ART IS FOR LIFE, NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS...

I don't know, every single gallery space, market stall and 'pop-up' shop seems hell bent of getting us to buy art for Christmas, growinn just a tiny bit tired of all the hard sell...

We had one of the bigger established gallery businesses in our street send one of their staff out with a bucket of paste and a whole load of big flyposters demanding "This Christmas buy art, not crap", only to have the gallery owner on the other side of us take offense at said gallery's flyposting on his wall and tip the bucket of glue over said gallery worker's head... Police were called, posters ripped down, gallery people retired to their galleries to sell their Christmas art and a strange tension echoed down Vyner Street. The poster he paisted on our wall soon had a black leafheart growing on it (well these things do grow rather quickly...). Art isn't just for Christmas though is it? Surely it needs constant love and attention, it needs good light and consideration, art is for life isn't it?

ART IS FOR LIFE, NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS...

Coming your way on 20th December, a two week group show and events to take us through the holidays, through the now traditional (street art) painting outside day that is boxing day and on through the New Year burning our way straight in to 2012....

Late night opening Christmas party private view (who knows why they're called private views, everyone is welcome), 6pm until at least 9pm on Tuesday December 20th

While everyone else is busy flogging art for Christmas, we're carrying straight on through with a group show, the Cultivate Solstice/Christmas party and more (we didn't say we didn't like Christmas, just all the almost cynical sell sell sell... maybe we'll have a free art Chrismas exchange?)


As you know, our now famous "Art Is For Life" slogan was created by Clarissa Baldwin, Chief Executive, in 1978, sadly it is still as relevant today as it was back then. The longstanding campaign aims to raise awareness of the consequences of treating art as gifts or toys. Every year hundreds of thousands of children plead for the latest fad or top toy on the market, only to discard them a few weeks after Christmas when the novelty wears off. Unfortunately, the same perception is also apparent with art. We are continually seeking to change this.


Art is for life, not just for Christmas.

We could have just closed the doors for three weeks, but that really isn't the Cultivate way, is there anything worse than an empty art gallery with locked door? We considered a number of options, we talked to an artist about painting it all, he talked a good talk but turned out to be a flake... Two days ago we decided that we'd just fill the walls with exciting art, put up another group show and fly in to 2012 with our walls full of inspiring paintings, and invite everyone to come see what we have, join in with our events, just use the time to do creative art-full things rather than sittting around watching bad TV, eating unhealthy food and wondering what people made of that art you bought them for Christmas....

Artists are being invited, entertainment booked, wine mulled and.....something a little more than a pop up Christmas art market in out gallery if you know what I mean... And it might just be our one and only New Year in the street, come celebrate with us....