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Copyright © 2007-09
All Rights Reserved
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| Collectors’ Pieces |
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| THIS & THAT |
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| GOOD GALLERY GUIDE LAUNCHES NEW VISUAL ARTS WEBSITE |
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Good Gallery Guide has launched its new and improved website thanks to the support of Arts Council England and the Scottish Arts Council. |
| GoodGalleryGuide.com is an online visual arts portal that provides a vital link between galleries and their audiences. It provides up to date, comprehensive gallery information for over 100 visual art galleries from England, Scotland and Wales with more galleries joining on a daily basis. In addition, site visitors can read through the latest visual arts news, features and benefit from exclusive special offers. |
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| GoodGalleryGuide.com is intended to act as a catalyst to encourage more people to visit galleries and exhibitions. It provides an unique online web resource, which offers practical advice for first-time visitors as well as detailed access information for disabled visitors. |
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Seen here at the launch of GoodGalleryGuide.com,
held at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, is Pete Coates,
manager of Good Gallery Guide (right) and Stuart Bolton, project officer and GGG’s creator |
| The new website has been developed over the last year by The Art House and Kirklees based designers, THINK. Good Gallery Guide manager Pete Coates comments: |
| “GoodGalleryGuide.com is updated daily with the latest visual arts news from across the country. Online visitors can also sign up to a free e-newsletter to receive regular information about what’s on and exclusive offers from subscribing galleries.” |
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| Tel: 01924 377 748 |
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| RECORD SALES AT ART LONDON |
| Art London, the UK’s leading fair for contemporary, twentieth century and modern art, returned in October 2006 for its 8th year and welcomed 15,100 visitors over five days, a seven per cent increase in attendance on 2005. Having moved from its previous summer slot in order to capitalise on a vibrant autumn art market, Art London ran from Friday 6 to Tuesday 10 October 2006 in a 65,000 square feet marquee set in the beautiful grounds of The Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London SW3. |
| A glamorous champagne preview (on the evening of Thursday 5) attracted nearly 3,000 guests, including David Cameron MP, George Osborne MP, Sienna Miller, fashion designer Paul Smith, interior designer Nicky Haslam. TV presenter Natasha Kaplinski and socialite Isobel Goldsmith attended another private event at the fair. |
| Tel: 020 7287 7222 |
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| ALLY PALLY IN DOUBT |
| Lindy Berkman of Pig & Whistle Promotions contacted Antiques Diary to inform us of some potentially unfortunate news regarding the Alexandra Palace fairs. “Sadly the fair on 19 November 2006 may have been our last one, as it has not been possible to agree terms with the present management of the venue for future events,” says Lindy. |
“We are waiting for the new management Firoka Ltd to take over, but this has not yet happened. If and when it does I hope we can renegotiate so that the fair can be re-launched as soon as possible.”
Lindy continues: “It was not my intention to give up running these popular events and I know many stallholders and visitors are very disappointed at this news. I have been running fairs at Ally Pally for 25 years of their 35 year duration, and can only hope that there may be more optimistic news in 2007.” |
| Tel: 020 8883 7061 |
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| ANTIQUES COURSE A TERRIFIC SUCCESS |
| Recently, Hemswell Antiques Centre offered its customers a unique opportunity - to learn about antique furniture from a practicing dealer. Given the amount of media coverage and the public interest in antiques you would think there would be antiques courses everywhere. Not so! Alex, who took a place on the first course, came all the way from London because she could not find what she wanted anywhere else. |
| “There were a few fine art courses offered by the auction houses but they were far too vague and didn’t offer me the hands on experience with furniture that I was looking for,” she explained. |
| The course was given over three days by one of the county’s most respected and experienced antique dealers and LAPADA member, Chris Wilde. Chris not only has over twenty years full-time in the antiques trade, but prior to that spent over ten years in education as a lecturer in history, so he has the ideal background for the job. |
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| Chris agrees with Alex’s assessment of the situation: “You can’t really learn about antiques just from books or pictures - you need hands-on experience examining pieces carefully under the guidance of a professional who can show you what to look for and how to look. That’s what we do on the course - we give a complete overview of all the period styles using the extensive stock of the centre to show students what they should be looking for in order to appreciate antiques and to spot alterations and downright fakes and copies. There is nowhere else in England that I know of teaching about antiques in this way.” |
| The course is designed with two types of people in mind - those who own or have an interest in antiques and want to learn to appreciate and understand them, and those who want to buy antiques and don’t know where to start or what to look for. It’s no exaggeration to say that the latter group can’t afford not to do this course. |
| “We can’t teach people to be experts in three days”, says Chris, “but we can teach them enough to avoid the obvious pitfalls and give people a strategy to adopt before they go out buying. That can save them a lot of money or stop them buying a real howler.” |
According to those who attended, the first course was an amazing success with all the students wanting to sign up for more specialist courses.
Courses are limited to a maximum of 10 people and costs £125 per person for the three days, including a complete set of course notes and refreshments. For further information, please call the Centre on 01427 668389 ext.228 or e-mail enquiries@hemswell-antiques.com. |
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