SLMpickings - an arts and culture blog
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Urban explorer

URBAN NATION: Connect. Create. Care.

9/20/2016

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On a recent visit to Berlin I ventured to Bülowstraße in Schöneberg, with the sole purpose of getting a glimpse of URBAN NATION’s HQ street art. I’d caught sight of Super A and Collin van der Sluijs ‘Starling’ on Colossal, produced through the not-for-profit initiative, and I was keen to see what other murals UN had helped bring to Berlin's streets.

I’ve increasingly become fascinated by urban art, which is a hugely important and increasingly admired 21st century art form, capable of bringing cities to life and allowing people to find expression within the very fabric of places. Bülowstraße didn’t disappoint, but inspired a deeper curiosity about URBAN NATION and its mission, so I got in touch with director Yasha Young to find out more.

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Hampstead Pergola: North London’s Hidden Gem

9/1/2015

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Hampstead Heath is well-known for its natural beauty and tranquility, but an even more peaceful spot is a lesser-known gem located nearby. Overlooking West Heath stands Hampstead Hill and Pergola; The Hill (now Inverforth House) was an Edwardian mansion owned by Lord Leverhulme. The wealthy idealist dreamed of a pergola (a raised walkway) to compliment his home, and set about the build between 1905 and 1925. The opulent site came complete with exotic plants and acres of nature, and was to be the location of many a garden party.

Now owned by London County Council, it has been open to the public since 1963 and is undergoing continued renovation. To this day the pergola offers stunning views of the surrounding beautiful gardens, perfectly landscaped. Quite literally off the beaten track, it isn’t the easiest place to find, but it’s well worth the effort. Eerily quiet and still, its grandeur may have faded, but its perfection has not. 
Hampstead Pergola, SLMpickings

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Of Soil and Water: Kings Cross Pond Club

7/14/2015

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Kings Cross Pond Club, SLMpickings
North of Kings Cross in the most unlikely of places sits a piece of nature amidst the developing urban sprawl, a natural ecosystem side by side with a working construction site. It’s name? Of Soil and Water, perhaps more commonly referred to as Kings Cross Pond Club. This man-made fresh water public bathing pond is the UK’s first of its kind and it sits at the heart of one of the largest developments in London, up past Guardian’s HQ (King’s Place) and not a million miles from the celebrated Granary Square. The pond will be a main attraction within the Lewis Cubitt Park area of the King’s Cross development.

Unlike Hampstead Heath, or London’s numerous lidos, this al fresco swimming spot has been described as ‘experiential art’, ‘land art’ and ‘an installation you can swim in’ amongst other things. Temporary though it might be, the labelling of the pond as art is intriguing given its clear function as a bathing pond. 

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Wholly Trinity: Leeds

7/8/2015

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Last week I ventured north to Yorkshire to spend two days in Leeds. Close to my hometown of Hull,  Leeds used to be my family's shopping destination of choice, long before the days of Trinity Leeds, and long before before my appreciation of fashion full stop; as a grumpy teen I befriended many a fitting room chair in despair as my sister tried on her umpteenth outfit. Leeds also happens to be the city in which my university life was lived, and the place that shaped the opinions I hold true today.

It turns out a place can change a lot in 4 years. When I graduated in 2011 the landscape of Leeds was different. I don’t ever remember stopping to admire Holy Trinity Church back then. I wasn’t a gig-goer and from what I can remember it spent much of the three years that I called Leeds home behind hoarding, an ambiguous dingy building which as far as I knew had nothing to offer me. Today it signifies the beating heart of Leeds city centre: Trinity Leeds, which boasts a strong retail, restaurant and bar offering.
Angelica, Leeds

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Place Apps 2015 : The digital escorts

6/28/2015

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Google Maps is global leader in local and international mapping having created, to an extent, ‘a digital mirror to the world’. RAC route-mapper is but a distant memory and today’s master of the route, Google Maps, with its real-time data, is deemed an essential tool for all travelers on two legs and four wheels; it’s a wonder we survived without it until 2005. Up until now it has required an internet connection to work. Luckily, it has recently been announced that Google Maps is set to go offline from the end of this year with the sole view of ‘mak[ing] traveling and exploring new places easier for people.' Amen to that.

There’s no doubt that the internet has shone a spotlight on destinations. Five years prior to Google Maps, TripAdvisor arrived on the scene to mark the start of mass online public judgement of place, and is now widely regarded as the first port of call for most holiday-makers choosing where to wine and dine or lay their weary heads. 

Since then Facebook has played a role in sign-posting ‘must see’ places locally and internationally. Moving on from simply allowing users to ‘check-in’ and create travel maps, Facebook's app for iPhone has recently added another string to its bow with Facebook 'Place Tips’, which shows you more information about places you visit, including your friends’ photos, experiences and moments from said place.

Apps designed to sign-post us in the right direction of those hidden gems we’re all too keen to feast our eyes on are increasingly emerging. Find my pick of 4 below and see what they have to offer...

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Walking The Line

6/2/2015

 
The Line Art Walk, London, SLMpickings
Just over a week ago London welcomed its first dedicated contemporary art walk to the city. Designed to make art more accessible to the masses and to encourage Londoners to discover the East like never before, The Line takes explorers between Stratford and North Greenwich, following the Greenwich Meridian line. Co-founded by Art Dealer Megan Piper and Regeneration Specialist-come-Urban Transformer Clive Dutton OBE, the project relies on the support of visitors, patrons and businesses for its very existence, demonstrating the potential for urbanists, artists and both the public and private sectors to collaborate. 

The Line professes that ‘no one journey is the same’, and given that part of the route is temporarily blocked off, and that people are bound to take their own detours, I’m sure this will prove true.[...]


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