 3 hour sessions. There will be two separate courses running mornings (11am to 2pm) and evenings (6:30pm to 9:30pm). Six students per class.

Course Dates:
Wednesday Mornings – April 25th , May 2nd ,9th and 16th
Wednesday Evenings - April 25th , May 2nd ,9th and 16th

Course Fees:
Day Time course €165
Evening course €175

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DPDO3
Intermediate Black and White Darkroom 2
Block T will provide all chemicals needed for the duration of the course and paper for the first few weeks.
Course Pre-Requisites
Completed course DPD02 or have an intermediate knowledge of developing film and black and white printing

Course Overview
You will learn:
Advance split grading printing
Learning to print on Fiber Based paper
Introduction to toning your prints This course will enable students to create a archival fine art black and white print

Course Format and Duration
2 x 3 hour sessions and one Sunday. For this term there will be only an evenings course (6:30pm to 9:30pm) Sunday (10.30am to 5.30pm includes a hour for lunch). Six students per class.

Course Dates:
Evening – Tue Eve April 24th, Sat Day Time May 6th and Tue Eve May 15th

Course Fees:
Evening course €195

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CDP01
Creative Darkroom- Making Pin Hole cameras and Photograms
This course is for photographers and non-photographers a like; participants will be introduced to the darkroom and learn how to create images without using a camera. The emphasis will be on creativity and fun.

There will be two lecturers running this course resulting in a lot of practical one-on-one time.

Block T will provide all chemicals, paper and material needed for the duration of the course.

Course Pre-Requisites
No photography or darkroom experience is required.  
We encourage participants to bring along an empty box of some sort with which to make their own pinhole camera. Shoe boxes are ideal.

You will learn:
Darkroom safety. How to make photograms. How to make a pinhole camera (which you will get to take home at the end of the course). How to take and develop a photograph using a Pinhole camera.
Some creative development techniques. 
Course Format and Duration
Weekend course consisting of 2 x 6 hour sessions (11:00am to 5:00pm, Sat & Sun). With a break of an hour for lunch.
Eight students per class.

Course Dates:
April 21th and 22nd

Course Fees:
€105

HERBERT CELLO QUARTET

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:32:00 +0100

THE HERBERT CELLO QUARTET

Featuring the music of: BON IVER / THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA / MOZART / SCOTT JOPLIN / WILHEIM FITZHAGEN & MORE

Presented with funding from the Music Network Performance and Touring Award.

Here is a taster http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_gVP5Je7M8&context=C36639c1ADOEgsToPDskJS2n6gr6lKQZrV12qrtZzI

Thursday the 29th of March
8pm
10 euro
You can bring your own beverages

A COMMUNITY ARTS SHOW & TELL

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:36:57 +0100

ANOTHER CONVERSATION

PRESENTS

A COMMUNITY ARTS SHOW & TELL
(Projects dealing with parents and children, community development, youth and minorities)

BLOCK T
SMITHFIELD

Wednesday March 28th, 2012
13:00 – 17:00

Supported by Blue Drum and the Family Support Agency

WHAT?

Another Conversation is a campaign for cultural rights, initiated and supported by Blue Drum and a wide collective of interested parties. This campaign has its origins in a seminar, co-organised by Fatima Groups United and Blue Drum in 2010, which debated what community arts means in the 21st century.
This event inspired a range of meetings, workshops and activities, including the founding of a campaign to place community arts on the local and national agenda.
The fundamental issue at the core of this campaign is one of cultural rights: the right of all people to have an equal voice in creating communities and society and the human right to have the means and the support to make this voice heard and respected.
In order to do this: the understanding of culture and art must be more democratic; the financial and other supports for culture and art must be more fair and equitable; the introduction of creativity to education must be a priority.

Another Conversation calls for:

1. A new dialogue around community arts.
2. A fairer distribution of financial support towards community arts.
3. The development of a new Pedagogy of Cultural Rights.
4. A holistic and long-term approach to developing society through the mobilising of cultural approaches that mend societies broken circuitry between people and their capacity to: support families and children; (re)build communities; repair the democratic political system; a healthy environment; a fair and just economic.

This Show & Tell will highlight examples of community arts work that address some of the aims of Another Conversation and is an opportunity to engage with this debate.

WHO?

The day is open to everyone interested in these issues, with contributions welcome. A range of groups and initiatives have already agreed to join the programme e.g. Fatima Groups United, Ballyboden FRC, Sitric Road Community Garden, The Lifeline (Stoneybatter), Follow Your Dream (Limerick). Please join us!

HOW?

Presenters are invite to make a five-minute presentation (it can be Pecha Kucha style, with up to 10 images or by simply telling your story).

Please contact Ed Carroll at Blue Drum before March 26th to declare that you want to make a presentation: bluedrum@ireland.com

Images can be displayed digitally and a projector will be provided. Please send your images in advance to Lili Heller liliheller@gmail.com or bring on a memory stick/computer. If you are showing images, please arrive between 12:00 and 13:00, so we can test the technicals.

