By Dom Stevens –
Children from Spire Junior School, Sharley Park Community Primary School, and New Bolsover Primary School have been working with artists to create an immersive art piece called The Garden of Imagination.
Junction Arts have commissioned the ‘Garden of Imagination’ for the Chesterfield Children’s Festival. Theatre practitioner Monika Johnson, musician Phil Pearson and visual artist Rachel Scanlon are creating the immersive art piece.
Taking the form of a children’s bedroom at the festival for children to enjoy and engage with. There will be elements to play with, including sound sensors and fantasy characters.
The artists spoke to local primary schools to share ideas with the children about childhood and play. Collecting stories from the children to create a performance that will run alongside the “Garden of Imagination”.
Artist Monika Johnson said: “We are excited to work with Junction Arts to create a new immersive children’s theatre piece.
“We are creating a bedroom outside! It’s a bit of a tipsy topsy dream-like setting with some strange items in unusual places. We hope that families will enjoy interacting and playing with our set. They will be able to change the music and sound effects themselves and become part of the performance.
The Chesterfield Children’s Festival will take place at Queen’s Park on the 29th and 30th of July, from 10 am – 4 pm daily.
The festival is free to attend and will have family-friendly acts and activities taking place over the weekend. These will include a silent disco tour, an interactive game zone, a comedy club, circus skills, storytime yoga, tie-dye workshops, face painting, and live music.
Music and live theatre will also take place in and around the town centre during the festival weekend.
For more information visit: www.junctionarts.org or follow Junction Arts on social media @JunctionArtsUK
Junction Arts supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.
Rooted in a unique specialty of producing street photography that features her native Mexican culture, her work is appreciated for its profound creativity and inventiveness.
SAN DIEGO, CA, June 08, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ — Tiffany Yvette Ayala is a distinguished biographee of Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are chosen from among a pool of the most prominent professionals and are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Ms. Ayala is an independent photographer and cinematographer excelling in diverse freelance projects in the San Diego metropolitan area. Rooted in a unique specialty of producing street photography that features her native Mexican culture, her work is appreciated for its profound creativity and inventiveness. Ms. Ayala also contributes to the industry via related appointments that include an affiliation with the New York Film Academy where she was a technical assistant.
Outstanding administrative and management proficiencies have made it possible for Ms. Ayala to accept multiple concurrent roles, and she successfully processes responsibilities related to exhibitions, client relations and on-set duties that include oversight of camera coordination and positioning. For example, in 2016, she served as a key production assistant for the hit television program “So You Think You Can Dance,” and in 2015 she was named a camera utility for the Los Angeles production “How to Build Everything.” Additionally, Ms. Ayala has served as a camera assistant for major hit shows such “Love is Blind and “FBoy Island,” and her broad industry portfolio includes the role of camera operator for the 2014 Los Angeles-based productions “Selfie: The Documentary” and “A Chance for Trust.”
Ms. Ayala cites determination, persistence and discipline as integral to her professional and creative advancement and as indispensable for her artistic freedom. She also relies on comprehensive academic experiences and training, having completed undergraduate coursework in diverse subjects in support of her business pursuits. For example, she accumulated valuable knowledge through formal study of kinesiology and exercise science at San Diego State University between 2005 and 2007, and Ms. Ayala enrolled at California State University-Northridge in 2011 for academic work in cinema and television arts with an emphasis in cinematography after completing an Associate of Arts in telemedia from Southwestern College.
Numerous accolades have marked Ms. Ayala’s creative milestones, including a 2012 award from the Journalism Association, of which she is a member. She also participates in the Local 600 division of the International Cinematographers Guild, which represents elite camera professionals across the globe. Looking toward the future, Ms. Ayala aims to persist toward in realizing her ultimate objective of depicting diverse narrations through images; moreover, she will complete her current documentary project and then disseminate it through film festival circuits before submitting the piece for Emmy Award consideration.
