Continue reading »]]> INVITATION           

WE INVITE ALL OUR FRIENDS AND OTHER INTERESTED PEOPLE TO APPLY FOR PARTICIPATION IN OUR PROJECTS AND WORKSHOPS

 These projects involve visits to museums, art galleries, heritage sites and buildings of historic importance, concerts and theatres, travel opportunities to European countries with the aim to learn about the traditions of people from around the world. Our workshops help your personal development, and are designed to improve communication between people and to develop skills, including basic IT/Internet, languages, art, international cooking, crafts and photography.  Who can participate? Anyone over 18, and they can be professional, curious, educated, working and business people, older, pensioners, employed, unemployed, those who left education early, refugees, ethnic minorities, lonely people and those who think that these kinds of projects could fulfil their life expectations. Our activities are mainly related to the Culture, Heritage and History of London, Britain and other countries.

We organise basic courses in foreign languages and support international communication directly with other people with similar interests in life. We also organise many cultural and social events, such as visits to music and literary events, lectures, exhibitions, theatres, festivals, dances and dinners or we could invite you for a nice cup of tea in traditional English style. And, you can choose the event in which you would like to participate.

To participate in these events, according to your interest and availability, you should become a member of Pro Art Club, and try what’s on offer and suit your interests the best. The annual membership is £10 for a single person or £15 for a couple. The contributing cost for some of the events would be minimal and a majority of the activities, including travel abroad, would be subsidised greatly by Pro Art & Co.

Tel: 020 7351 7555       info@proartandco.co.uk         www.proartandco.co.uk

Continue reading »]]> The Scotland- Russia Forum

http://www.scotlandrussiaforum.org

Byzantium – Gateway between East and West               

Exhibition

Sat 4 February to Sat 17 March 2012

This exhibition presents 1000 years of the Byzantine Empire’s history, from its establishment in 330 AD by the Emperor Constantine to its fall in 1435. It shows the creation of the first Slavonic and East European nation states, their organisation under the influence of the domineering Byzantine Empire and their eventual acceptance of Christianity and late Roman civilization as a model for the formation of their own states. Byzantium integrated the best of the Classical Hellenic and Roman civilisations but also adopted Oriental mysticism. It stretched far beyond the Old World borders into Asia, Arabia, Persia, North Africa and North Europe.  The aim of the exhibition is to look at the influence on European culture of Byzantium’s multicultural heritage.

Curated by Vesna Petkovic, Pro Art & Co

We are also grateful for the support of MESP (the Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace)

Associated events: see Events and Other Events

 3 February: Byzantium: Splendour perfected. A short talk on the history of Byzantium, the role of women  in society and the role of the court by Vesna Petkovic

18 February: Early Church Music.  A course at Edinburgh University OLL

24 February: Icons in Early Christian and Byzantine world. A talk by Maria Andipa

3 March: An introduction to Russian church music.  Glasgow

Continue reading »]]> The EU Treasure Hunt project includes partner organizations from 6 European countries: Slovenia (Coordinator), UK, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Austria.

Its purpose is to motivate and encourage the openness of European borders and to increase opportunities for active participation in trans national mobility within the specific target group of young adults. It targets at young adults mostly aged 15 to 25 years, from minority ethnic groups, with mild learning and physical disabilities, who experience social exclusion and/or have been disadvantaged in some other way.

The working methods will be diverse and active, assuring the satisfaction of various needs of the learners and partner organizations involved, such as: workshops, learning-by-doing, small group discussions, field work, project research, photo material, audio-video presentation, etc.

The main aim of the project is mobilization and motivation of young adults to overcome their own educational or personal limitations in the field of trans national and multicultural cooperation. Young adults from different EU countries will, according to their interests, needs and abilities, take an active role in the common multicultural planning, preparation, execution, promotion and evaluation of activities related to EU Cultural treasures.

Continue reading »]]> This Grundtvig learning Partnership project involves six European non-profit organizations from:

1. Italy -  Centro di Solidarietà Prato Onlus (Prato, Tuscany- Coordinator)
2. UK -  Pro Art & Co (London)
3. Belgium – Vormingplus Citizenne vzw (Brussels)
4. Turkey – Ankara Altindag Ilce Milli Egitim Mudurlugu (Ankara)
5. Poland – Foundation for the Cultural Exchange toTU toTAM (Przemyśl)
6. Italy – Centro Territoriale Permanente 24 (Quartu Sant’Elena  – Sardinia)

The project Open to Yourope is an opportunity for a group of adult learners and staff from 6 participating partner organisations to get involved in different forms of complex learning and cultural activities, at a variety of informal settings, which would not be overly demanding on participants’ abilities, knowledge and skills, where they would be introduced to art, crafts, heritage, practical and social skills. This would be achieved through a series of mobilities and meetings undertaken between partner countries. This practice of informal learning and exchange of experiences, in addition to participants’ previous knowledge, would enhance participants’ talents and individual expressions related to new subjects and help them develop better understanding of the needs and lifestyles of people from other cultures. It would help external European communication and cohesion, by those individuals who would be aware that they belong to a larger society, aiming to enhance European citizenship. The aim of this project is also to increase the opportunities to gain new skills and support people in achieving their personal goals.

