“Jef Rademakers’s collection has been created with an admirable sense of style and determination,” says Tiina Abel, the curator of the exhibition. “The collector set the goal of rehabilitating the long-forgotten Belgian and Dutch 19th-century Romanticism, and thus helped to break several stereotypes prevalent in the history of art. His collection has been formed on the tide of current views on art, which is witnessed by its growing popularity.”

The paintings that comprise the Belgian collector Jef Rademakers’s collection have been displayed at the State Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, at the Koekkoek-Haus in Kleve, and elsewhere.

The former TV producer Jef Rademakers’s painting collection contains more than a hundred works of art created by Dutch and Belgian artists in the years 1806-1870. The lion’s share of the paintings, however, are from the period 1840-1855, when the Romantic approach to nature was intertwined with the lifestyle of the post-Napoleonic Biedermeier era, which valued domesticity and family. Rademakers owns outstanding examples from the oeuvre of Basile de Loose, Bart van Hove, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek and the latter’s students: Jacob Abels, Andreas Schelfhout, Petrus van Schendel and others.

Jef Rademakers was born in 1949 near the Dutch and Belgian border to a Catholic family. He graduated from the University of Amsterdam. From the 1960s to the 1980s he produced several programmes for Dutch television, his most popular show being Class Reunion. Then, the turning point in his life came.

“I was 40 years old and had lost most of my illusions about politics, art and love,” says Jef Rademakers. “I decided rather promptly to change my lifestyle, sold my company and moved to Flanders. The ideals that I had lost I rediscovered in the paintings of the Romantic artists. I am a sombre pessimist, even a hypochondriac, and look at life through the eyes of a cynic – life is an illness that you just have to suffer through. Romantic art is one of my survival strategies.”

Rademakers acquired his first noteworthy painting 20 years ago from a respectable English art dealer at the Biennale in Paris. Ever since that purchase, the collector has bought works of art from wherever they show up in the market: the Netherlands and Belgium, naturally, but Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Italy and Austria as well. However, Rademakers has limited his acquisitions to art from around the Netherlands – the area that he knows and understands well due to his origins.

Tiina Abel adds, “I would like to thank Mr. Jef Rademakers and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Estonia on behalf of the Art Museum of Estonia for their wonderful cooperation.”

For the fourth consecutive year, the European Union Garden Festival will bring together Rigans of all generations and visitors to the city. The aim of this year’s event is to raise awareness among general public about cooperation among various groups of society and to talk about the possibilities of exploring one’s own potential and adopting an active attitude disregarding age.

10 themed tents

The EU Garden Festival will start at 12:00 with a musical procession and the festive opening of themed tents at Vērmanes Garden. All through the day, ten themed tents will be working:

1. Digital Europe,
2. Creative Europe,
3. Youthful Europe,
4. Green Europe,
5. Productive Europe,
6. Active Europe,
7. Prosperous Europe,
8. European Union House,
9. Rīga 2014,
10. The Danish Presidency at the Council of the EU.

Everybody will be able to visit the tents for information about active engagement, green thinking, career and education opportunities, patients’ right, direct payments, trends in the development of agriculture and industry and other sectors. What’s more, the festival’s guests of all generations will have an opportunity to take part in exciting activities, games and educative sessions. Special thought has been given to the festival’s youngest participants: several tents are planning lively and educative activities for children.

All day long, until 6 p.m, performers from Latvia, Poland Czech Republic, Sweden and Lithuania will take to the stage at Vērmane Garden. Besides, the free stage is to host artists of various generations who will play music, dance or perform.

All participants are welcome to take part in an exciting game, “Join in!”, at the end of which the lucky winners will be chosen in a raffle and receive prizes.

About Europe Day

The origins of the Europe Day go back to 9 May 1950, five years after the end of World War II, when the Foreign Minister of France Robert Schumann conceived a plan to unite the coal and steel sectors of the European countries to prevent a chance of yet another war. The idea became reality and set a starting point for the European Union; therefore, 9 May is celebrated all over the European Union as Europe Day.

