James Steward A/W Photo Shoot Sneak Peek

Shhhh but here is a sneaky preview of couture designer James Steward's latest collection. The ollection is inspired by James' experiences during 'Leeds in Vancouver', and later this month he will be showcasing this new collection during 'Leeds in Barcelona'.

It was a beautiful day at at the breathtaking ruins of Kirkstall Abbey. The day started with hair and make up at independent salon Rebecca Charles in central Leeds. You know when you watch shows like Project Runway or ANTM, the hair and make up work always flashes by like a quick breeze... But in real life, it is more than those two seconds, it took the stylists more than four hours to get the perfect look for the afternoon's fashion shoot.

The crew then moved to the amazing Kirkstall Abbey. (which by the way is a great venue for fashion shows) The sunshine was not ideal for an outdoor photoshoot, so the sets are mostly in the shadows. For what I was doing (backstage report type stuff) I kinda just carried on and had fun under the sun and I'm very pleased by the heavy shadow contrast because of it. When not messing with my camera I enjoyed watching James Steward's signature designs, like the float of the maxi dresses, the details of the back, and interesting use of fabric.

It was also exciting to see some fresh faces in the photo shoot. (I was basically stalking them with the camera!)

The official James Steward A/W photos will be ready later this month and we will be announcing lots more detail around the Leeds in Barcelona project, which James will be a part of, later this week!

The Hebe Week In Pics

Team Hebe member Marcus has headed back to Stockholm but we will be reunited next month in BarcelonaAnd of course we gave Marcus a Mojos send off!Some of us dined at Sukhothai, Headingley - Haddock Thai Green Curry is very nice!And some of us hit the the Ryther Arms, a meaty collaboration could be on the cards!Temple Newsam is amazing in the sunshine, so many flowers..Some with evil surprises inside!That hill @ Temple Newsam was my everest at last years Race For Life, this year i will whoop it!There's a new park coming to Temple Newsam, it already has gardens, woods, fields, lakes, a farm and a house!Delicious Yorkshire food market in York featuring Chilli Jams, Royal cupcakes and plenty of pork pies!Nice little tapas bar in York gets us in the mood for Barcelona next month!

Hebe team member takes up residency at world leading London Gallery

They've been called inspired lunatics and literary perverts and now the York based independent publishing imprint, information as material, can add Writer in Residence to its list of aliases, as it begins a year long residency at one of London's leading art institutions, the Whitechapel Gallery. Hebe team member, Simon Zimmerman talks about his involvement and hopes for the months ahead.

What is information as material?

"It's a small, artist-led publishing imprint that was started by Simon Morris in 2002, initially as a way for Simon to get his own work out into the world. He soon found that other artists were approaching him about publishing their work, and it grew organically from there.

Since the very beginning, the imprint has been driven by a commitment to supporting work by artists and writers who reuse existing material - selecting it and re-framing it to generate new meanings - and who, in doing so, disrupt the order of things. 

information as material (iam) now has an editorial team of five people (Craig Dworkin, Christine Morris, Simon Morris, Nick Thurston and I) all responsible to developing projects as well as producing their own work for publication. In recent times iam has published work by key artists, from around the world, including Pavel Büchler, Caroline Bergvall, Kenneth Goldsmith, Sharon Kivland and, most recently, Lucia della Paolera and released books, pamphlets, posters, blogs, films and, most recently, an application for the iPhone and iPad (developed by Christine Morris), Re-writing Freud, which randomly re-writes Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams as you tap the screen." 

How did you become involved?

"It's sort of a long story... Nick Thurston and I go way back - we grew up in the same area and went to the same school. We reconnected in later life, when I returned from Dartington College of Arts. I'd been researching what I thought, at the time, was a fairly obscure field of artistic practice that involved all kinds of artists working with books and text - approaching writing as an interdisciplinary and often performative act. Nick and I bumped into each other at a BBQ and it transpired that we both shared that interest, although we do have different concerns - I doubt that Nick would approve of my description (laughs).

I met Simon through Nick in 2005, and helped iam to find funding for the first version of what is now the Re-writing Freud application. I stayed in contact with them over the following years, but mostly as an interested reader. Then, in 2009 I started talking with Nick and Simon about doing something together as part of the In a word... project I was doing with Arts Council England, Yorkshire. As fate would have it Craig, Simon and Nick had already started work on an idea for an exhibition at the Laurence Sterne Museum, and they were looking for a Producer to work with. That idea developed into The Perverse Library, and following the closing event in October 2010 the iam team asked if I would consider joining their editorial board. I leapt at the chance, of course."

How did the Whitechapel residency come about?

"The Whitechapel has been running the Writer in Residence programme from two years now, with Maria Fusco and Sally OReilly leading the way in 2009 and 2010 respectively. The programme aims to create a platform for writing about art, writing as art and writing as a lens through which to view art. Looking at the opening part of Whitechapel's main artistic programme for 2011/12 - with John Stezaker's appropriations of film stills; Bethan Huws' re-presentation of the gallery space through minor alteration (if installing a false floor can be considered minor); and several works in the current exhibition, Material Intelligence, which reframe materials and objects - it's not hard to see why the Whitechapel has invited this collective of artists, with a track record of re-writing and 'undesigning', to take up this residency." 

What do you have in store for the the residency?

