with artist Deborah Pipe and music guru Ken Last
Sketch Lounge is becoming a difficult animal, it tries to be many things: a place to experiment with drawing; a playground for participatory art practice; a catalyst for creative collaborations between art and music scenes; a place to hang out and chat and a launchpad for new ideas.
A wide collaboration and an organisational headache. At what point did the art and experimentation slip away?
A rethink: Sketch Lounge returns to its musical roots at the HooHa Record Club, a vinyl DJ night, a playground.
Here the message is straightforward, its an invitation to draw. The music is loud, spoken explanations are impossible, other methods of introduction are required.
So, we play with Fluxus scores in this dark and loud place. The musical theme for the night says Circus, we leave pieces of acetate and sharpies on tables, our invite says ‘Draw your Inner Circus’. The drawings generate revolving images on the ceiling from the customized turntable lightboxes. Thank you Joel McEvoy-Swift. Hooha becomes something slightly different, conversations start, possibilities are discussed.
Next night up, a musical geography of the town. On a giant record shape map we draw our musical experiences on flag markers: we have seen Nick Cave in the Great Churchyard, by the chip shop, in Focus 12, just about everywhere; Kid Creole by the tennis courts; can’t remember who we saw in the Grapes last Friday. We like this idea, how do we take it out on the road, a musical and drawing drift of Bury? Watch this space.
Jac Campbell 