EU Garden Festival in Latvia

In Latvia, the EU Garden Festival has developed into an annual occasion when thousands of Rigans and visitors to the city gather at Vērmanes Garden for an active and positive day together. The event is organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in association with the European Commission Representation in Latvia, the European Parliament Information Office, the Riga City Council and the embassies of the European Union Member States in Riga. The event is financed under the Management Partnership concluded between the European Commission and the Government of Latvia.

If you’re into style, art or fashion, it therefore makes a perfect solution for staying productive on the move; although with so many software apps to choose from it can also be tricky deciding on the right ones to add to your new device. So, by way of a quick introduction, here are ten that might just fit the bill…

Ten of the best Apps for Designers and Creatives

iDraw

iDraw is a little under ten dollars and comes with a huge selection of tools and drawing implements that creatives will lap up. Work with complex layers, export to PDF and enjoy all of the productive drawing tools that are often only included in expensive software programs. Better still, do it all from the familiar confines of your Apple iPad.

Designers spend much of their time working with fonts and typeface families, so having quick and easy access to them all via the iFontMaker could prove a real productive bonus to your iPad app arsenal. You can create a font from scratch and then use it in a variety of workplace situations using popular creative formats. At just over five dollars it’s pretty much a no-brainer purchase.

Font Book

Similarly, the Font Book for iPad app allows you to take control of all of your font collections and enjoy instant previews of what’s available in your creative collection and all from the iPad interface. It costs less than five dollars, but could boost your productivity on the move no end, and it’s also quick and simple to initiate via iTunes File Sharing.

If working with vector graphics makes up a big portion of your daily creative duties then it’s well worth investigating the Freeform app that is a smidgen under ten dollars. This power-packed application can enable you to produce sketches, mock-ups or complex diagrams all within the space of a few taps of your screen. Files can then be exported in a host of formats.

Adobe Ideas

Adobe Ideas is an app that comes from a tried and tested software location and it’s also free, so that in itself makes the software hard to resist. However, once you start using this digital sketchpad software, you soon realise that it has a whole raft of tools that will make ideas flow from your creative streak with ease.

iDesign 2D

At a fraction less than five dollars the iDesign 2D vector drawing app is one of the software programs that, once you’ve enjoyed its charms, proves to be an invaluable aid to boosting creativity. It’s quick and easy to master but also harnesses the iPad processing power to allow you to produce crisp new designs that are full of colour for any part of the design process.

App Designer

If you’re looking to move into the lucrative world of app design then the App Designer program at less than ten dollars proves to be an invaluable software offering. Basic controls but many powerful design options means that you can be producing your very own app designs while you’re in the office, at home or even while commuting.

Penultimate

Penultimate is a marvellous freehand drawing style app that has an excellent workspace that creatives will love. You can take notes, keep any drawings that you do on your travels and then come back to them at a later date. At just a few dollars, it could transform the way you work when you’re both in and out of the office.

iMockups

Designers and developers often spend much of their time working with complex mock-ups and the iMockups app for iPad takes that concept and adds it to the touchscreen-working format. Quickly draft out sophisticated wireframe constructions via the intricate but simplistic interface and then manipulate your creations within the space of a few quick screen taps. It’s fewer than ten dollars, so cheap too.

Sorted

Being organised is at the core of staying at the top end of your business game so get hold of Sorted if you’re looking for an app that can keep all of your prospective tasks lined up with precision listings. At one cent less that a dollar it’s one of the handiest apps for creatives around.

Deadline: April 8, 2012

Be involved in the Ashby Arts event in Stratford. The urban gallery space is approximately 0.5 miles from the Olympic village in which over looks the official stadium.

The View, is located at Taylor Place, 5 Payne Rd, London, E3 2SP save the address and join us for the official opening.

The gallery consists of two large spaces, each housing 6 meter ceilings with approximately 8 feature walls, each 7 meters in length.

Open artist call

Artist rules, guidelines and instructions please read carefully.

Enter our juried competition which focuses on all things London, past to present: Think modern, street, traditional and or Olympic. All of the above forms are welcome and we hope to see many more.

Eligibility

The competition is International, open to all geographical locations. Artists at any career-stage may submit.