MOBILITIES PLAN

This project is set up by the partner organisations in order to achieve our goals and to facilitate meetings with participants from other countries and includes a mobility – visiting plan, a series of workshops (topics complying with the learners’ interests) and visits to selected cultural sites, proactive communication between the participants and their practical involvement in cultural and art activities (e.g. photography, their own story telling, performances, etc.). This will also be an opportunity to share ideas from the partners’ working methods and apply the accepted elements to all other partners involved. All the partners are working in similar fields of cultural and social activities and their organisations’ goals are to advance education among adults and other learners through informal learning processes. It will enhance cultural cooperation, focused on national diversities and visions which would empower an enlarged Europe and which could be shared and multiplied through facilitating new forms of creative expressions.

London   11/11/  -  16/11      2011

Florence-Prato   09/03  -  14/03   2012

Przemyśl   29/06  -04/07  2012

Ankara  01/10  – 06/10   2012

Sardinia – 09/02  -  14/02   2013

Brussels  17/05  -22/05   2013

Continue reading »]]> 15/10 – 17/11 2011

 What Press said about the Artists:  

“All composers want to sound unique – but few manage to be as distinctive as

Nikola Kodjabashia …” John. L. Walters, Guardian, July 2004.

Nikola Kodjabashia is considered to be one of the most eminent representatives

of the Balkan and East European musical avant-guard and composer of 4 critically

acclaimed albums: The Most of Now, 2008, Reveries of the Solitary Walker,

2004, Penelope X (with Foltin) described by Guardian, The Times, BBC Radio 3

JazzZeitung.de, Lira.se, Giornale della Musica, All About Jazz critics as….” Probably

the best record of the year”… “Magisch!”….”un ibrido perfetto”…”masterful”..

Kodjabashia morphs effortlessly from assured composer-conductor through laidback

facilitator to multi-tracking keyboard wizard”….”result, drawing on every musical

language from modernism to Shadowslike twang, is masterful.”…

He has scored music fro numerous internationally acclaimed theatre productions,

including Sir Peter Hallʼs BACCHAI at the National Theatre, Young Vicʼs international

hit KAFKAʼS MONKEY feat. Katherine Hunter, C.A.T.S. 2011 Multi winner

Dominic Hillʼs THE THREE MUSKETEERS AND THE PRINCESS OF SPAIN, Old

Vicʼs production of Wajdi Mouawadʼs SCORCHED, then Music for Olivier award

winning Jonathan Kentʼs production of HECUBA at DONMAR Warehouse Theatre,

Covent Garden and many more. Other commissions include scores for La Biennale

di Venezia 2004, BBC Singers 2010, numerous scores fro BBC TV and

Radio 2005/10 as well as The National Theatre 2002/3. His music is released by

ReR, described by the Guardian as “one of the most adventurous and coherent of

avant-rock labels.”

FOLTIN is undoubtedly one of the top and most original bands from the Balkans in

the past 15 years. Foltinʼs music is surreally retro, contemporary witty, melancholic

but most of all passionate and unpredictable with a frantic dance undertone.

They often describes themselves as pseudo – emigrant cabaret rather than by

musical style or genre etiquette. Their performance history lists all the leading European

music festivals and theatre stages… feat.

Nikola Kodjabashia and Foltin group –  Goce Stevkovski  -   Macedonia

Continue reading »]]> 1-15 February 2010, at the Chelsea Old Town Hall, Reference Library.

16-30 October 2010, at the Fulham and Hammersmith Libraries

November-December 2010, at Henry Compton Secondary Boys School, Fulham

This is a public exhibition about original traditional African art, masks, figurines and small objects, made by anonymous artists from various tribes across the continent and in different periods. They are arranged in group of objects presenting various aspects of tribal life, important in their daily routine and without commercial value. The topics are: ancestors, fertility, marriages, warriors, nature (animals and plants). The curator will give a talk about African art and tribal life with a discussion and story-telling for children and adults, and on presented topics; entrance free.

People often relate African art with the Black History Month, and they are more familiar with music and dance, literature and performing art, but not so much with visual and plastic art. There is also an ages old stigma about this art, a prejudice which is inherited from the past, that masks and fetishes present evil spirits and will do harm to those who posses them. We shall organise a talk and a discussion about the meaning of the masks and figurines which present always something in relation with everyday life. The inspiration is life itself and surrounding environment, which includes all natural habitats, animals and plants. These features are “magical” because they are used to intervene with “higher powers”, communicate with the world of spirits, help people to pray and ask for help, support healing, war and peace and they mean life and death.

Every bead, feather or other item used to create a mask or a figure is carefully chosen and it symbolises particular aspect in the life of tribe. The fact is that three quarters of the population of Black Africa are still fetishist and continue to practice this religion. Most of the ritual sculptures used are masks, which appear during the religious dances and public celebrations. There are also figurines and larger statues (totems) which, according to the region, represent ancestral portraits, or fetishes to protect the village and its inhabitants, to conjure against evil spirits, against drought and epidemics, to bring fertility to women or evil and harm to enemies, such as the nail fetishes from the Bas Congo areas and similar. Nature is embedded in many human forms as totemic presentation of the particular characteristic which the tribal artist believes that it belongs to that particular mask or figurine.

TRADITIONAL AFRICAN ART

At Hammersmith and Fulham Libraries – October 2010
Henry Compton Secondary Boys School, Fulham