About Marquis Who’s Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who’s Who in America®, Marquis Who’s Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Marquis celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2023, and Who’s Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who’s Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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Ever since the advent of photography, pioneers have made progress in capturing moments and documenting stories, but it wasn’t until the 20th century that women started exploring the field with innovative techniques and inspiring work. Now through September 10, the Taft Museum of Art‘s new exhibit celebrates women’s photographs throughout the course of modern history.
Modern Women/Modern Vision: Photography from the Bank of America Collection opened June 3 and displays an extensive collection of images photographed by women around the world during different periods of time.
The exhibit “visually traces the influential role of women photographers over the past century”, says Taft Museum of Art President and CEO Rebekah Beaulieu. More than 100 photographic prints at this traveling exhibit were loaned by the Bank of America.
From Bank of America Collection; Image courtesy of the artist
“The exhibition honors women’s accomplishments in creating radically inventive images at each phase of modern history, and it is really due to our friends at Bank of America,” says Beaulieu.
The Bank’s organization Art in our Communities is all about loaning out artwork to museums. “Since 2009, more than 170 exhibitions have been a part of museums worldwide and for Cincinnati, this is our first time doing this,” says Lanae Barnes, the organization’s local market executive.
The Taft has been preparing to bring this exhibit to the museum for the past three years after Cincinnati became part of Bank of America’s consumer banking market. “This is a traveling exhibition so I didn’t select the works, but we identified this show as one we wanted to bring to Taft almost three years ago,” says exhibit curator Tamera Muente. “Bank of America has a huge corporate collection of art and to borrow one of their shows you have to be in their market.”
The new gallery captures the course of history through the lens of many inspiring female photographers, including modernists Imogen Cunningham and Margaret Bourke-White as well as post-World War II photographer Cindy Sherman and documentary artist Dorothea Lange.
One of the highlighted works, Sandy Skoglund’s Revenge of the Goldfish (1981), depicts a vivid blue bedroom filled with bright orange fish and showcases Skoglund’s talent for sculpting and designing intense and surreal visions.
Through the lens of Dutch contemporary photographer Rineke Dijkstra, three portraits track Oliver Silva’s growth as he is recruited by the French Foreign Legion. Through each frame, his soft and innocent gaze soon turns into a shaved head, army uniform, and grim stare.
Olivier, Quartier Viénot, Marseille, France, July 21, 2000, Olivier, Camp Raffalli, Calvi, Corsica, June 18, 2001 and Olivier, Quartier Monclar, Djibouti, July 13, 2003 displays three portraits out of seven that trace Silva’s evolution in his intense training, showing a perspective where a portrait isn’t necessarily meant to be a single photograph. An exhibit plaque quoting Dijkstra reads: “The idea is to follow someone who comes in soft and young, then turns tough, but I’m really talking about mental change, not a physical one.”
Muente says the Taft has an incredible collection of works with old master paintings from the 17th through the 19th centuries and beautiful European decorative arts and Chinese porcelains. However, for this exhibit, they want to represent a wider, more diverse group of artists to their audience.
“In our permanent collection, we have just one work by a woman—a beautiful renaissance enamel plaque—and we don’t purchase works of art for our collection, as other larger museums are actively buying art all the time,” says Muente. “The way that we can represent people is by bringing shows like this to the Taft, which also helps us broaden out the scope of the work that we present.”
With this fascinating and dynamic exhibition, Muente hopes attendees are inspired by the fact that women made all these compelling and remarkable works. “I hope that they come away with a sense of how photography changed over the decades because I wanted the show to give people the experience of beautiful black and white images made in a dark room and how that opens up to these large color images that are made in a different way,” she says.
Modern Women/Modern Vision: Photography from the Bank of America Collection will be displayed at the Taft Museum of Art now through September 10.
