Creative Connectivity - Southport June 2023

ONCE again, Southport will become a hotbed of Artistic activity this summer as Southport Contemporary Arts continues to roll out its wide ranging programme of events across the resort.

Since its inception in 2009, SCA has successfully maintained its profile as a leader in support of the Region's Artistic population and is continuously applauded for its well established calendar of extensive exhibitions, public workshops and persistent support of local Artists, designers and makers.

Hot on the heals of its successful Spring Open Exhibition, in March 2023, the ArtHouse Gallery in Eastbank Street will form the hub of an ambitious line up that includes:- exhibitions, open studios and 'Have A Go' workshops in the area.

SCA Director, Norrie Beswick Calvert explains:- "As part of our annual:- 'Creative Connectivity' events, in June, we'll be celebrating the power of connection within our creative community with a 3 week exhibition that also continues our 10th birthday celebration of ArtHouse, our Southport town centre Gallery. With work from Artists and makers whose creative practice spans painting, textiles, ceramics, photography and much more, it will be an exhibition and sale of works that visitors will be inspired by and hopefully discover that perfect piece to compliment their home or gift to a special someone."

Norrie will be showing a trio of her own tactile rock pool artworks inspired by the strandline of decomposing seaweed and debris typically left behind at each high tide. Recalling rocky cove camping holidays with her growing family, Norrie's textiles are an inventive reminder:- "'Rock pool' endeavours to capture the colours and shapes on show when sitting quietly on a near rock just watching the life that teams in them. I used the 'free machine embroidery' technique to draw with a needle and thread the swirling nature of the plant and sea life that one would see if they too were to sit for a quiet moment or 2."

Digital Artist, Dave Sutton from Birkdale, will also be 1 of the ArtHouse featured Artists exhibiting examples of his mesmerizing abstract creations. Having learned to write computer coding as a teenager, since retiring from a career in IT, Dave has been keen to explore the potential of combining Science and Art to generate his dynamic and visually arresting imagery.

Dave Sutton said:- "Although I use common Digital Design and Editing apps, I also use additional apps for Artificial Intelligence and Fractal Geometry, and write computer code to create graphics."

The simplicity of Dave's digital realisations, rendered using an eye catching colour palette, deliver a mathematical beauty that is immediately captivating to both the digitally initiated and the creatively minded alike.

Inclusivity has always been at the forefront of SCA's rationale to nurture creative nature within everyone.

The variety of 2023 activities maintain the breadth and scope of previous years and include:- 'Have A Go' workshops in weaving, where participants will be introduced to spinning, tapestry and working on a loom, Raku firing ceramic pots in a special open air fire pit and an exclusive 'crafternoon tea' exploring the design possibilities of transfer printing onto fabric.

Over in Marshside, Ceramic Sculptor and Painter, Pam Thomas, will be inviting visitors to her studio where she is currently working on her new figure collection:- 'Refugees.'

Ted Roberts will also be holding an open studio where he will be introducing visitors to his own creative practice and latest body of work, as well as being happy to engage in conversation about what motivates Artists to keep going:- "As an Artist I tend to avoid overusing labels like abstract or figurative, landscape or portrait or any other titles that pigeonhole artwork. I prefer to think of my work as experiments, sometimes I get positive results and sometimes I get failures. However, in going through the process, I have usually learned something that I can build on."

Elsewhere, Southport College will be hosting a 2 day exhibition from students across its creative courses including:- art, graphics, games design, media and photography showcasing work from its College University Centre, and adult courses.

For more details and information about all of this month's exciting events, please download the information PDF @ the SCA website.

Tobacco kills 1 person every 40 minutes

NEW analysis released by Cancer Research UK on:- 'World No Tobacco Day' estimates that tobacco causes the death of 1 person in the North West every 40 minutes.

The rate of people dying from tobacco in the Region is higher than the England average.

Smoking remains the biggest cause of death in the North West and it's estimated it's responsible for around 7,300 cancer deaths each year. That's 32% of all cancer deaths in the Region.

To mark World No Tobacco Day, Cancer Research UK is urging people to sign a petition as part of its 'Smokefree UK' campaign, which calls for more support from Government to help rapidly reduce smoking rates.

The charity warns that for each day Ministers fail to stub out smoking hundreds of lives will be needlessly lost nationwide.

A poster appeal in aid of the initiative can be seen in all 600 Cancer Research UK shops in the North West and across the UK. People can show their support by scanning a QR code in shop windows or signing the petition online.

It comes as successive funding cuts continue to undermine Local Authorities' efforts to tackle the deadly addiction. Stop smoking services are proven to give people who smoke the best chance of quitting, but these aren't universally available and public health campaigns continue to be axed.

That's why the charity is urging the Prime Minister to establish a:- 'Smokefree Fund' to pay for interventions like these that will help drive down smoking rates, as well as alleviate pressures on Local Authorities and NHS waiting lists. In England alone, 1 person is admitted to Hospital every minute due to smoking.

There are also huge economic benefits to be had as smoking costs the UK public purse around �20.6 billion per year.

Investment in tobacco control could happen at no cost to the taxpayer if the UK Government made the tobacco industry foot the bill for the damage it causes. The recently announced levy on the gambling industry provides a precedent for this. And most importantly, polling has revealed there is already public support for a similar levy on tobacco.

Cancer Research UK Spokesperson for the North West, Jane Bullock, said:- "Smoking causes around 150 cases of cancer a day across the UK and in the North West 14.4% of people still smoke. This is above the national average. Smoke-filled pubs, colourful cigarette packets and cigarette vending machines are all now things of the past. But from these shocking figures, it's clear the distressing toll of tobacco is not - and that's why we need the help of people across the Region to make smoking history. Enough is enough. Most people who smoke want to quit, but they need more support. So, the UK Government must urgently deliver the funding needed to tackle the number one cause of death in the North West. Many of us know friends and family whose lives are at risk, or have lost loved ones to smoking, so we hope that as many supporters as possible will sign our vital petition to the Prime Minister. In a world without cancers caused by smoking, we can make more moments that matter and help people live longer, healthier lives, free from the fear of this devasting disease."

In April 2023, the UK Government responded to the Dr Javed Khan Independent Review of Smoking. Cancer Research UK has branded the response:- "insufficient," highlighting that 17,100 lives have already been lost to tobacco across the UK, since the announcement. Over 7,600 of these were due to cancer alone.

While the tobacco control measures announced were welcome, these did not go nearly far enough to reach Ministers' target for England to be:- 'smokefree' by 2030; defined as less than 5% of the adult population smoking.

The charity's modelling shows that smoking rates need to drop a staggering 70% faster than currently projected for this to happen. To help protect the next generation from a future of ill health and disease, it also wants the UK Government to consult on raising the age of sale of tobacco.

Sign Cancer Research UK's Smokefree UK petition at:- CRUK.Org.

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Creative Connectivity - Southport June 2023

Tobacco kills 1 person every 40 minutes