Artwork

Entrants may submit two JPEG files of original work. All media is accepted, including: two-dimensional, three-dimensional, installation, video, performance, new-media and other traditional media. There is no maximum-pixel height/width to submission images. There are no restrictions to artwork size, mounting technique or otherwise for selection into the exhibition. Work should be available for exhibition / sale during the exhibition dates.

1. Artist working in video or multimedia can submit video stills, supported by links to previous works on the artist’s website to: theteam@londonolympics2012artshow.co.uk
2. Performance artists may submit existing or proposed work with appropriate documentation.

Special consideration will be given to all entrants for inclusion in future shows within the Ashby Arts network. Many entrants from past competitions have been included in our exhibits.

Winning entries will be announced and artist will be listed on this web-site for marketing opportunities and online exposure.

Find out more: http://www.londonolympics2012artshow.co.uk/about.html

It’s no wonder that this unstabling and unsettling period destabilises the strong sitting-will of Latvians. Intoxicated with summer it was easy enough to be careless and lose balance and it happened that more and more fell to the ground. And that is how Latvian lost their place in the trees and continued to sway in fields over the summer. Trees now sway to and fro alone.

“Make me!” is open to every designer between 20 and 30 who are working in the fields of product and fashion design. Awarded works will be presented at the post-contest exhibition, held during the Lodz Design Festival. It is definitely  a unique opportunity to designers to show their ideas publicly, establish contacts with companies and enter both the Polish and international design market.

Rules and application form can be found at the official website: lodzdesign.com. Works are to be submitted between 15 March and 30 June.

Participation fee: PLN 100/EUR 30/USD 40

Original source: designeast.eu/2012/03/make-me-contest-call-poland/

If you would like to volunteer at Roskilde Festival 2012, you might be happy to know that our application form has just become available on our website. But don’t wait too long – you can only apply until 9 April.

There are many different types of jobs, and it’s impossible to list them all. To mention a few, we have jobs such as runner, electrical worker, stage security, refuse collector and guard duties. We aim to match needs and skills with the vacancies we have.

Since we’re not currently aware of how many volunteers we’ll need for Roskilde Festival 2012, we can’t guarantee you a job even if you are put on the waiting list.

Should you become a volunteer, we’ll make an effort to incorporate your wishes when creating the work schedule. However, we can’t promise you that you won’t have to work while your favourite band is playing. Nor can we guarantee that you get the job you desire, or that you will get to work with your best friend who has also applied to volunteer.

APPLY TO BECOME A VOLUNTEER

Making Designer Fashion Accessible

Although we are paying a fraction of the price, the consumer feels they are buying a piece of gold! Those that are just entering the fashion “consumer” market will hopefully stick with the luxury brand in future and maybe extend to the more high end items when funds allow. It is easy to see why these high street changes are coming about, due to savvy marketing strategies that will extend the brand and reach the unreachable.

Exclusivity

There is a school of thought that says collaborations will deter celebrity connoisseurs from supporting brands, which is a consideration. To counter this, celebrities continue gracing magazine covers in high street collections and sipping champagne at sophisticated launch parties. Don’t forget there are still the exclusive items that will always be beyond the reach of the H&M and TopShop buyer which retains the exclusivity.

The High Street Wins

The other winner in this triangle of success is the store! While the consumer and designer are happy with new brand offerings, it is clear that the likes of TopShop and H&M are also getting their fair share of success, increased footfall and profits. Collaborating with such iconic brands means that the profile of these stores are changed in the eye of the shopper, hopefully forever if the designers feel that the relationship continues to be mutually successful. The co-branding philosophy is not new and on the back of previous successes it seems to be something that high end designers continue to take a chance on.

Topshop

Award winning Mary Karantzou is a popular designer of floral and feminine shapes. Her capsule wardrobe has been a great success since her recent launch at Topshop. Key pieces have been designed to cater for a more inclusive audience with a price to match. Topshop executives are never backward in coming forward when there is a joint project opportunity and they have benefited hugely over the years from working with other designers.