This chance encounter, resulting from Marco’s desire for exploration, became the subject of a body of work titled In Light, which was released earlier this year. Part photo series, part short film, the work investigates the traditions of the UWB, which was founded towards the end of the 19th Century by Bulgarian philosopher and spiritual teacher Peter Deunov. His teachings, which fall under a form of Christian esoterism, are characterised by practices such as prayers, meditation, breathing exercises, yoga of nutrition and ‘paneurhythmy’ — or, in other words, physical musical exercises.
The group takes its name from the following understandings of each word: ‘Universal’ as a reference to the idea that people can expand their consciousness with universal concepts about life; ‘White’ as a reference to “the highest spiritual symbol, which is the synthesis of all colours”; and ‘Brotherhood’ as a reference to the openness of the group’s teachings, which are “for every human no matter what community, religion, or group they belong to.”
Despite the UWB’s relatively small following in the present day, Marco was drawn to them from the very beginning, and says that In Light is an attempt to understand and communicate their perspectives and practices. Equally, the project concerns itself with broader themes surrounding “the universal language of music and dance, the connection between humans and nature, and the power of community and spirituality.”
Through both his photographs and the short film that he made with director Alice Fassi, Marco hopes to “convey a message of unity, harmony and love, and to showcase the beauty of human connection and the natural world.” In both, subdued imagery, with occasional pops of colour, show the special gatherings that take place in this remote part of Bulgaria, capturing the profound energy created by humans together, in motion. Though this captivating practice is performed out in the open, there is the sense that we have stumbled on a secret, just as Marco once did.
PERRY – Members of the Canyon Camera Club will present an exhibition at the Arts Council for Wyoming County, 31 South Main St.
The exhibit opens June 9 with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Work will be on display in the ACWC’s Main Gallery through July 28.
The public is invited to see a range of subjects represented and showcased through the lens of these photographers, considered some of the most accomplished in our region.
Canyon Camera Club was established in 1948 when six or seven enthusiastic people came together to discuss photography and share images. But it was not until six years later, in 1954, that they became an official club under the formal name of the Can-yon Camera Club. Canyon was taken from Letchworth Park, often called the “Grand Canyon of the East.” The club’s logo depicts the former train trestle (1875 to 2018) over the upper falls in the park.
Canyon Camera Club was one of the 23 member clubs of the Niagara Frontier Regional Camera Club in Western New York, southern Ontario, and Erie, Pa.. The NFRCC was established more than 50 years ago but, unfortunately, is being dissolved effective June 30.
Over the years, one of the main goals of the NFRCC was to “Promote the Enjoyment of Photography.”
The Canyon Camera Club adopted that goal, guiding its programs and activities.
For many years the club met on the first and third Wednesday of each month between September and May at the Arts Council for Wyoming County. Still, the COVID-19 Pandemic and Western New York winter weather forced the club to conduct an alternative meeting schedule. Hence, they invite the public to check the Canyon Camera Club on Facebook for programs and club news, and they welcome photographers of all skill levels to join the club or visit as a guest.
The public is invited to see a range of subjects represented and showcased through the lens of these photographers, considered some of the most accomplished in our region.
Regular gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.
For more information, call (585) 237-3517 or visit artswyco.org.
Photo by Dr. Tom Reagan
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| Promo shot of New Jeans’ new Coca-Cola Zero ad / Courtesy of Coca-Cola |
‘Is it an ad or a new song?’By Lee So-ra
Fans wondered whether the new track, “Zero,” that was released last month on the official YouTube channel of NewJeans was an advertisement or a new song.
Considering the quality of the music video, one might have been forgiven for thinking it was a new, full-length track that had been released by the girl group. However, it was clearly a jingle for a new commercial with lyrics that included lines like “Coca-Cola tastes good.”
The music video was created in collaboration between Coca-Cola Korea and the company’s global music platform Coke Studio, reaching more than 15 million views on YouTube in just two days after its release. The track also reached the top spot of the Genie Music chart, a rare feat for a commercial jingle. In addition, many convenience stores across Korea reported an increase in sales of Coca-Cola Zero products.