All other participants/audience are very welcome to attend.

WHERE?

Block T,
1-6 Haymarket,
Smithfield Square,
Dublin 7

www.blockt.ie

Programme:

13:00 – 14:00 Potluck Lunch!
Each person brings a food to share.

14:00 – 17:00 Show &Tell
Presentations, Q&A, Discussion

Friendly Feedback
A mystery match person to each individual presentation

Please respond to this mail if you are coming. It will help us with the organisation! To: sandyfitzgerald@eircom.net

MYSTICAL ANARCHISM - Clodagh Emoe / Simon Critchley

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:55:55 +0100

MYSTICAL ANARCHISM
----------------------------------------------------------

FILM by Clodagh Emoe and Thomas McGraw Lewis.

CONVERSATION with special guest Simon Critchley

A TASTE OF FAITH by Edia Connole and Scott Wilson.

As spaces are limited please contact Clodagh at emoe@ireland.com
to secure your place.

Bottlenote presents..

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:49:59 +0000

KENNETH DAHL KNUDSEN
SHANE LATIMER
DENNIS CASSIDY
PATRICK KIERNAN
SHANE HOLLY

Knudsen/Latimer Quartet
Kenneth Dahl Knudsen is double bass player based in Aalborg, Denmark. He performs with his own international band ‘Kenneth Dahl Knudsen Group feat. Gilad Hekselman’ and the Aalborg based group ‘Crash ‘n’ Burn’. Shane Latimer is a guitarist based in Dublin. He performs with funk scientists ‘OKO’ and co-curates the annual Bottlenote festival, an annual festival of improvised music in Dublin, Ireland. The pair met when performing at Den Blaa Festival 2011. After performing an off-the-cuff concert at the festival they organised a tour of Ireland and Denmark for March 2012. For this collaboration they will be joined by Galway-based Matthew Berrill on sax and Oslo-based Kristian Thor Helboe on drums. This tour was made possible with the generous support of Culture Ireland and Improvised Music Company. http://kennethdahlknudsen.com/ http://soundcloud.com/shanelatimer

Dennis Cassidy is a graduate of the Newpark Music Center in Dublin, where he studied jazz performance under Conor Guilfoyle. He is a much sought after performer both live and in studio and has played extensively throughout Ireland, Europe and the US. He is also a highly regarded educator and composer, and has written for both ensemble and film. Current projects include Mixtapes From The Underground, Tryst, The Holy Roman Army and solo pieces for turntables, cassette tape and electronics. http://soundcloud.com/dencassidy

Patrick Kiernan is a musician and composer from Dublin. For the past year, he has been experimenting with solo electric bass performance, using electronics and preparations to create improvised spontaneous compositions. http://soundcloud.com/patrickkiernan

Shane Holly is a guitarist/drummer/composer residing in Dublin City. For the past number of years he has been exploring large-scale composition more akin to abstract song. The music draws influence from a variety of genres to create rhythmically and harmonically dense, but accessible soundscapes laden with hooks and shifts in meter and dynamics. The music is instrumental in approach featuring densely layered solo guitar by Shane accompanied by the sympathetic drumming of Brian Walsh. http://soundcloud.com/shaneholly

Block T 1-6 Haymarket, Smithfield Sq., Dublin 7
THU 15 MAR 8:00pm €5/7 BYOB

NEW Darkroom classes starting from the 12th of March: now enrolling

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:38:58 +0000

PHOTOGRAPHY DARKROOM COURSES

BEGINNERS, INTERMEDIATE 1, INTERMEDIATE 2 AND CREATIVE DARKROOM COURSES

Evening, morning and week-end programmes

MARCH & APRIL 2012 COURSES

(We will be repeating some courses and adding new ones through the year, also look out for our Master classes)

Block T launches Photographic Darkroom Training Courses including:

Introduction to the Black and White Darkroom
Intermediate Black and White Darkroom Techniques course 1
Intermediate Black and White Darkroom Techniques course 2
Creative darkroom (pinhole cameras and photograms)

The Darkroom has a range of enlargers enabling printing of 35mm 120 and 5x4 films

Maximum of 6 students per class
Each student will have the use of an enlarger for the duration of the course.
Lecturers are experienced photographers/printers

For further information or to enroll, please send e-mail: smithfieldarts@gmail.com

or via BLOCK T website www.blockt.ie (click on "CONTACT").

Information on the courses is listed below:

DPD01
Introduction to the Black and White Darkroom
This course is a basic introduction to printing and film development.
Block T will provide all chemicals needed for the duration of the course and paper for the first few weeks.
Course Pre-Requisites
Must be able to use a manual or automatic analogue camera to produce a well-exposed black and white film. (35mm or 120)

Course Overview
You will learn:
Darkroom safety, how to use equipment and mix chemicals
Creating photograms
How to develop and store black and white film
Creating contact sheets
Black and white basic printing
Creating test prints
Using multi-grade filters

Course Format and Duration
4 x 3 hour sessions. There will be two separate courses running Monday mornings (11am to 2pm) and Monday evenings (6:30pm to 9:30pm). Six students per class.