"What isn't!? Simon Morris once disclosed to me that he had been called 'philosophically irresponsible' by his psychiatrist. It think that just about sums up the tone of the iam journey, and I hope a sense of the irrational will run through the whole of the residency.

The Whitechapel programme says:

'For their Whitechapel Gallery residency, [iam] will programme events that explore the possibilities opened up by conceptualist approaches to writing and performative approaches to reading. Through editions, conferences, workshops, discussions, screenings and collaborations, the York-based independent publishing imprint will create a space for a poetic and critical engagement with issues such as ‘undesigning’, anti-expressionism and cultural piracy.'

Everyone on the editorial board is an artist in their own way, but they are also teachers, curators, researchers, performers, producers, computer programmers etc. I'm sure that all these interests will inform what we do, and how it gets done."

The official launch of the residency will be held at the Whitechapel Gallery, London on Thursday, 28 April 2011. Tickets for the event are available to purchase online, and include a drink and a free iam edition. Click here for more information.

Blackpool

A couple of weeks back four of the members Team Hebe headed over to Blackpool. Having two international members of the team we wanted to show them a different side to England. Speaking honestly, we went for a little bit for the fun and to show them the 'tacky' side of England... what we found however was a place with unbelievable potential and character.

As some of the regular readers of the blog will know we are obsessed with cities and towns, their brands and how they function. We often talk about our home city of Leeds or places in which we are currently creating projects like Barcelona, Manchester, Taipei, Stockholm and loads more, but Blackpool has never been on our radar. Sure we have been there loads of times for a laugh or night out in our teenage years but now, profssionally speaking, we like to work with places who have a strong interest in developing their creative economies and a global brand around that and we never thought that Blackpool fell into this category. It still does not, but what it does have is a canvas, a stage, a platform that with the right plan, could create something new for the town.

First impressions

What struck me when I arrived was how dead the place was. As we walked along the front we could see more hotels closed then open. Many of the shops and restaurants were closed. It may have something to do with the season but this was mid-April so you would expect some life there. We had a walk out on the peer and most of the shops and cafes there were closed but lots of the rides were working. Immediately with our creative brains running into over-drive we were talking about all the spots on the peer that would make for a great photo-shoot. The overall feeling was so retro, not in a 'hipster taking-the-piss' way, but in a 'this is so cool that it has not changed' way. 

Later in the day we hit some of the arcades along the front. Some were closed down but the biggest one, Coral Island, was alive and kicking. After checking out at least four games that didn't work and swallowed our money, we decided to get competitive on the 'Camel Race' game. It was great fun and made us all feel like kids again!

The Situation

As we walked around the city we discussed possible ideas and projects that could perhaps help to take Blackpool in a new direction, one that respects and incorporates the past, but looks toward the future and could help kick-start a new era for the city. This is not to say Blackpool is not improving in some areas because it is, but it seems that even though it is the UK's busiest sea-side resort, some things are not quite working. Some of this is through no fault of their own, the cost of taking a holiday abroad has fallen dramatically over the past 20 years and places like Blackpool have taken a hit.

On a more positive note, the council have bought up some of the main tourist attractions and features of the city and are putting some of them in hands of experts (for example the people who run the London Eye will now run Blackpool Tower). Blackpool's football team are currently in the premiership, Nickelodeon Land is coming to the Pleasure Beach and Madame Tussauds is replacing Louis Tussauds on the front. I am sure those things will help pull in some extra tourists and keep some of the hotels and shops in business for a few more years... but what about if during this time Blackpool developed something else?

Ideas

The visuals of Blackpool are amazing. The old buildings, the deserted spaces, the things that have been untouched for 20 years... these are so inspiring for creatives. We had more ideas walking along the front in Blackpool then we have had walking around many other cities. 

How can Blackpool attract a younger, creative crowd? Well look at the spaces they have/could have. We had already dreamed up photo-shoots for at least three brands we work with. It seems lots of the magic of Blackpool's golden period is buried under a layer of dust and decay, if that was removed it could be amazing again. It does not need rebuilding, only some TLC. Blackpool should be proud of it's past and where it has come from. But instead of only looking at tourist numbers, they should think about how to get people to come and stay. To develop ideas, projects, content and businesses in Blackpool.  If we are so inspired by the city, we are sure lots more would be. New people, ideas and projects can sit side-by-side with the more traditional stuff, in fact they can help in ways Blackpool may not even realise yet. 

In a global economy we in the UK sometimes take for granted our current position and think that replicating the past or attracting a new chain store is going to take a city or town to the next level. What we are ignoring is the fact that China, India, Brazil, Russia (and many more not just the BRIC) are developing at lightening pace. They are creating, they are innovating, they are spending. What we have in the UK is an amazing canvas and still some of the best creative minds in the world. We should be thinking about these two can fit together and Blackpool has all the ingredients to be at the centre of some of that thinking.

The Hebe Week In Pics

A love for Lola Ferrari at YSPMarcus went to see Rent Boys at Brudenell Social Club and loved itLee took a trip to Derby! MOTMarcus captures Hyde Park in the Sunshine, looks like it's set in the 70'sThe Hebe Team take Marcus to York before he returns to SwedenYork keeps everything old skoolGood ol' Lady PeckettsMarcus checking out our tudor style buildingsYork, as well as Tadcaster, still uses horse and cartsThe restaurant terrace in City Square reminds me of Spain