“By minimizing brand exposure and putting all of our focus on NewJeans, it appears that we were able to reduce the aversion to advertisements in some people,” said Coca-Cola Korea marketing executive Kwon Jung-hyun during an interview at the company’s headquarters in Seoul on June 1.
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| A scene from a music video for “Zero” by NewJeans / Captured from NewJeans’ official YouTube channel |
Breathing life into a story and leaving room for interpretation
Coca-Cola’s marketing team singled out NewJeans for its groundbreaking role in introducing new sounds to the world of K-pop. They believed the image of NewJeans as a pioneer aligned perfectly with the direction of the company’s latest project to create a new brand experience. Furthermore, they saw the potential of NewJeans to generate serious buzz among its global fans and boost Coca-Cola sales in other markets outside Korea. With Coca-Cola operating in some 200 countries, this collaboration with NewJeans was launched as a global project from the beginning.
The music video shows people walking through a red door to meet others, a nod to the company’s “Real Magic” notion. Coca-Cola Korea’s creative content manager Lee Jung-min explained, “The focus of the production was to tell a story that was easy to understand while letting viewers find hidden messages that are open to interpretation like an Easter egg hunt.” For example, a bus seen in the music video is numbered 0722, which corresponds to the date when NewJeans made their debut on July 22, 2022. Some fans have even found a connection between the ad and the Japanese animated film “Suzume.”
At the same time, the exposure of the Coca-Cola brand itself was kept to a minimum. The marketing team initially planned to feature the brand name on the red sofa that NewJeans members were dancing on, but it was left out to avoid drawing excessive attention. Close-up shots of Coca-Cola cans being opened were also omitted to avoid direct product exposure. Instead, the company relied on the natural influence of NewJeans to hammer home its message of “refreshment” and “positivity.”
Kwon explained, “Instead of just pushing our brand into the advertisement, we wanted to express it in a more elegant way.” He added, “We wanted to evoke the brand naturally by coloring sofas and other props in red to symbolize Coca-Cola.”
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NewJeans ad to target markets abroad
Considerable effort was made to tap into the formula that allowed K-pop to become the global sensation it is today. The company modeled K-pop’s marketing approach by releasing the full audio of the track on the day of the music video’s release, followed by a dance video a few days later. The music video was made exclusively available on NewJeans’ official YouTube channel instead of Coca-Cola’s platform, again taking the focus away from the product and fixing the limelight firmly on NewJeans.
Lee said, “Coca-Cola’s famous jingle has been forgotten by many people in the younger generation, but NewJeans has helped us revive it.” She added, “Now it seems to be establishing itself as something trendy rather than nostalgic.” Coca-Cola is planning to edit the latest ad featuring NewJeans and re-release it in markets across Southeast and Central Asia, pushing the catchphrase “Coca-Cola tastes good” spoken in Korean. The comments section for the music video for “Zero” has already garnered more responses from non-Korean speakers, hinting at significant interest from global fans.
Typical localization strategies call for the use of voiceovers when using ads created in other countries. This isn’t the case for NewJeans’ music video for Coca-Cola, which is a rarity for a non-English language ad. Lee said, “This reflects the huge influence that NewJeans wields in markets abroad.” Kwon added, “Coca-Cola offices from around the world are asking us if they can use the NewJeans ad that we produced here in Korea. It may not be long before we hear the words ‘Coca-Cola tastes good’ in Korean being spoken by people in other countries.”
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola released another track in collaboration with NewJeans on May 31. Titled “Be Who You Are,” it features five-time Grammy Award-winning jazz musician Jon Batiste, Latin pop artist Camilo and American rapper J.I.D. The music video of the new track reached 372,000 views on YouTube on the second day of its release, and it’s expected to be the central component of Coca-Cola’s extensive global marketing campaign.
Lee So-ra (wtnsora21@hankookilbo.com) is a reporter at The Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times. This article, previously published in The Hankook Ilbo, has been translated as part of a news-sharing program.
