Acton Arts Forum Conference 2016

What a nice gathering of like-minded people it was today at North Acton Pavillion!

Rachel Pepper and Robbie Pearson were the first speakers at Acton Arts Forum State of the Arts Conference. They actually run the event. Familiar with the Forum and some of their activities, I found it of interest to listen in detail about their activities in the last two years. I attended some of them and shared memories here, on this blog.
A new Acton resident, I was glad to see a few familiar faces. Regretfully, there was no time for chatting as the programme was very full and due to previous arrangements I couldn't join in the follow-up outing to a nearby pub. Well, one of these moments when you are not there as exciting things happen...

I remembered Robbie from W3 Gallery, an exhibition space in Acton High Street and enjoyed his poems at a meeting of Acton Poets Group just before the venue closed down. It's sad to see it empty now...

Robbie Pearson, Acton Arts Forum Chair

Amar Alaw and David Brammer play 'Occident meets Orient'

I was not the only person to take pictures, here is the proof:

I liked it when David spoke about his experience of playing music at an Acton school and how it inspired the students to create pictures which turned out to reflect the storyline behind the pieces.

Corrie Reichardt, the craftist Baroness;-)

 Wow! I suspected that the politically active mosaics at the entrance to the V&A (which I had seen a year or so ago) were from Carrie Reichardt's studio  since I saw her mosaic covered place and car in South Acton. Today I saw I was right! Hurrah!

I had a word with stick, a very famous graffiti artist. He liked my idea of conversation classes for people of all nationalities and agreed to come and join us one day. Where in Acton would be a suitable space for that? I need to find out.:-)

Stick and his 'Big Mother'

Deputy Mayoress straight from another engagement (at Ealing Synagogue)

Active supporters of Acton Arts Forum

James Barnor, Patron of AAF 2016

Can you see the book next to James?
This is an album of his photographs published in Paris. I had the honour to look through the whole book as James was telling me about them. He started as an apprentice in his home coutry, Ghana, had a studio called EVER YOUNG there and then came to London encouraged by his teacher who had come here before him!
Unfortunately, my phone got exhausted at this point so I cannot show you the letter, but here is another one:

Women in their 'church best' next to James Barnor's Opel

 This portrait of a young Ghanaian woman made me think of my mother's high school ID picture. I must show it to her and the family!:-)

Re-touched portrait

 Will you try to guess which man is James Barnor in this picture?:-)

 Half way through the book we were joined by another man, a photographer as well, who told me about an exhibition opening at POSK later tonight. I couldn't make it.

What I liked the most of the many words said was James Barnor's:
'I'm 86 and a half now and I'm thinking 'What next?' ' That's exactly what I'm saying now, a few decades his junior. :-)  I have ideas and plans and also I was pleased to hear that Acton and Acton Forum need people for their various projects!:-)

Heman Jones spoke 'about the potential of web and the media for the arts' as the neatly crafted event flyer says. I must make sure to join www.actonartsforum.org soon !

Everybody agreed to be filmed, but has the cameraman been recorded?;-)

Photographer photographed!;-)

What's going on here???

Rachel and the sound magician, nothing bad, calm down;-)

Doesn't the mask look intriguing?

Jolly gathering

I have much more to tell you about the event, but I am sure many people will do it much better!
(Let me just explain that the capricious machine has added pictures in the order it chose and not chronological.)

It was a great experience for me!