There you have it. A win, win, win situation. As a consumer, I am glad that these exclusive brands are spreading the love. I still crave the ultimate purse busting pieces, but will happily make do with the high street version. On the horizon, I think we will see many more designer collaborations as we continue to fill their fashion worthy designer pockets.

Defining Smart Casual

There’s a reason they say “smart casual” instead of “casual smart”, and that’s because you are still supposed to be dressing up a little. The emphasis is on being smart, but not as prim-and-proper as you would be for a black tie event.

If your definition of original menswear is Hawaiian shirts and ripped jeans, rather than a smart Barbour shop jacket and suit trousers, then you’d be best off thinking “day at the office” rather than “chance to dress down”.

Start Smart

To put together a good outfit for a “smart casual” event, start by putting on smart trousers, a shirt, and a smart jacket. If your usual attire is t-shirts and jeans, you might want to nip to the local Barbour shop or menswear outlet to find something suitably smart. Try to pick navy, tan, or even grey items instead of traditional office black.

The casual doesn’t come from those key garments, it comes from the accessories. You can remove your tie, and even undo the top button of your collar if you want to. Instead of shiny business shoes, don a pair of loafers, and you can get away with lighter fabrics instead of heavy wools.

Consider the Venue

Each venue will have its own specific requirements, so it’s a good idea to do a little research before you leave. Some places demand a specific type of shoe. Some venues accept smart jeans while others ban all denim. There are other venues that espouse a fairly casual dress code that still expect people to wear a tie, so it’s a good idea to keep one in your pocket just in case.

You’ll Always Need a Jacket

It’s rare that you’ll find somewhere that considers no jacket at all to be an acceptable version of “smart casual”, but you can usually get away without a suit jacket. A good navy blazer or smart sports coat is usually fine, you just need something to top off your suit, otherwise you’ll look half dressed.

Are You Partying With Colleagues?

While it’s natural to want to dress to impress at a job interview, when you’re going out for drinks, it’s a different situation. Save dressing up for work situations, and try to just look “smart” in social situations. If you try to dress fancier than your boss, it could cause some uncomfortable situations. Aim for chinos, a smart shirt, and loafers. Keep a tie on standby just in case you need one to comply with the venue’s dress code, but skip the tuxedo, cufflinks, and pocket watch unless you’re attending an award’s ceremony where you’re the host or nominee!

Copenhagen’s new Nordic cuisine restaurant Noma, regaled as the best restaurant in the world by the prestigious San Pellegrino top restaurant list and Britain’s Restaurant magazine, is changing the image of the Danish capital. No longer is Denmark just the city with the Little Mermaid statue. Copenhagen has so much more to offer from cuisine to culture to quality of life. In Copenhagen from Momondo + Noma the city’s story is told from new perspectives, revealing many of its marvellous hidden gems.

“Copenhagen is a city in movement. Looking at the city today, it doesn’t make an idyllic or orderly impression. If you’re strolling through the streets and alleys of Copenhagen on a regular Sunday morning, it’s obvious that this is a city that people live in and use. A humble pile of empty pizza boxes, road mending, and youngsters on their way home after a wild night out. This is also the charm of Copenhagen. It’s a city where life is lived. There are stories to be told,” says editor, Anne Gry Daugård.

Noma is a melting pot. The restaurant’s staff members – who come from all corners of the world – are the fulcrum in the guide where they give a new and exogenous insight into Copenhagen’s many facets and distinctive places.

“We have collaborated with Momondo on this book because we think it is both fun and relevant. Noma is a Copenhagen-company blessed with a dedicated staff that hails from around the globe. Why not share their insider-tips to Copenhagen? Because of their diverse backgrounds, they each experience the city differently, seeing it from angles that may even surprise a local native. It has been an enjoyable process creating this book. We’ve discussed and rethought Copenhagen, and we’ve gotten to know each other much better,” explains Noma’s Managing, Peter Kreiner.

The guide is a leather-bound pocket-size book designed to be turned and twisted in the hands of the reader when exploring Copenhagen. All locations are thoroughly described and plotted on 5 chapter maps as well on a large fold-out map of the entire city. Accompanying the chapter maps are 5 inspiring routes, which include the highlights of Copenhagen’s different neighborhoods.