Course Dates: Mornings - March 12th, 19th 26th and April 2nd
Evenings - March 12th, 19th 26th and April 2nd

Course Fees: Day Time course €155
Evening course €165

==============================================================

DPD02
Intermediate Black and White Darkroom 1
Block T will provide all chemicals needed for the duration of the course and paper for the first few weeks.
Course Pre-Requisites
Completed course DPD01 or have a basic knowledge of developing film and black and white printing

Course Overview
You will learn:
About “pushing” and “pulling” negatives in the developing stage and develop a “pushed” film
How to enhance your black and white print through dodging, burning and split-grade printing
This course will enable students to create a fine art black and white print

Course Format and Duration
4 x 3 hour sessions. There will be two separate courses running Wednesday mornings (11am to 2pm) and Wednesday evenings (6:30pm to 9:30pm). Six students per class.

Course Dates: Mornings - March 14th, 21th 28th and April 4th
Evenings - March 14th, 21th 28th and April 4th

Course Fees: Day Time course €165
Evening course €175

==============================================================

DPDO3
Intermediate Black and White Darkroom 2
Block T will provide all chemicals needed for the duration of the course and paper for the first few weeks.
Course Pre-Requisites
Completed course DPD02 or have an intermediate knowledge of developing film and black and white printing

Course Overview
You will learn:
Advance split grading printing
Learning to print on Fiber Based paper
Introduction to toning your prints
This course will enable students to create a archival fine art black and white print

Course Format and Duration
2 x 3 hour sessions and one Sunday. For this term there will be two evening courses (6:30pm to 9:30pm) and an entire Sunday (10.30am to 5.30pm includes a hour for lunch). Six students per class.

Course Dates: Evening - March 20th (Tuesday), 25th (Sunday) and April 3rd (Tuesday)

Course Fees: Evening course €195

==============================================================

CDP01
Creative Darkroom- Making Pin Hole cameras and Photograms
This course is for photographers and non-photographers a like; participants will be introduced to the darkroom and learn how to create images without using a camera. The emphasis will be on creativity and fun.
There will be two lecturers running this course resulting in a lot of practical one-on-one time.
Block T will provide all chemicals, paper and material needed for the duration of the course.

Course Pre-Requisites
No photography or darkroom experience is required.  
We encourage participants to bring along an empty box of some sort with which to make their own pinhole camera. Shoe boxes are ideal.

You will learn:
Darkroom safety, How to make photograms, How to make a pinhole camera (which you will get to take home at the end of the course), How to take and develop a photograph using a Pinhole camera, Some creative development techniques. 
Course Format and Duration
Weekend course consisting of 2 x 6 hour sessions (11:00am to 5:00pm, Sat & Sun). With a break of an hour for lunch.
Eight students per class.

Course Dates: April 14th (Saturday) and 15th (Sunday)

Course Fees: €105

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NEW: PHOTOGRAPHY DARKROOM FOR RENT

The darkroom is now for rent. We will supply the basic chemicals, which will be made up by our darkroom technician, who will be also on hand if needed. Our enlargers print from 35mm to large 5x4 format
To rent the darkroom you must have previous experience or have done one of our courses.
If you are interested, please send us an email (smithfieldarts@gmail.com) and we will send you further details.

www.blockt.ie

http://www.blockt.ie/BLOCK_T/DARKROOM_COURSES/DARKROOM_COURSES.html

BLOCK T
1-6 Haymarket
Smithfield Square
Dublin 7

Call for Submissions - Student Season

Fri, 9 Mar 2012 23:19:03 +0000

Student Season @BLOCK T

BLOCK T is currently inviting students from all third level colleges to submit proposals for exhibition for its first year of Student Season.

Student Season is a two month period in BLOCK T’s Visual Arts Programme which focuses on up and coming artists and cultural practitioners. Student Season encourages and supports the development of professional artmaking amongst young artists outside the college environment. Students will gain critical experience in exhibition making and will work with BLOCK
T’s curatorial team during the production of the show. Over the course of the season one student from each exhibition will be selected to partake in a group show curated by BLOCK T later in the year.

We are accepting proposals from student collectives, class groups and individuals.

Please send on your proposal via email to grace@blockt.ie
Subject line to read: ‘Proposal for Student Season’
Include a statement of intent for exhibition
List of participating artists
Relevant visual support material (images, video, website)

BLOCK T is a cooperative organization that provides a platform for visual and performing arts, as well as fostering philosophical, creative and social innovation, locally and internationally. Presently we operate from a former tile warehouse factory located on Smithfield Square, in Dublin’s inner city. This 8,000 square-foot building encompasses eleven resident artist studios, a large versatile gallery space, an analogue photography darkroom and a number of
multifunctional workshop and performance areas.