AFFORDABLE ART

Source: www.speakup.com.br
Standard: American and British accent
Language level: Pre-intermediate

AFFORDABLE ART

The Affordable Arts Fair (AAF) is one of London’s most important and popular contemporary art events. It’s an art fair with a difference. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the prices are low. That’s because there is a maximum price limit of £3.000 (€3.400).The fair is at the Battersea Evolution arena in Battersea Park., in south London, from March 10^th to 13^th.

A GREAT IDEA

Will Ramsey is the founder of the AAF. Interest in art increased in the 1990s, and Ramsey, wanted to open the exclusive art world to everyone. In 1996, he opened the gallery Art Warehouse in Putney, London. He created a relaxed atmosphere and sold new artists’ work at relatively low prices – from €55 to £2.800.

The Art Warehouse was a big success. Ramsey decided to organise the first AAF in October 1999. The fair attracted 150 artists and over 10.000 visitors. Today the London fair attracts 25.000 visitors and the AAF is a global phenomenon. There are also AAF events in Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, New York and Singapore.

THE ART OF LOVE

Artist Rachael Edgar is a five-year participant at the AAF. She says, “It’s brilliant! People come and buy art for the first time in their lives. And there’s a rest mix of work, from painting to sculpture to photography to printmaking.” This year Edgard brings “Love is a Wager in an Open Car” (far left): it will cost you just €255.

New artist Orlando Lund has visited the fir several times, and he bought a Peter Blake print five years ago. He says. “The AAF definitely inspires me, and influenced the type of work I do.” He explains. “You see the wok of a new artist and think ‘Wow!’ and then you think ‘I could do that.’

PASSION

The fair offers new and experienced collectors a wide range of works, from Paul Bower’s inexpensive print. “You Are Free” (€187) to established artist Christine Reliton and Tom Marine’s Three Fish XI” (bellow) at €2.550. art advisor Thea Westreich says. “For some people, it’s a party, and everyone loves a party! For some, it’s an investment. And, for others, it’s their passion.”

Affordable Arts Fair

Battersea Evolution

Battersea Park, London

Information +44 (0) 870 777 2255

Website: www.affordableartfair.co.uk

Will’s Art Warehouse

180 Lower Richmond Road.

Putney, London SW15 1LY

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8246 4840

Email: info@ills-art.com

From Medieval to Art Deco

Source: www.speakup.com.br

Language level: Avanced

Speaker: Mark Worden

Standard: British accent

FROM MEDIEVAL TO ART DECO...

Eltham Palace is a little known, but fascinating, London tourist attraction. Originally it was a medieval royal palace, but it later fell into decline. In the 1930s it was acquired by a wealthy couple who transformed it into a temple of Art Deco. And, so, if you visit Eltham Palace today, you can see two very different styles side by side. SpeakUp went to Eltham Smith, who works for English Heritage as Curator for Collections for South London. She talked about Eltham Palace’s unusual history.

Annie Kemkaran-Smith

Standard English accent.

The whole site as a manor house dates from around the 11^th century. Bishop Odo, who was a half-brother of William the Conqueror, was given it by his brother, and, from that point, really up until the sort of 14^th century, it stayed as a manor house. It was given to Edward I in the 1300s and, from that point on, it became a royal property and various monarchs did building schemes to improve it. Some of the monarchs that spent a lot of time here. Edward IV, he built the Great Hall, as you see it now, Henry VII spent a lot of time here and  and Henry VII was actually raised in the royal nursery when it was at Eltham.

AHEAD OF THEIR TIME…

Eltham Palace changed dramatically when it was bought by Sir Stephen Courtauld and his Italian-Hungarian wife, Virginia Peirano the Cortaud family had made their fortune in textiles and Stephen’s older brother Samuel founded London’s Coutard Institute of Art. The cople revolutionised Eltham Palace.

Annie Kemkaran-Smith

In domestic architecture, I think it was streets ahead of its time. I think there are public places like hotels and other public buildings that probably had the same general style, but I think in this house at Eltham the fantastic things that you see, like the centralized vacuum cleaner system, so there’s a motor the actual hardware in the basement, so all the maids had to do was plug in hoover up and it would all get collected in the basement. That kind of thing is so advanced for the 1930s period that they were far ahead of the rest of the world.

CRYSTAL PALACE DINOSAURS (no audio)

In Park in South London there is a strange and unexpected sight Groups of huge animals gather at the edge of a lake, looking of prey of relaxing in the sun. These are the Chrystal Palace dinosaurs, the world’s first dinosaur sculptures.

Victorian London was fascinated with dinosaurs and when Crystal Palace Park opened in 1852, the sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was commissioned to build life-size models. To celebrate their competition, on New Year’s Eve1853 Hawkins held a dinner party in the stomach of an Iguanodon!

In all 15 different species of dinosaur and other extinct animal appeared in the park. They were a sensation in London at the time. But the term dinosaur, meaning ‘terrible lizard, had only been invented ten years earlier and the science was new. The models were not very realistic and soon became ridiculed, overgrown and forgotten. Today they have been fully restored and stand proudly again in their own corner of London.

CRYSTAL PALACE PARK (NO AUDIO)

The Crystal Palace was an enormous building of iron and glass. It was built to house the Great Exhibition of 1851, a celebration of British Industry and culture which was visited by a third of the UK’s population!

Following the exhibition, the Crystal Palace was created. It stood here from 1854 to 1936, when it was destroyed by fire. The park occupies one of the highest points in London, with great views over the city.

In addition to the dinosaurs, the park is home to a museum, the National Sports Centre and London’s largest maze!

VISITING INFO

Address: Thicket Road, Penge SE20 8DT

Entry: free, open daily from dawn to dusk.

Travel: overground train from Victoria to Crystal Palace or from London Bridge to Penge West

Online: www.bbc.co.uk/london/in_pictures/360_degree/crystal_palace/index.shtml

NEW YORK DINOSAUR LEGEND

Following the initial success of his Crystal Palace models. Hawkins travelled to the US to build dinosaurs for New York’s Central Park. However, the project fell victim to local politics. His giant sculptures were destroyed, and legend has it they were buried in the south of the park, near Umpires Rock where they still lie today.