In 1997 the Somerset House Trust has taken over the 18th century Somerset House building designed by Sir William Chambers to conserve and develop it. http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/ [caption id="attachment_862" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="1_ dia Somerset House from Embankment then source: Somerset House"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_863" ...Read More
‘The Gerhard Richter Panorama’ at the Tate Modern www.tate.org.uk/modern/ and Grayson Perry’s ‘The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman’ at the British Museum www.britishmuseum.org offered two mind-stretching experiences to start the year. [caption id="attachment_847" align="aligncenter" width="248" caption="1_ dia Gerhard Richter,Panorama, 2011"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_848" ...Read More
For reasons unexplained, I have always marked the arbitrary change in time, the passage from one western calendar year to the next, with a message to my trans-spatial diaspora of family, friends and colleagues. This lone drawing of the year ...Read More
The bells are back 27 of them; on The reinstated Glockenspiel in Swiss Court, central London. Crowned by an astronomical clock, repaired and electronically enhanced they accompany the movements of cows and their keepers to the amusement of bystanders. The Glockenspiel ...Read More
Causes and remedies Riots in Britain, demonstrations to end oppression in the Middle East, sit-ins against the excesses of capitalism worldwide have stirred up the establishment, from the political classes to the popular science writers. They all grapple for explanations and ...Read More
Now that the tears over 9/11+10 are drying up, what happens to the ‘fear industry’? Fired by the war on terror it is doing really well. The surveillance and anti-terror industry has mushroomed and is well under way of becoming ...Read More
The limits to openness During a perfect summer day I was ambling on the boulevards of Paris, enjoying its public realm, open to anyone from anywhere. I did what many people do in open cities, I settled down on a ...Read More
British Council URBACT Open Cities project Up to now, all the posts on my Open Cities blog constituted inputs to the blog I was invited to write for the British Council for its Open Cities project website. This project, funded by ...Read More
Open Cities: Milestone On 25 May 2011, URBACT, the British Council, the Open Cities Network and the Open Cities project partner cities congregated at the premises of the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions in Brussels, ...Read More
Diversity: driver of openness Have a look at the EU map. It is almost entirely ‘blue’ and the remainders, e.g. Spain and Portugal, are bound to follow after elections. [caption id="attachment_698" align="aligncenter" width="283" caption="1_dia political Map of EU source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Council"][/caption] This has never ...Read More
